Białystok Dialect
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Białystok is the largest city in northeastern
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
and the capital of the
Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Uplands of the Podlachian Plain on the banks of the Biała River, (124 mi) northeast of
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
. It has historically attracted migrants from elsewhere in Poland and beyond, particularly from Central and
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. This is facilitated by the nearby border with
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
also being the eastern border of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, as well as the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...
. The city and its adjacent municipalities constitute
Metropolitan Białystok Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...
. The city has a warm summer continental climate, characterized by warm summers and long frosty winters. Forests are an important part of Białystok's character and occupy around (18% of the administrative area of the city) which places it as the fifth-most forested city in Poland. The first settlers arrived in the 14th century. The town grew and received its municipal charter in 1692. Białystok has traditionally been one of the leading centers of academic, cultural, and artistic life in
Podlachia Podlachia, also known by its Polish name Podlasie (; ; ), is a historical region in north-eastern Poland. Its largest city is Białystok, whereas the historical capital is Drohiczyn. Similarly to several other historical regions of Poland, e.g ...
, and the most important economic center in northeastern Poland. Białystok was once an important center for
light industry Light industry are Industry (economics), industries that usually are less Capital intensity, capital-intensive than heavy industry, heavy industries and are more consumer-oriented than business-oriented, as they typically produce smaller consum ...
, which was the reason for the substantial growth of the city's population. The city continues to reshape itself into a modern middle-sized city. Białystok, in 2010, was on the short-list, but ultimately lost the competition, to become a finalist for
European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...
in 2016.


Etymology

Although nowadays "stok" is translated as "slope", the initial name of the settlement came from the river flowing through it. In old Polish, ''biały stok'' was white river (''biały'' - white, ''stok'' - stream; river that "slides" down the slope). So inconspicuous today, the Biała River (usually called Białka), flowing through the city center, gave it its name. Due to changing borders and demographics over the centuries, the city has been known as (''Byelastok'' ?, ''Biełastok'' ? ), (''Byalistok'', ''Bjalistok''), , and (''Belostok'', ''Byelostok'').


History


Early history

Archaeological discoveries show that the first settlements in the area of present-day Białystok occurred during the
Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistory, prehistoric period during which Rock (geology), stone was widely used to make stone tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years and ended b ...
. Tombs of ancient settlers can be found in the district of Dojlidy. In the early
Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, people settled in the area producing
kurgan A kurgan is a type of tumulus (burial mound) constructed over a grave, often characterized by containing a single human body along with grave vessels, weapons, and horses. Originally in use on the Pontic–Caspian steppe, kurgans spread into mu ...
s, the tombs of the chiefs in the area located in the current village of Rostołty. Since then, the Białystok area has been at the crossroads of cultures. Trade routes linking the Baltic to the Black Sea favored the development of settlements with
Yotvingia Yotvingia, or Sudovia, was a region where the Balts, Baltic tribe known as Yotvingians lived. It was located in the area of Suvalkija, Sudovia and Dzūkija, Dainava; south west from the upper Nemunas, between Marijampolė, Merkinė (Lithuania) ...
- Ruthenian-Polish cultural characteristics. Surviving documents attest that around 1437 a representative of the Raczków family, Jakub Tabutowicz of the coat of arms Łabędź, received from
Michael Žygimantaitis Michael Žygimantaitis (, ; before 1406 – shortly before February 10, 1452 in Moscow) was pretender to the throne of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the last male descendant of Kęstutis, Grand Duke of Lithuania. He supported his father Sigism ...
, son of the Grand Duke of Lithuania
Sigismund Kęstutaitis Sigismund Kęstutaitis (, ; 136520 March 1440) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1432 to 1440. Sigismund was his baptismal name, while his pagan Lithuanian birth name is unknown. He was the son of Grand Duke Kęstutis and his wife Birutė. Aft ...
, a wilderness area along the river Biała that marked the beginning of Białystok as a settlement. Thereafter, Białystok was part of
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
for 132 years until the
Union of Lublin The Union of Lublin (; ) was signed on 1 July 1569 in Lublin, Poland, and created a single state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest countries in Europe at the time. It replaced the personal union of the Crown of the Kingd ...
in 1569, when it was restored to
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
but remained very close to its border with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until the last partition of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
in 1795. Białystok was administratively part of the
Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
, after 1569 also part of the Lesser Poland Province of the Kingdom of Poland. From 1547, the settlement was owned by the Wiesiołowski family, which founded the first school.Jacek Kusznier, ''Elektrycy w historii Politechniki Białostockiej'', "Maszyny Elektryczne - Zeszyty Problemowe", Nr 4/2018, p. 163 (in Polish) The first brick church and a castle were built between 1617 and 1826. The two-floor castle, designed on a rectangular plan in the Gothic-
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
style, was the work of . Extension of the castle was continued by Krzysztof Wiesiołowski,
starost Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...
of Tykocin, Grand Marshal of Lithuania since 1635, and husband of Aleksandra Marianna Sobieska. In 1637 he died childless, and as a result, Białystok came under the management of his widow. After her death in 1645 the Wiesiołowski estate, including Białystok, passed to the Crown to cover the costs of maintaining
Tykocin Castle The Tykocin Royal Castle is a 15th-century castle located on the right bank of the river Narew in Tykocin, Poland. It fell into ruin in the 18th century and its reconstruction began in 2002. History The castle – then located on a border area ...
. In the years 1645–1659 Białystok was managed by the
starost Starosta or starost (Cyrillic: ''старост/а'', Latin: ''capitaneus'', ) is a community elder in some Slavic lands. The Slavic root of "starost" translates as "senior". Since the Middle Ages, it has designated an official in a leadersh ...
s of
Tykocin Tykocin (; ) is a small town in north-eastern Poland, with 2,010 inhabitants (2012), located on the Narew river, in Białystok County in the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is one of the oldest towns in the region, with its historic center designated a ...
.


Flourishing aristocratic residential city

In 1661 it was given to
Stefan Czarniecki Stefan Czarniecki (Polish: of the Łodzia coat of arms, 1599 – 16 February 1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish szlachta, nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate hol ...
as a reward for his service in the victory over the Swedes during the
Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the biblical book of Genesis. Deluge or Le Déluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-L ...
. Four years later, it was given as a dowry of his daughter Aleksandra, who married Marshal of the Crown Court Jan Klemens Branicki, thus passing into the hands of the Branicki family. In 1692, , the son of Jan Klemens Branicki, obtained city rights for Białystok from King
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...
. He constructed the Branicki Palace on the foundations of the castle of the Wiesiołowski family. In the first half of the eighteenth century the ownership of the city was inherited by
Field Crown Hetman Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a gras ...
Jan Klemens Branicki Count Jan Klemens Branicki (also known as Jan Kazimierz Branicki; 21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Cro ...
. It was he who transformed the palace built by his father into a magnificent residence of a great noble, which was frequently visited by Polish kings and poets. In 1745 the first military technical school in Poland was founded in Białystok,Jacek Kusznier, ''Elektrycy w historii Politechniki Białostockiej'', "Maszyny Elektryczne - Zeszyty Problemowe", Nr 4/2018, p. 164 (in Polish) and in 1748, one of the oldest theaters in Poland, the ''Komedialnia'', was founded in the city. New schools were established, including a
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
school in connection with the foundation of the theater. In 1749, King
Augustus III of Poland Augustus III (; – "the Saxon"; ; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as List of rulers of Saxony, Elector of Saxony i ...
extended the city limits. In 1770, under the auspices of Izabella Poniatowska, a
midwifery Midwifery is the health science and health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period (including care of the newborn), in addition to the sexual and reproductive health of women throughout their lives. In many cou ...
school was founded, based on which the Institute of Obstetrics was established in 1805. Białystok was a regional
brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...
center with 33 breweries as of 1771, with the Podlachian Beer now listed as a protected traditional beverage by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland. The end of the eighteenth century saw the division of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in three partitions, among Poland's neighboring states. The
Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
subjugated Białystok and the surrounding region during the third partition. The city became the capital of the
New East Prussia New East Prussia (; ; ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1795 to 1807. It was created out of territory annexed in the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and included parts of Masovia, Podlaskie, Trakai voivod ...
province in 1795.
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
's victory in the
War of the Fourth Coalition The War of the Fourth Coalition () was a war spanning 1806–1807 that saw a multinational coalition fight against Napoleon's First French Empire, French Empire, subsequently being defeated. The main coalition partners were Kingdom of Prussia, ...
freed the territory but as a result in the
Treaties of Tilsit The Treaties of Tilsit (), also collectively known as the Peace of Tilsit (; ), were two peace treaties signed by French Emperor Napoleon in the town of Tilsit in July 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland, at the end of the War o ...
in 1807 the area was transferred to the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, which organized the region into the Belostok Oblast, with the city as the regional center. Schooling and higher learning in Białystok, which was intensively developed in the 18th century, was stopped as a result of partitions.


Industrial growth

Białystok received city rights the latest from all of Podlasie's cities, but at the end of the 19th century it outgrown all the surrounding cities. The rapid development in the 19th century is related to two historical events: the creation of a customs border between the Russian Empire and the Congress Kingdom of Poland, and the opening in 1862 of the Warsaw Saint Petersburg railway line, connecting Białystok with
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
,
Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
,
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
and
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. Very convenient communication conditions influenced the development and concentration of Białystok's production plants at that time. Along with the administrative function, Białystok received many economic institutions. In the second half of the 19th century, Białystok grew into a significant center of the
textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of textiles: yarn, cloth and clothing. Industry process Cotton manufacturing Cotton is the world's most important natural fibre. In the year 2007, th ...
, the largest after
Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
in then-partitioned Poland. Białystok was the largest industrial center between Warsaw and Łódź in the west, Saint Petersburg in the north and
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in the east, and was nicknamed "
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
of the North". After the failed
November November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. November was the ninth month of the calendar of Romulus . November retained its name (from the Latin ''novem'' meaning " ...
and
January January is the first month of the year in the Julian calendar, Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day. It is, on average, the coldest month of the year within most of the No ...
uprisings,
Russification Russification (), Russianisation or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians adopt Russian culture and Russian language either voluntarily or as a result of a deliberate state policy. Russification was at times ...
policies and anti-Polish repressions intensified, and after 1870 a ban on the use of Polish in public places was introduced. In 1912, a Tsarist prison was built, which also served as a transit prison for Poles
deported to Siberia From 1930 to 1952, the government of the Soviet Union, on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin and under the direction of the NKVD official Lavrentiy Beria, forcibly Population transfer, transferred populations of various groups. These act ...
. At the end of the nineteenth century, as a result of the influx due to Russian discriminatory regulations, the majority of the city's population was Jewish. According to Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 66,000, Jews constituted 41,900 (so around 63% percent). This heritage can be seen on the Jewish Heritage Trail in Białystok. The
Białystok pogrom The Belostok (Białystok) pogrom occurred between 14–16 June 1906 (1–3 June Old Style) in Białystok, Poland (which at the time was part of the Russian Empire). The names of 80 victims killed in the 1906 pogrom are recorded on a memorial p ...
occurred between 14 and 16 June 1906 with some 81 to 88
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
killed by the Russians, and about 80 wounded. The first anarchist groups to attract a significant following of Russian workers or peasants were the
anarcho-communist Anarchist communism is a far-left political ideology and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private real property but retention of personal property and collectively-owned items, goods, and ser ...
Chernoe-Znamia groups, founded in Białystok in 1903. During
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
the Bialystok-Grodno District was the administrative division of
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
-controlled territory of
Ober-Ost The Supreme Commander of All German Forces in the East (), also known by its German abbreviation as , was both a high-ranking position in the armed forces of the German Empire as well as the name given to the occupied territories on the German s ...
. It comprised the city, as the capital, and the surrounding Podlaskie region, roughly corresponding to the territory of the earlier Belostok Oblast. At the end of World War I the city became part of the newly independent
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
, as the capital of the Białystok Voivodeship. Białystok and the surroundings areas regained independence only on 19 February 1919, three months after the rest of Poland, due to delay in the departure of the German Army from the city. During the 1919–1920
Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (14 February 1919 – 18 March 1921) was fought primarily between the Second Polish Republic and the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, following World War I and the Russian Revolution. After the collapse ...
, possession of the city by the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
and the
Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee The Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee (, Polrewkom; , ) (July–August 1920) was a revolutionary committee established during the Polish–Soviet War under the patronage of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic with the goal ...
occurred during the lead up to the Battle of Warsaw. During the resultant counteroffensive, the city returned to Polish control after the Battle of Białystok. After the wars and the reestablishment of independent Poland, Polish education in Białystok was restored and the textile industry was revived. A municipal public library was established, sports clubs were founded, including
Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish professional football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the 42nd Infantry Regiment Reserve Battalion in Bi ...
, and in the 1930s a drama theater was built.


World War II

With the beginning of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, Poland was invaded by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. City president
Seweryn Nowakowski Seweryn Nowakowski (January 8, 1894 in Piotrków Trybunalski - died probably in 1940) was a Polish politician who served as the last Politics of Białystok, mayor of Białystok prior to the outbreak of the World War II. Biography He studied at th ...
established the Citizens' Guard. Due to the need to evacuate the police forces, the Guard took over its duties after September 11. In addition to the Police, a group of officials left along with selected archives. However, most of the residents of Białystok remained in the city. Initially Białystok was briefly occupied by Germany, and the German '' Einsatzgruppe IV'' entered the city on 20–21 September 1939 to commit crimes against the population. After occupying Białystok, the Germans established the Military City Command, which ordered the surrender of weapons and ammunition and the disbandment of the Citizens' Guard. On September 20, a brutal murder was committed in the courtyard of Primary School No. 1, where a transit camp for prisoners had been set up earlier. Wehrmacht soldiers murdered 8 people "for disobedience". The next day, German troops began to withdraw from the city, where they were replaced by Red Army units, as a result of the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, officially the Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and also known as the Hitler–Stalin Pact and the Nazi–Soviet Pact, was a non-aggression pact between Nazi Ge ...
. Under Soviet occupation, it was incorporated into the
Byelorussian SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1922 as an independent state, and ...
from 1939 to 1941 as the capital of
Belastok Region Belastok Region, also known as Belastok Voblasts or Belostok Oblast, was a short-lived region (''oblast'') of the Byelorussian SSR during World War II, lasting from September 1939 until Operation Barbarossa in 1941, and again for a short period ...
. Polish people were subject to deportations deep into the
USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
(
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, Far North (Russia), Far North). Pre-war mayor Seweryn Nowakowski was arrested by the NKVD in October 1939 and probably also deported to the USSR, however his fate remains unknown. The NKVD took over the local prison. The Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish resistance movement was active in the city, which was the seat of one of the six main commands of the Union of Armed Struggle in occupied Poland (alongside
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
, Kraków, Poznań, Toruń and Lwów). Białystok native and future President of Poland Polish government-in-exile, in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski was a member of the local Polish resistance and was arrested in the city by the NKVD in 1940. Initially the Soviets sentenced him to death, but eventually he was sentenced to 10 years in Gulag, forced labor camps and deported to Kolyma, from where he was released in 1942, when he joined the Anders' Army. In the course of the Operation Barbarossa, German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Białystok was occupied by the Wehrmacht, German Army on 27 June 1941, during the Battle of Białystok–Minsk, and the city became the capital of Bezirk Białystok, a separate region in German occupation of Poland, German occupied Poland, until 1944. Between July and June the 1941 Białystok massacres took place. The Great Synagogue (Białystok), Great Synagogue was burnt down by Germans on 27 June 1941, with an estimated number of 2,000 Jews inside. From the very beginning, the Nazis pursued a ruthless policy of pillage and removal of the non-German population. The Germans operated a Nazi prison in the city, and a Forced labour under German rule during World War II, forced labour camp for Jewish men. Since 1943, the ''Sicherheitspolizei'' carried out deportations of Poles including teenage boys from the local prison to the Stutthof concentration camp. The 56,000 Jewish residents of the town were confined in a ghetto. On 15 August 1943, the Białystok Ghetto Uprising began, and several hundred History of the Jews in Poland, Polish Jews and members of the Anti-Fascist Military Organisation () started an armed struggle against the German troops who were carrying out the planned liquidation of the ghetto with deportations to the Treblinka extermination camp. Ultimately the ghetto was liquidated, and the vast majority of its remaining 40,000 occupants including men, woman and children, were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, primarily at the Treblinka death camp. The city fell under the control of the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
on 27 July 1944. The Soviets carried out mass arrests of Polish resistance members in the city and region, and imprisoned them in Białystok. On 20 September 1944 the city was transferred back to Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the Fall of Communism in the 1980s, and the Soviet NKVD and SMERSH continued the persecution of the Polish resistance in the following months. From November 1944 to January 1945, the Russians deported nearly 5,000 Poles from the local prison to the Soviet Union. Later on, the Soviet-appointed communists held political prisoners and other members of the Anti-communist resistance in Poland (1944–1953), Polish resistance in the local prison, and until 1956, they also carried out burials of executed Polish resistance members there.


Post-war period

After the war, the city became capital of the initial Białystok Voivodeship (1945–1975), Białystok Voivodeship of the People's Republic of Poland. After the Administrative reform in Poland (1975), 1975 administrative reform, the city was the capital of the now smaller Białystok Voivodeship (1975–1998), Białystok Voivodeship. Since 1999 it has been the capital of the
Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
, Poland, Republic of Poland. From the European Regional Development Fund, contracted within the framework of the Integrated Regional Development Operational Programme (ZPORR), Białystok received approximately PLN 43 million for a project to improve the quality of the transport system. The implementation of Part I of the project allowed for the purchase of 43 new buses for public transport in 2005–2006, and new streets were built in Osiedle Bacieczki, Białystok, Bacieczki district. The Białystok Waterworks implemented a project to improve water quality. Cycle paths in Białystok were expanded and a path to Supraśl was built.


Geography

Białystok is situated in the Białystok Uplands () of the Podlaskie Plain (), part of what is known collectively as the ''Green Lungs of Poland''. It is situated by road northeast of
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
. It is the biggest Polish city close to
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
and Lithuania. The Biała River, a left tributary of the Supraśl (river), Supraśl River, passes through the city. The landscape of the Białystok Upland is diverse, with high moraine hills and kame in excess of Above mean sea level, above sea level. Vast areas of Outwash plain, outwash, a Glaciology, glacial plain formed of sediments deposited by meltwater at the terminus of a glacier, are covered by forests. The highest point of the city lies at a height of on the Pietrasze Forest. The lowest point lies at a height of on the river valley of the Biała (Supraśl), Biała. A characteristic element of the relief of the city area are clear depressions in the surface of the moraine plateau, which are used by the rivers Biała, Horodnianka, and Czaplinianka. Forests are an important part of the city character, they currently occupy approximately (18% of the administrative area of the city) which places it as the fifth most "wooded" city in Poland; behind Katowice (38%), Bydgoszcz (30%), Toruń (22.9%) and Gdańsk (17.6%). There are a total of 9 parks in the city (on municipal plots), of which 5 are historic parks with a total area of about 59.06 ha, entered into the municipal register of monuments, and 4 are city parks with an area of about 21.68 ha. Part of Knyszyn Forest is preserved within the city limits by two nature reserves—a total area of . The Zwierzyniecki Forest (Białystok), Zwierzyniecki Forest Nature Reserve, which is contained within the city limits, is a fragment, , of the riparian forest with a dominant assemblage of oak and hornbeam. The Antoniuk Nature Reserve () is a park in the city that preserves the natural state of a forest fragment characteristic of the Białystok Upland, with a dominant mixed forest of hazel and spruce. The of forests lying in the vicinity of the Dojlidy Ponds are administered by the Białystok Central Sports and Recreation Center ( – BOSiR). The Dojlidy Ponds recreation area includes a public beach, walking trails, birdwatching and fishing.


Climate

The city has a warm-summer humid continental climate#Dfb/Dwb/Dsb: Mild to Cool summer subtype, humid continental or hemiboreal climate (''Dfb'') according to the Köppen climate classification system under the isotherm for the average temperature of the coldest month, or an oceanic climate (''Cfb'') if the isotherm is used. The city would have been classified as being in the ''Dfb'' zone regardless of the accepted isotherm for climatological normals as recent as 1981–2010, but as a consequence of Climate change in Poland, climate change, the winters have warmed up so that the climate in the city may be classified as oceanic. Białystok is one of the coldest cities in Poland by annual temperature and one with the climate having the most continental characteristics, as is the case for much of north-eastern Poland, with the mean yearly temperature of and the length of the growing season amounting to 205 days, shorter than elsewhere in Poland. While winters are rather mild compared to other cities on the similar latitude, such as Samara, Barnaul, or Edmonton, they are colder than in Western Europe (in cities like Bremen and Dublin). Winters usually have little sunshine, with weather patterns changing from those influenced by the Low Pressure Systems, low-pressure systems generated by the Icelandic Low (when the weather is often cloudy, cool, damp, rainy and/or snowy) to the occasional intrusions of cold air masses from
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
or the Arctic (Siberian High), which, due to the city's northeasterly location, are more frequent than in other parts of Poland. Winters thus tend to be several degrees colder than elsewhere in Poland. Freezing conditions below are possible in winter but are rare. Snow cover is present on the ground for more than half of winter. Summers tend to be warm, sunny and pleasant and are occasionally hot, but they are still a little cooler than in most of Poland. More rain falls in summer months than in any other period of the year. The centre of Białystok, as most urban areas, experiences the urban heat island effect, therefore for most of the time, the city is warmer than the surrounding countryside. The temperatures in the city centre are, on average, higher than in the surrounding villages, with greater differences at night and during the warmer half of the year, particularly in spring.


Urban layout

Białystok is roughly circular, centered around the Kościuszko Market Square, Central market square and Branicki Palace. The decisive influence on the development of the city was exerted by natural and human factors - the course of roads, the Biała (Supraśl), Biała and its tributaries and the layout of railway lines. The choice of land for the construction of the factory was also determined by the price of the plot. The layout of the city, in accordance with the 18th century palace and park layout, emphasizing the magnificence of the residence, hindered the development of the city in width. Two railway lines: Białystok-Suwałki and Białystok-Słonim, separated its northern and eastern parts from the rest of the city: Dziesięciny, Wygoda, Zacisze, Pieczurki. Originally, the city's territory was about 50 hectares. In its early days Białystok was located at the intersection of two local roads and had two most important monuments: a church (with the current brick church from 1626) with an Kościuszko Market Square, accompanying market square and a Gothic castle owned by the noble Wiesiołowski family, the former owners of the town. The project which was aimed at rebuilding the layout of the city was initiated by Stefan Mikołaj Branicki at the end of the 17th and early 18th centuries. He established a new market () (part of the western side of Kościuszko Square, Białystok, Kosciuszki Square with the town hall, located on the western side of Sienkiewicza Street, Białystok, Sienkiewicza Street). The route leading towards Suraż was moved to a new location (today's Suraska Street) forming straight road section ending in the southern corner of the market square and creating a new viewing corridor. This design decision made it possible to erect new buildings so that the old part of the settlement and the History of the Jews in Białystok, Jewish quarter were no longer visible. The second viewing corridor was created by shifting the Lipowa Street, Białystok, existing route leading towards Choroszcz to the northern corner of the market square. The communication system serving the entire city was made of streets radiating out from the Kościuszko Square in Białystok, central market square. An inventory plan made by Becker in 1799 was needed by the Prussian authorities in connection with the negotiations on the acquisition of Białystok for a royal residence. The plan is of fundamental importance as it shows the development of the city in the first period of its creation. The area of the city did not exceed 1.5 km2, and the population was approx. 3.5 thousand. The entire urban area was closed with 6 loose-fitting gates and buildings situated on regular plots. Compact buildings were found only in the market square, the frontages of which were 1- 2-storey buildings with brick front elevations. Lipowa Street, Białystok, Choroska and Zamkowa Streets were built up with only brick houses. The city was dominated by the palace complex, which, together with the park, covered a substantial area. The residence palace was designed on a European scale and created new development opportunities for Białystok. Following the handover of the city from the Prussian Kingdom to the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
in the early 19th century, the city began growing in a very fast pace as a result of intensive industrialization, losing its original Baroque composition. After the First World War, the first attempts were made to organize the city, which had so far developed without plans - between the palace grounds and arable land. At the request of the Association of Polish Cities, in the years 1938-1939 a general urban concept of the city was created by Ignacy Tłoczek. The plan called for the creation of new communication routes, relieve the center, demolish the Chanajki district, create a housing estate and connect with it the unique green areas around the city with new tree plantings. The Second World War prevented the comprehensive implementation of this plan. In addition, in 1919 the city's territory was significantly expanded, incorporating the surrounding villages with plans of expanding the city. The center is dominated by buildings not exceeding 25 meters in height, and the outskirts of the city are mainly occupied by low-rise single-family houses. Taller buildings dominate in some residential districts such as the districts of Piasta Osiedle Piasta I, Białystok, I and Osiedle Piasta II, Białystok, II (located to the south of the city center), Dziesięciny Osiedle Dziesięciny I, Białystok, I and Osiedle Dziesięciny II, Białystok, II estates (located to the northwest of the city center) as well as Osiedle Wysoki Stoczek, Białystok, Wysoki Stoczek and Osiedle Słoneczny Stok, Białystok, Słoneczny Stok. Dominants in Białystok are located mainly in the center and they are also there located two most important city icons: the St. Roch's Church, Białystok, St. Roch's Church and the Białystok Cathedral, which are on one axis. Each of the districts also has its dominant, which is usually a church or an Orthodox church. The most important space in the city is Kościuszko Square in Białystok, Kościuszko Square - the main square in the shape of a triangle. The space is delimited by two axes, one is part of the axis connecting the two largest churches, and the other runs towards the west of the Center district along Suraska Street and ends at Młynowa Street. An important spatial arrangement in Białystok is the Branicki Palace complex. The Baroque layout of the palace complex is symmetrically shaped according to one compositional axis with a coherent garden layout. Throughout the years it expanded to include nearby villages: In the mid-eighteenth century Osiedle Bojary, Białystok, Bojary which was located on the right bank of the Biala River was incorporated to it. On 10 May 1919, in accordance with the decision of the Sejm, Białostoczek (Białystok), Bialostoczek, Horodniany, Zwierzyniec-Letnisko, Osiedle Starosielce, Białystok, Starosielce, Słoboda, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Słoboda (which was founded at the end of the 17th century, between the current Pogodna and Świerkowa Streets), Ogrodniki, Pieczurki, Osiedle Wysoki Stoczek, Białystok, Wysoki Stoczek were incorporated also, as well as two mill villages Marczuk and Osiedle Antoniuk, Białystok, Antoniuk. By the onset of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
the city's territory amounted to . The reconstruction of the city following the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and establishment of the People's Republic of Poland saw further expansion: the villages Osiedle Bacieczki, Białystok, Bacieczki, Bacieczki Kolonia, Korycin and part of the village Klepacze, Białystok County, Klepacze, Krupniki, Fasty, Zaścianki (Kurowszczyzna), Zaścianki and Zawady were incorporated into the city. The 70s saw another wave of expansion with the villages of Osiedle Bagnówka, Białystok, Bagnówka, area of Zakłady Silikatowe, areas of state forests, Dojlidy Ponds and the orthodox cemetery at Dojlidy. At the onset of the millennium, in 2002, the village Osiedle Zawady, Białystok, Zawady was included in the city's limits and at the last enlargement, in 2006, the villages Osiedle Dojlidy Górne, Białystok, Dojlidy Górne, Zagórki and Kolonia Halickie were incorporated and the city reached its current territory of .


Districts

The city of Białystok is divided into 29 administrative units, known in Polish language, Polish as ''osiedle, osiedla''. The first 27 of these were created on 25 October 2004. The 28th, Dojlidy Górne, was created by on 23 October 2006, out of three settlements which had been incorporated into the city: Osiedle Dojlidy Górne, Białystok, Dojlidy Górne, Kolonia Halickie, and Zagórki. A new district called Osiedle Bagnówka, Białystok, Bagnówka was created at the beginning of 2021. The center of the city, Osiedle Centrum, Białystok, Osiedle Centrum, surrounds Lipowa Street in Białystok, Lipowa Street, the main street of the city. Lipowa Street extends from Kościuszko Square in Białystok, Rynek Kościuszki (the corner of Spółdzielcza Street) to Plac Niepodległości im. Romana Dmowskiego (the corner of Krakowska Street). Over the centuries the name of this street has taken on a number of different names; Choroszcz, Choroska, Nowolipie, Lipowa, Józef Piłsudski, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, once again, to return, after the end of World War II, to its original name – Lipowa Street. The city covers of which is agricultural land, is urbanized areas, is surface waters and is wasteland. The composition of the districts vary from residential near the city center, with a combination of multi-story apartment buildings and individual houses on small parcels, to industrial and agricultural at the city edges.


Metropolitan Białystok

Metropolitan Białystok was designated by the Voivodeship of the Regulation No. 52/05 of 16 May 2005 to help develop the region economically. In 2006, the metropolitan area population was 450,254 inhabitants. The municipalities adjacent to Białystok are slowly losing their agricultural character, becoming residential suburban neighborhoods with single-family housing and small businesses.


Demographics

In June 2020, the population of the city was 296,958. Among the cities of Poland, Białystok is second in terms of population density, tenth in population, and thirteenth in area. Historically, Białystok has been a destination for internal and foreign immigration, especially from Central and
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
. In addition to the Polish people, Polish minority, there was formerly a Jewish majority in Białystok. The Jewish share in the population of Białystok grew from 22.4% (761) in 1765 to 66.6% (6,000) in 1808 and 76% (47,783) in 1895. According to the Russian Empire Census, Russian census of 1897, out of the total population of 66,000,
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
constituted 41,900 (around 63% percent). According to the German census of 1916, Jews comprised about 72% of the inhabitants (no less than 40,000). The demographic situation changed due to the influx of Polish repatriants, intelligentsia and civil servants, and the enlargement of the city after the
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. According to the 1931 census, the population of Białystok totalled 91,101: 45.5% (41,493) Roman Catholics, 43% (39,165) Jews (by religion), and 8.2% (7,502) Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox believers. In 1936, Białystok had a population of 99,722, of whom: 50.9% (50,758) were Poles, 42.6% (42,482) Jews, 2.1% (2,094) Germans and 0.4% (359) Russians; 46.6% (45,474) adhered to the Catholic religion, 43% (42,880) to Judaism, 8.2% (8,177) to Eastern Orthodoxy and 2.9% (2,892) to Evangelicalism.
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
changed all of this: in 1939, around 107,000 people lived in Białystok, but by 1946, the population had dropped to 56,759, with much less ethnic diversity than it had had previously, due primarily to the murder of its large Jewish population. Currently the city's population is 97% Polish, 2.5% Belarusian and 0.5% of a number of minorities including Russians, Lithuanians, and Ukrainians. Most of the modern-day population growth is based on internal migration within Poland and urbanization of surrounding areas.


Politics


City government

Białystok, like other major cities in Poland, is a City county (Poland), city county (). The Legislature, Legislative power in the city is vested in the unicameralism, unicameral Białystok City Council (), which has 28 members. Council members are elected directly every four years, one of whom is the mayor, or President (government title)#Sub-national, President of Białystok (). Like most legislative bodies, the City Council divides itself into committees which have the oversight of various functions of the city government. Bills passed by a Plurality (voting), simple majority are sent to the mayor, who may sign them into law. If the mayor vetoes a bill, the Council has 30 days to override the veto by a Supermajority, two-thirds majority vote. The current President of Białystok, elected for his first term in 2006, is Tadeusz Truskolaski won the elections as the Civic Platform's candidate, however, he has no official connection with the party. In the first round of the elections he received 49% of the votes (42,889 votes altogether). In the later runoff he defeated his rival candidate Marek Kozlowski from Law and Justice (), receiving 67% of the votes cast (53,018 votes). For the 2010–2011 fiscal year the city received revenue (taxes levied + investments) of 1,409,565,525 zł, expended 1,676,459,102 zł leaving a budget deficit of 266,893,577 zł. The deficit was covered by short-term borrowing of 166,893,577 zł and the issuance of 100 million zł in municipal bonds. Other levels of governmental representation
It is also the seat of government for the
Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
. The city is represented by several members of both houses of the Polish Parliament (Sejm and Senate of Poland, Senat) from the Białystok (parliamentary constituency), Białystok constituency. Białystok is represented by the Podlaskie and Warmian-Masurian (European Parliament constituency), Podlaskie and Warmian-Masurian constituency of the European Parliament.


International relations

There are thirteen consulates in Białystok, a Consulate General of
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
and Honorary Consulates of Romania, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta and Serbia. The City of Białystok is a member of several organizations such as Metropolis#Poland, Union of Polish Metropolises (), Euroregion Niemen, Polish Green Lungs Foundation, and Eurocities. Białystok is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with: * Bahir Dar, Ethiopia * Bochum, Germany * Bornova, Turkey * Chongzuo, China * Dijon, France * Dobrich, Bulgaria * Eindhoven, Netherlands * Jelgava, Latvia * Kaunas, Lithuania * Lusaka, Zambia * Mazara del Vallo, Italy * Milwaukee, United States * Saint-Louis, Senegal * Sliema, Malta * Urgench, Uzbekistan * Yehud, Israel, Yehud, Israel Former twin towns: * Irkutsk, Russia * Kaliningrad, Russia * Pskov, Russia * Tomsk, Russia On 3 March 2022, Białystok ended its partnership with the Russian cities of Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, Pskov and Tomsk, and also with the Belarusian city of Grodno as a reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Eastern Partnership cities: * Lutsk, Ukraine * Gori, Georgia, Gori, Georgia * Bălți, Moldova * Gyumri, Armenia * Sumgait, Azerbaijan Former partnership: *
Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
, Belarus The village of Belostok, Tomsk Oblast, Belostok () in Russia, founded by Polish settlers, is named after the city.


Military garrison

The construction of the Saint Petersburg–Warsaw Railway which passed through the city and was the strategic nerve of the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, resulted in the rising of the military importance of the city: In 1879, construction of the barracks of the Włodzimierski Infantry Regiment began (currently it is the area of the Voivodeship Hospital in Białystok, Voivodeship hospital between Wojskowa, Marie Curie, Skłodowskiej-Curie and Wołodyjowskiego Streets). In 1884, barracks of the Kazan Infantry Regiment were established at Traugutta Street in Osiedle Wygoda, Białystok, Wygoda. In 1887, barracks of the Mariampole Dragon Regiment were erected at 100 Bema Street. In 1890, the barracks of Kharkov Uhlans Regiment were built at Kawaleryjska Street. Throughout the interwar period and the existence of the
Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...
, the city enjoyed the presence of the 42nd Infantry Regiment (Poland), 42nd Infantry Regiment (barracks at Wygoda), 10th Lithuanian Uhlan Regiment (Kawaleryjska Street) and the 14th Horse Artillery Divizion (Poland), 14th Horse Artillery Divizion (Bema Street), the command of the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade and spare center (Skłodowskiej-Curie street, then Piwna), units of the Polish Armed Forces (Second Polish Republic), Armed Forces of the Second Polish Republic. During December 1993 an order of the Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces created the 18th Mechanized Brigade () at the garrison in Białystok. The unit was formed from the 3rd Mechanized Regiment () and was subordinated to the commander of the 1st Mechanised Division (Poland), 1st Warsaw Mechanised Division (). On 31 December 2001, as a result of the restructuring of the Armed Forces, the 18th Mechanized Brigade was disbanded and in its place was created the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion. 31 December 2001, as a result of the restructuring of the Armed Forces, 18th Mechanized Brigade () was disbanded and in its place created the 18th Territorial Defense Battalion ()., itself reorganized into the 18th Reconnaissance Regiment (Poland), 18th Reconnaissance Regiment () of the Polish Land Forces is based in Białystok. The Cavalry Brigade "Białystok" (BK "Białystok") of the Polish Armed Forces (Second Polish Republic), Polish Army of the Second Republic was formed in February 1929. On 1 April 1937, BK "Białystok" was renamed the Podlaska Cavalry Brigade (). Its headquarters was located in Białystok and operated as part of Independent Operational Group Narew. It was formed from the Cavalry Brigade "Białystok", which existed between February 1929, and 30 March 1937. After the Soviet invasion of Poland, remnants of the Brigade fought both Wehrmacht and
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
troops, capitulating on 6 October 1939.


Economy

In the nineteenth century, Białystok was an important center for light industry, which was the reason for the substantial growth of the city's population. The tradition continued with many garment factories established in the twentieth century, such as ''Fasty'' in the district of Bacieczki. However, after the fall of communism in 1989 many of these factories faced severe problems and subsequently closed down. The unemployment rate for November 2020 in Białystok was 6.8%. The 2009 average household had a monthly per capita income of 1018.77 zł and monthly per capita expenses of 823.56 zł The city has a number of nearby border crossings. The Belarus–Poland border, border with Belarus is only away, the nearest border crossings are located in; Bobrowniki, Białystok County, Bobrowniki (road crossing located about from the city limits), Kuźnica Białostocka (road and rail crossing located from the city limits), Siemianówka (railway – freight traffic), Połowce (road) and Czeremcha, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Czeremcha (railway). Since the border with Belarus is also the eastern border of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, as well as the
Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...
the city is a center for trade in mainly from the east. The leading industries in the city's economy are food processing (production of meat products, fruit and vegetable products, the production of Distilled beverage, spirits, the production of frozen food, grain processing), electrical engineering (production tools and equipment for machine tools, production of electric heaters, manufacture and production mixers household appliances). There is also a developed machine industry (electronics, machinery and metal), plastic processing (production of household appliances), textiles (textiles and upholstery, manufacture of underwear, clothing accessories, footwear and backpacks), Wood (production plywood and furniture) building materials. Some major employers who are based in Białystok include: * ''Dojlidy Brewery'' in the district of Dojlidy produces the second most popular beer in Poland, ''Żubr (beer), Żubr''. * ''Polmos Białystok'', the biggest vodka manufacturer in Poland, is located in the Districts of Białystok, city district of Starosielce. The company produces ''Absolwent'' and ''Żubrówka'' (bison grass vodka) – both major exports abroad. * ''Standard Motor Products Poland Ltd.'' headquartered in Białystok began manufacturing ignition coils for original equipment manufacturers 30 years ago. * ''"Supon" Białystok'' is the leading Polish producer of fire fighting equipment. * ''SavaPol, Sp.z o.o.'' is a manufacturer of stationary and mobile concrete mixing equipment based in Białystok. * ''Biazet S.A.'' is a large manufacture of household appliances, including vacuum cleaners, coffee makers, and LED lighting located in Białystok. * ''Agnella'', a major Polish producer of carpets and similar products is in Białystok, located in the district of Białostoczek (Białystok), Białostoczek. * ''Rosti Poland Sp. z o.o.'', has provided for more than 60 years precision injection molded products for some of the world's leading brands. * ''Biaglass Huta Szkla Białystok Sp. z o.o.'', established in 1929, produces mouth blown glass lampshades and related products. Biaglass belongs to elite group of Glass Works in Europe, where 100% of the lighting glass is mouth-blown. * ''Chłodnia Białystok S.A'' (Cold Store Białystok S.A.), established in 1952, is one of the largest Polish producers of frozen vegetables, fruits and ready-to-heat meals. * ''Podlaskie Zakłady Zbożowe S.A.'' was established on 1 July 2000 as a result of privatizing The Regional Establishment of Corn and Milling Industry 'PZZ' in Białystok. It is one of the leading firms in
Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
in the department of preservation and processing of grain with elevators in Białystok, Grajewo and Suwałki.


Innovations

In order to increase the attractiveness of the city of Białystok for investments based on modern technologies, the Białystok Science and Technology Park was opened in 2014, which is to initiate the development of infrastructure conducive to increasing innovation among local and regional enterprises. Amongst companies based in the Park are the Institute of Innovative Technologies EMAG, the Department of Prevention of Metabolic Diseases Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences, and a Biometric passport, biometric photographs company PhotoAid.


Public utilities

In 2015, the length of the active water supply network in Białystok was . Compared to 2010, this length increased by , and compared to the previous year by . At the end of 2015, there were 20,508 residential buildings in the city connected to the water supply system. In the years 2010 - 2015, this number was constantly increasing. For comparison, at the end of 2010, there were 18,654 residential buildings connected to the water supply network, 19,307 at the end of 2012, and 20,171 at the end of 2014.


Culture and tourism

Białystok is one of the largest cultural centers in the
Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
. The attractions include performing arts groups, art museums, historical museums, walking tours of architectural/cultural aspects and a wide variety of parks and green spaces. Białystok in 2010 was on the short-list, but ultimately lost the competition, to become a finalist for
European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...
in 2016.


Performing arts

The city has a number of performing arts facilities including: The Białystok Puppet Theatre (), established in 1953, is one of the oldest Polish puppet theaters. The facility is located at Kalinowskiego 1 in Białystok. The repertoire includes performances for both children and puppet adaptations of world literature for adults. Because of the high artistic level of productions, the theater has been recognized as one of the best puppetry arts centers in Poland. The Aleksandr Węgierki Drama Theatre in Białystok, Aleksandra Węgierki Drama Theatre, housed in a building designed by Jarosław Girina, was built in the years 1933–1938. The Podlaskie Opera and Philharmonic – European Art Centre in Białystok is the largest institute of arts in Northeastern Poland and the most modern cultural center in this region of Europe. In its amphitheatre every year at the end of June Halfway Festival takes place.


Museums

There are a number of museums in the city including: The Historical Museum in Białystok () is part of the Podlaskie Museum in Białystok, Podlaskie Museum. The facility has a rich collection of archival materials and iconography illustrating the history of Białystok and Podlasie, and a number of middle-class cultural relics, especially in the field of craft utility. There are also the Numismatic Cabinet of the collection of 16 000 coins, medals and securities. The museum is in possession of the only collections in the country memorabilia connected with the Tatar settlement in the Polish–Lithuanian–Belarusian region. The Army Museum in Białystok () was established in September 1968 as a branch of the Podlaskie Museum to house the research and collections of many people connected with the military history of north-eastern Poland. The Ludwik Zamenhof Centre () has a permanent exhibition, "Bialystok of Young L. L. Zamenhof, Ludwik Zamenhof", and various temporary exhibitions, concerts, film projections, and theatre performances. The Centre has a branch of Łukasz Górnicki's Podlaska Library dedicated to the Esperanto language. The Sybir Memorial Museum () is a historical museum opened in 2021 and dedicated to the memory of Poles, as well as people from other nationalities, the Sybirak, victims of forced deportations to
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
perpetrated by the
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
and the Soviet Union. The Alfons Karny Sculpture Museum contains a collection of sculptures by Białystok native Alfons Karny. The Medical University of Białystok operates the Museum of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy (). The Galeria Arsenał is a contemporary art gallery, located at a former 18th-century arsenal in the city center.


Parks and green spaces

Around 32% of the city is occupied by parks, squares and forest preserves which creates a unique and healthy climate. The green spaces include: Branicki Palace () is a historical edifice and park in Białystok. It was developed on the site of an earlier building in the first half of the eighteenth century by
Jan Klemens Branicki Count Jan Klemens Branicki (also known as Jan Kazimierz Branicki; 21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Cro ...
, wealthy Polish Hetmans of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Crown Hetman (highest military leader of Poland), into a house, residence suitable for a man whose ambition was to Royal elections in Poland, be elected king of Poland. The Branicki Palace, Białystok, palace complex with Garden à la française, gardens, Pavilion, pavillons, Garden sculpture, sculptures, outbuildings and other structures and the city with Church (building), churches, City and town halls, city hall and monastery, all built almost at the same time according to French models was the reason why the city was known in the eighteenth century as Palace of Versailles, Versailles of
Podlachia Podlachia, also known by its Polish name Podlasie (; ; ), is a historical region in north-eastern Poland. Its largest city is Białystok, whereas the historical capital is Drohiczyn. Similarly to several other historical regions of Poland, e.g ...
(). Planty Park (Białystok), Planty is a park created between 1930 and 1938, under the auspices of the then voivode Marian Zyndram-Kościałkowski in the areas adjacent to Branicki Palace. The modernist composition of the park was designed by Stanislav Gralla.


Architecture

The various historically driven changes have had a very significant influence on the architectural space of the city. Most other Polish cities have suffered similarly, but the processes in Białystok, have had a particularly intense course. Numerous historic works of architecture no longer exist, while many others have been rebuilt to their original configuration. Very few historic buildings of the city have been preserved – the sights are merely an echo of the old historical shape of Białystok. Main sights include: * Townhall, built in 18th century in Baroque style * Branicki Palace, built in 18th century in Baroque style * Other palaces: Branicki Guest Palace, Lubomirski Palace, Hasbach Palace, Nowik Palace * Orthodox Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Białystok, Orthodox Cathedral of St. Nicholas, built in 1843–1846 in Neoclassicist style * Białystok railway station, built in 1861 in Neoclassicist style * Białystok Cathedral, Catholic Cathedral, dating back to 16th century, rebuilt in 1900–1905 in Gothic Revival style * St. Adalbert Church, built in 1909–1912 in Romanesque Revial style, former Lutheran, today Roman-Catholic * St. Roch's Church, Białystok, St. Roch Church, built in 1927–46, Expressionism, Expressionist * Aleksandr Węgierki Drama Theatre, Białystok, Aleksandr Węgierki Drama Theatre, built in 1938, modernist * Socialist realist building of the University of Białystok (former regional headquarters of the Polish United Workers' Party) * :pl:Kościół Zmartwychwstania Pańskiego w Białymstoku, Church of the Resurrection, built in 1991–1996 in Neo-Baroque style as a copy of destroyed Basilian Church and Monastery in Berezwecz * Podlaska Opera and Orchestra, Opera and Philharmonic, built in 2006–2012, Postmodern style * Daughters of Charity Monastery * Former Arsenal * Former Masonic Lodge


Local cuisine

In additional to traditional nationwide Polish cuisine and regional Podlaskie cuisine, a local type of boza, a traditional fermented drink more common in the Balkans, Central Asia and the Caucasus, is produced in Białystok, and the Bialy (bread), bialy bread roll, popular in New York City, originated here, with both listed as traditional foods and beverages by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland.


Sports

The city has both professional and amateur sports teams, and a number of venues where they are based.
Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish professional football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the 42nd Infantry Regiment Reserve Battalion in Bi ...
is a Polish association football, football club, based in Białystok, in the Ekstraklasa (Poland's top division) that plays at the Białystok Municipal Stadium. Jagiellonia Białystok won the Polish Cup and 2010 Polish Super Cup, Super Cup in 2010, and the Polish Championship in 2023–24 Ekstraklasa, 2024. A new 22,500-seat stadium was completed at the beginning of 2015. There is also a futsal team Słoneczny Stok Jagiellonia Białystok, which plays in the Ekstraklasa (futsal), Futsal Ekstraklasa, Poland's top division (as of 2022–23). Podlasie Białystok is one of the top Sport of athletics, athletics clubs in Poland, multiple times Polish Team Champions, most recently in 2022. Lowlanders Białystok is an American football club, that plays in the Polish Football League (), and are three-times Polish Bowl champions. Other notable clubs include men's football team Hetman Białystok (with additional boxing and contract bridge sections), basketball club , and football club Włókniarz Białystok with both men's and women's sections, however, all of the aforementioned teams play in the lower leagues as of 2022–23.


Media

Białystok has a wide variety of media outlets serving the city and surrounding region. There are two locally published daily newspapers, Gazeta Współczesna (36.3% market share) and Kurier Poranny (modern), Kurier Poranny (20.3% market share). In addition two national papers have local bureaus. There are a number of national and locally produced television and radio channels available both over-the-air from the nearby RTCN Białystok (Krynice) Mast, the seventh highest structure in Poland, in addition to transmitter sites within the city. TVP Białystok is one of the locally produced, regional branches of the Telewizja Polska, TVP, Poland's public television broadcaster. There is also a cable television system available within the city. The city has two campus radio stations; ''Radiosupeł'' at the Medical University of Białystok and ''Radio Akadera'' at Białystok Technical University.


Religion

In the early 1900s, Białystok was reputed to have the largest concentration of Jews of all the cities in the world. In 1931, 40,000 Jews lived in the city, nearly half the city's inhabitants. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Białystok. Pope John Paul II on 5 June 1991, during a visit to Białystok, announced the establishment of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Białystok, Archdiocese of Białystok which ended the period of the temporary church administration of the portion of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vilnius, Archdiocese of Vilnius that had, after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, remained within the Polish borders. The city is also the seat of the Białystok-Gdańsk Diocese of the Autocephalous Polish Orthodox Church. Białystok is the largest concentration of Orthodox believers in Poland. In Białystok, the following Protestant churches exist: a Lutheran parish, two Pentecostal churches, Baptist church, a congregation of the Church of God in Christ and a Seventh Day Adventist church. Białystok is home to more than two thousand Muslims (mainly Lipka Tatars, Tatars). There is an Islamic Centre, a House of Prayer, and various organisations. There is a magazine issued – "" ("Memory and persistence"). The city is the site of the Divine Mercy Sanctuary (Białystok), Divine Mercy Sanctuary with the main relics of Michał Sopoćko. File:PL BI cathedral 2.jpg, Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary File:Adalbert of Prague church in Białystok.jpg, Saint Adalbert church File:Zmartwychwstania bialystok.jpg, Church of the Lord's Resurrection File:Podlaskie - Białystok - Białystok - Antoniuk Fabryczny 45 - Kościół Wszystkich Świętych - Front.JPG, All Saints' Church File:Białystok, ul. Lipowa, cerkiew p. w. św. Mikołaja, 1846 02.JPG, Orthodox Cathedral of St. Nicholas, Białystok, Orthodox Cathedral of St. Nicholas


Transport

The city is and has been for centuries, the main hub of transportation for the
Podlaskie Voivodeship Podlaskie Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The name of the voivodeship refers to the historical region of Podlachia (in Polish, ''Podlasie''), and significant part of its territory corresponds to th ...
and the entire northeastern section of Poland. It is a major city on the European Union roadways (Via Baltica) and railways (Rail Baltica) to the Baltic Republics and Finland. It is also a Belarus-Poland relations, main gateway of trade with Belarus due to its proximity to the border and its current and longstanding relationship with
Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
, Belarus. A traffic management system has been operating in Białystok since 2015. At 120 intersections, traffic lights are coordinated in such a way that cars and buses covered the route as quickly as possible. Special cameras record traffic, travel time. Drivers receive this information on 19 boards set among others at the intersections on Wasilkowska Street, Antoniuk-Fabryczny Street and Kleeberga Street.Patrycja Piórkowska. Komunikacja miejska jako element systemu transportowego miasta Białystok – wyniki badań, p. 110


Railways

Passenger trains connect from Suwałki,
Grodno Grodno, or Hrodna, is a city in western Belarus. It is one of the oldest cities in Belarus. The city is located on the Neman, Neman River, from Minsk, about from the Belarus–Poland border, border with Poland, and from the Belarus–Lithua ...
and Lithuania to
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
and the rest of the European passenger network. Passenger services are provided by two rail service providers, PKP Intercity that provides intercity passengers trains (express, intercity, eurocity, hotel and TLK) and Przewozy Regionalne, Polregio that operates only regional passenger trains financed by the voivodeship. Passenger trains are mostly run using electrical multiple units (on electrified lines) or rail buses.


Buses

There is an extensive bus network that covers the entire city by three bus services, but no tram or subway exists. The three bus operators (KPKM, KPK and KZK) are owned by the city and each shares approximately a third of the lines and the bus fleet.


Roads and highways

The National roads in Poland, National Roads () running through Białystok: * / : Budzisko (Lithuania–Poland border) – Białystok –
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
– Wrocław – Kudowa-Zdrój (Czech Republic–Poland border, Czech–Polish border) * : Rzeszów – Lublin – Bielsk Podlaski – Białystok – Kuźnica, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Kuźnica (Belarus–Poland border) * : Gołdap (Poland–Russia border)-Ełk-Białystok-Bobrowniki (Belarus–Poland border) The Highways in Poland, expressways () near Białystok: * / : Białystok –
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
– Wrocław * ''(projected)'': Rzeszów – Lublin – Bielsk Podlaski – Białystok – Kuźnica, Podlaskie Voivodeship, Kuźnica (Belarus–Polish border) The Voivodeship roads () running through Białystok:: * : Trasa Niepodległości (Narodowych Sił Zbrojnych Street, Niepodległości Avenue, Padarewskiego Avenue) * : Tysiąclecia Państwa Polskiego Avenue () * : Porosły - Białystok - Supraśl - Krynki * : Białystok - Wysokie Mazowieckie In powiat białostocki, Białystok Country () there are also Roads in Poland, Poviat roads () which connect Białystok with other towns in the area:


Bicycle

By 2020, there were already over of bicycle paths in Białystok. The municipal bicycle renting system is called BiKeR and was opened in 2014. The system was initially based on 30 stations equipped with 300 bikes. The city has four public bicycle repair stations, in which one can fix their private bikes. The stations are located in places where the highest traffic of city bikes was observed.


Airports

A civil airport, Białystok-Krywlany Airport, lies within the city limits, but does not provide regularly scheduled service. There were plans in 2011 to build a new regional airport, ''Białystok-Saniki Airport'', that would have provided flights within Europe.


Education

Higher education in the city can be traced back to the second half of the eighteenth century when the ownership of the city was inherited by
Field Crown Hetman Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a gras ...
Jan Klemens Branicki Count Jan Klemens Branicki (also known as Jan Kazimierz Branicki; 21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Cro ...
. As a patron of the arts and sciences, Branicki encouraged numerous artists and scientists to settle in Białystok to take advantage of Branicki's patronage. In 1745 Branicki established Poland's first military college, the School of Civil and Military Engineering, in the city. Since the fall of communism many privately funded institutions of higher educations have been founded and their number is still increasing. Currently Białystok is home to one principal public university (University of Białystok) and two other public specialist universities (Bialystok University of Technology and Medical University of Białystok). Some institutions, such as Musical Academy in Białystok, are branches of their parent institutions in other cities, usually in
Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
.


Notable residents

Over the centuries, a number of people from Białystok have been prominent in the fields of science, language, politics, religion, sports, finance, visual arts and performing arts. This environment was created in the mid-eighteenth century by the patronage of
Jan Klemens Branicki Count Jan Klemens Branicki (also known as Jan Kazimierz Branicki; 21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Cro ...
for the arts and sciences. These include Ryszard Kaczorowski, last Polish government-in-exile, émigré President of the Republic of Poland, L. L. Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, Albert Sabin, co-developer of the polio vaccine, Izabella Scorupco, actress, Max Weber (artist), Max Weber, painter. Tomasz Bagiński illustrator, animator and director Oscars, Oscar nominee in 2002 for ''The Cathedral (2002 film), The Cathedral''. Leo Melamed pioneered creation of the International Monetary Market and financial futures.


References


Notes


Further reading

* Łukasz Kaźmierczak
Trzy procent odmienności
(Three percent of different) – article describing results of Polish census 2002 and minorities in Poland, citing census data * Janusz Żarnowski, ''"Społeczeństwo Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej 1918–1939"'', Warszawa 1973 * Eugeniusz Mironowicz, ''"Białoruś"'', Trio, Warszawa, 1999, * Yvette Walczak, ''"Let Her Go!"'', Naomi Roth Publishing, London, 2012,


External links

*
Osiedla.Białystok.pl

VisitBiałystok.com
*
Official Site Białystok City Transport

Google Transit in Białystok
*
Białystok
at the B&F Compendium of Jewish Genealogy {{Authority control Białystok, Cities and towns in Podlaskie Voivodeship City counties of Poland Cities with powiat rights Holocaust locations in Poland Sites of Nazi war crimes during the Invasion of Poland