Czerniaków

Czerniaków () is a neighbourhood, and a City Information System area, in Warsaw, Poland, within the Mokotów district. The area is part of its eastern half, known as the Lower Mokotów. It is a residential neighbourhood with high-rise apartment buildings. The neighbourhood features the St. Anthony of Padua Church dating to 1693, and the Warsaw Uprising Mound, an artificial hill and memorial, as well as the Czerniaków Lake, the largest still body of fresh water in the city.

Czerniaków was founded in the 13th century, as a small farming community. It was incorporated into Warsaw in the 1916, and in the 1920s, together with nearby Sadyba, it developed as a single-family residential neighbourhood, designed with principles of the garden city movement. In the 1970s, two high-rise multifamily houisng estates were constructed in Czerniaków.

History

A small flint axe dating to around 500 BCE, was discovered near Idzikowskiego Street in the area of the modern Czerniaków.Dzieje Mokotowa. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1972. (in Polish)

In the 13th century, the villages of Czerniaków and Czernów, originally known as Czerniakowo and Czarnowo respectively, were founded in the area. Some historians propose that both villages, together with nearby Sielce, originally constituted a single settlement. Later, the village of Siekierki was also founded nearby in the 16th century. Czerniaków was originally part of a Roman Catholic parish of Solec, and since the 13th century, it probably belonged to the parish of Jazdów.Barbara Petrozolin-Skowrońska (editor): Encyklopedia Warszawy, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994. ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish)

In the 15th century, Czerniaków became the property of Hincza Cedlic, a chamberlain of Warsaw in service of duke Janusz I. His family adopted the surname Czerniakowski, and in 1502, his descedant, Hincza Czerniakowski, sold the village to Mikołaj Milanowski. In 1528 the farmlands belonging to Czerniaków had an area of six Chełmno voloks, corresponding to 107.73 ha. In the second half of the 16th century, the village had a watermill and was inhabited by petty nobility, while nearby Czerniaków Lake was used for fishing.

In the 17th century, Czerniaków was acquired by Andrzej Górski, the voivode of Mazovia. After his death in 1626, the village was inherited by his descendants, and later by the King of Poland. In 1683, it became the property of Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski, the Grand Crown Marshal. He financed there construction of a hospital in the village, as well as the Roman Catholic St. Anthony of Padua Church, together with a monastery of Bernardines, opened in 1693. The monastery was closed in 1864, and reactivated in 1945.

From 31 July to 19 August 1732, the exercises and exhibition of the military of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth were held at the field of Czerniaków.Łukasz Przybylak: "'Niezbędne i użyteczne' – rezydencja polowa Augusta Mocnego z 1732 roku na szczycie Króliczej Góry w Warszawie", Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbanistyki, no. 17/1 (2022), p. 15. (in Polish)

On 13 January 1867, Czerniaków became part of the rural municipality of Mokotów, established as part of the administrative reform in the Kingdom of Poland.Maria Nietyksza, Witold Pruss: Zmiany w układzie przestrzennym Warszawy. In Irena Pietrza-Pawłowska (editor): Wielkomiejski rozwój Warszawy do 1918 r.. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Książka i Wiedza. 1973. p. 43. (in Polish)Wojciech Trzebiński, Adam Borkiewicz: Podziały administracyjne Królestwa Polskiego w okresie 1815-1918 r.: Zarys historyczny. Dokumentacja Geograficzna 1956, vol. 4. Warsaw, 1956. (in Polish) In 1909, it was transferred to the municipality of Wilanów.Maria Nietyksza, Witold Pruss: Zmiany w układzie przestrzennym Warszawy. In: Irena Pietrza-Pawłowska (editor): Wielkomiejski rozwój Warszawy do 1918 r.. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Książka i Wiedza. 1973. p. 43. (in Polish)"Kronika. Zmiana gminy", Wiadomości Codzienne, no. 76, p. 3, 3 April 1909. Warsaw. (in Polish) The municipality was incorporated into the city of Warsaw on 8 April 1916.

In 1865, the Czerniaków Harbour was opened on an oxbow lake of Vistula river, and until 1965, it housed a shipyard.Irena Pietrzak-Pawłowska (editor): Wielkomiejski rozwój Warszawy do 1918 r. Warsaw: Książka i Wiedza, 1973, p. 122. (in Polish)Barbara Petrozolin-Skowrońska (editor): Encyklopedia Warszawy, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994, p. 671. ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish) In 1886, the River Pumps Station, a water-pumping facility of new municipal waterworks systems operated nearby. It pumped water from the river which was transported to the Lindley Filters.Stefan Kieniewicz: Warszawa w latach 1795–1914. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1976, p. 220. (in Polish) In 1928, the Czerniaków Waste Pond was formed nearby being used for the disposal of water pollutants.

In 1887, the Fort IX, also known as the Fort Czerniaków, was built to the south of the village. It was constructed by the Russian Imperial Army, as part of the Warsaw Fortress, a series of fortifications surrounding the city. It was decommissioned and partially deconstructed in 1913.Lech Królikowski: Twierdza Warszawa. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Bellona, 2002, pp. 237–238, ISBN 83-11-09356-3. (in Polish) Currently it is located within the City Information System area of Sadyba.

On 16 May 1891, a line of the narrow-gauge railroad operated by the Wilanów Railway was opened crossing Czerniaków. It included a station next to the St. Anthony of Padua Church. It connected Downtown, with Czerniaków, and was later expanded to Wilanów, and eventually, Piaseczno.Michał Jerczyński: "Jeszcze o kolei Wilanowskiej", Świat Kolei, no. 4/1998, p. 2. Łódź: EMI-Press. ISSN 1234-5962. (in Polish) Originally, it operated the horse-drawn cars, which were replaced with steam-powered locomotives in 1896. The line was closed down in 1957.

In 1907, the Czerniaków Cemetery was founded at 44 and 46 Powsińska Street, belonging to the Roman Catholic denomination.Karol Mórawski: Warszawskie cmentarze. Przewodnik historyczny. Warsaw: PTTK Kraj, 1991, pp. 59–61. ISBN 83-7005-333-5. (in Polish) Currently, it is located within the City Information System area of Sadyba.

In the early 1920s, a neighbourhood of villas, designed following the principles of the garden city movement, was developed next to the Czerniaków Lake and alongside Gorczewska Street. Its buildings were inspired by the Polish manor houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. Later another neighbourhood, named Sadyba, was developed around the Fort IX.

In 1922, the tram tracks were built alongside Czerniakowska Street, with the line ending at the Bernardine Square in Czerniaków.Warszawskie tramwaje elektryczne 1908−1998. Tom II. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Łączności, 1998, pp. 15–16. ISBN 83-907574-00. (in Polish) In 1974, the street became part of Vistula Way, a thoroughfare crossing the city on the north–south axis.Jarosław Zieliński: Atlas dawnej architektury ulic i placów Warszawy. Tom 2 Canaletta–Długosza. Biblioteka Towarzystwa Opieki nad Zabytkami, 1995, s. 149. ISBN 83-9066291-4. (in Polish)Krystyna Krzyżakowa: "Warszawskie osiągnięcia", [in:] Kalendarz Warszawski '88. Warsaw: Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, 1987, p. 147. ISBN 83-03-01684-9. (in Polish) To facilitate the change, the tram tracks were removed from the road in 1973.Warszawskie tramwaje elektryczne 1908−1998. Tom II. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Komunikacji i Łączności, 1998, p. 51. ISBN 83-907574-00. (in Polish)

In the 1930s, artificial water canals were built to irrigate farmlands in Czerniaków and Siekierki by diverting the water to the Vistula river.Zbigniew Sujkowski: "Wodociągi i kanalizacja m. st. Warszawy: 1886–1936", Włodzimierz Rabczewski (editor): Wydawnictwo Wodociągów i Kanalizacji m.st. Warszawy. Warsaw: Warsaw City Hall, 1937, pp. 22–25, 144. (in Polish) Prior to 1939, Czerniaków was an impoverished parts. At the time, the neighbourhood, together with Powiśle was referred locally as the "Lowland" (), due to its lower elevation when compared to the Downtown.Bronisław Wieczorkiewicz: "Folklor Mokotowa", Dzieje Mokotowa, Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1972, pp. 148–149. (in Polish)

In 1945, the Warsaw Uprising Mound began being formed next to Bartycka Street. It was an artificial hill made from the rubble of buildings from across the city, which were destroyed during the Second World War.Jerzy Kasprzycki."'"Ostoja 4' albo 'Ostoin', PS. Pogotowie informacyjne dawnej Warszawy", Życie Warszawy, no. 295/1992, 12–13 December 1995, p. 32. (in Polish)Grzegorz Piątek: Najlepsze miasto świata. Warszawa w odbudowie 1944−1949. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo WAB, 2020, p. 108. ISBN 978-83-280-3725-0. (in Polish) It continued to be used as a landfill until the 1960s. In 2004, it was cleaned up, and turned into a scenic viewpoint. A sculpture was placed on its top, depicting the Anchor, the symbol of the Polish Underground State during the Second World War, meant to commemorate the Warsaw Uprising. An urban park, named the Operation Tempest Park, was developed in the area around the mound.

In 1956, the Czerniaków Hospital was opened at 19 and 25 Stępińska Street. Currently, it is located within the City Information System area of Sielce.

Between 1970 and 1980, two housing estates of high-rise apartment buildings were developed in Czerniaków. They were Bernardyńska around Gołkowska Street, and Czerniakowska Wschodnia around Czerniakowska Street.Barbara Petrozolin-Skowrońska (editor): Encyklopedia Warszawy, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994, p. 56, ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish)Barbara Petrozolin-Skowrońska (editor): Encyklopedia Warszawy, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994, p. 123, ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish)

On 4 October 1996, the Mokotów district was subdivided into twelve City Information System areas, with Czerniaków becoming one of them.Uchwała Nr 389/XXXVI/96 Rady Gminy Warszawa-Centrum w sprawie Miejskiego Systemu Informacyjnego w Gminie Warszawa-Centrum, In: Express Wieczorny, no. 268, 18 November 1996. Warsaw. (in Polish) Parts of the historical neighbourhood became part of Sadyba instead. In 1997, a small portion of Czerniaków, between Czerniakowska Street, Idzikowskiego Street, and Witosa Avenue, also became part of the then-established administrative neighbourhood of Sadyba.

In 2002, Józef Bem Avenue was opened in Czerniaków, forming a part of Siekieri Route, a thoroughfare connecting the west and east banks of the Vistula river."Pisaliśmy w 'Stołecznej'. Most Siekierkowski otwarty", Gazeta Stołeczna, p. 5, 21 September 2018. (in Polish)

In 2019, the Memorial to the Soldiers of the Peasant Battalions and the People's Union of Women was unveiled at the corner of Czerniakowska Street and Polski Walczącej Avenue. It was designed by Agnieszka Świerzowicz-Maślaniec and Marek Maślaniec, and dedicated to the soldiers of the Peasant Battalions and the People's Union of Women, resistance organisations active in Poland during the Second World War.

Characteristics

Czerniaków is a residential area with high-rise multifamily housing. It includes two housing estates of apartment buildings, which are Bernardyńska around Gołkowska Street, and Czerniakowska Wschodnia around Czerniakowska Street.