Służewiec () is a neighbourhood, and a City Information System area, in Warsaw, Poland, within the Mokotów district. It is a mixed high-rise area with residential and office buildings, with a population estimated at around 31,000 in 2025. Together with the nearby neighbourhood of Ksawerów, its portion forms a financial district, colloquially referred to as Mordor. It includes the headquarters of numerous domestic companies, and branches of many multinational corporations. The neighbourhood also features the Warszawa Służewiec railway station. The area is part of the western half of the city district, known as Upper Mokotów.
The oldest known records of Służewiec, then a village, date to 1378. It was incorporated into the city of Warsaw in 1938, and was destroyed in 1944, during the Second World War. The neighbourhood was re-developed as a major industrial district in the 1950s, known as Służewiec Przemysłowy (Industrial Służewiec), and in the 1990s, it transformed into the largest financial district in Poland, and remained as such until 2019. Afterwards, the rented office spaces in the area began to decline, as it converted into a residential district.
Toponomy The name Służewiec comes from the nearby neighbourhood, and historically a village, of Służew, known until the 16th century as Służewo. It originates from the archaic Polish word służ, an equivalent to modern służyć, which means to serve. It came from the fact that historically the area was inhabited by serfs, peasants who served the local noble families. Służewiec itself was part of the agricultural estate centred around Służew.
History Village and suburb
Służewiec was settled alongside the Sadurka stream.Weseła Wojnarowicz, Paweł Gnieszawa-Słodkowski: Dzielnica Włochy. Parki, zieleńce, zabytki.... Warsaw: Włochy Municipal Office. 2012. p. 18. ISBN 978-83-928365-4-4. (in Polish)Monika Oksiuta: Przemiany sieci hydrograficznej i zagospodarowania terenu na obszarze miejskim (zlewnia Potoku Służewieckiego, Warszawa). In: Prace Geograficzne, issue 120, 2008. Kraków: Institute of Geography and Spatial Management of Jagiellonian University. ISSN 1644-3586. (in Polish). Its oldest known records in documentation come from 1378, when, it was listed as one of 17 villages of the agricultural estate of Służew. At the time, it was a small farming community attached to the nearby village of Służew, with a farmland area of 9 voloks (1.616 km2), making it the largest on the list.Józef Kazimierski, Ryszard Kołodziejczyk, Żanna Kormanowa, Halina Rostowska: Dzieje Mokotowa. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1972. (in Polish) In 1411, Służewiec was granted the Kulm law privileges by duke Janusz I the Old, ruler of the Duchy of Warsaw. By 1580, it was inhabited by the petty nobility.Adolf Pawiński: Polska XVI wieku pod względem geograficzno-statystycznym. vol. 5: Mazowsze, Warsaw, 1895, p. 259. (in Polish) In 1678, Służewiec and Służewo were bought by Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski becoming part of his landed property.
On 13 January 1867, Służewiec became part of the rural municipality of Wilanów, 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 1886, the Fort VIIA "Służewiec" was built near the village, as part of the series of fortifications of the Warsaw Fortress, constructed around the city by the Imperial Russian Army. The objective of the fort had been the protection of the nearby road leading to the town of Puławy, now forming Puławska Street. It was decided to be decommissioned in 1909 and partially demolished in 1913.Lech Królikowski: Twierdza Warszawa, Warsaw, 2002. (in Polish) Currently, the building is located within the City Information System area of Służew.
In 1903, the Służewiec narrow-gauge railway station, operated by the Grójec Commuter Railway, was opened, as part of the line between stations of Warszawa Mokotów and Nowe Miasto nad Pilicą. It operated until 31 July 1971, and was located to the south-east of Służewiec, near the current intersection of Puławska, and Dolina Służewiecka Streets, within the modern boundaries of North Ursynów.
Between the 1920s and 1930s, the course of the Sadurka stream, which flowed through Służewiec, was artificially altered to bypass the area.
On 27 September 1938, Służew and Służewiec were incorporated into the city of Warsaw, becoming part of the Mokotów district.Rozporządzenie Rady Ministrów z dnia 22 września 1938 r. o przyłączeniu części gmin wiejskich Wilanów i Bródno w powiecie i województwie warszawskim do powiatów południowo-warszawskiego i prasko-warszawskiego w m. st. Warszawie. In: 1938 Journal of Laws. Warsaw. 1938. (in Polish)Marian Marek Drozdowski: Warszawiacy i ich miasto w latach Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej. Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna, 1973, p. 17. (in Polish)
Between 1925 and 1939, the Służewiec Racecourse was built at 266 Puławska Street, located to the southeast of the village. Upon its opening, it became the largest and most modern horse racing venue in Europe, with its main circuit measuring 2,300 m.Encyklopedia Warszawy. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994, p. 614. ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish)D. Błaszczyk, Juliusz Żórawski: Przerwane dzieło modernizmu. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Salix Alba, 2010, p. 104, ISBN 978-83-930937-0-0. (in Polish) It began hosting the Great Warsaw Race, the most prestigious horse race in Poland. In 1938, the municipal tram network was extended towards the Służewiec Racecourse with tracks built alongside Puławska Street, ending with a turning loop at the current intersection of Dolina Służewiecka and Rzymowskiego Streets. The race track is currently located within the boundaries of North Ursynów.
On 8 September 1939, the area was captured by the German Army, during the siege of Warsaw in the Second World War. On 12 September, a group of soldiers from the 360th Infantry Regiment of the Polish Armed Forces, led by lieutenant colonel Jakub Chmura, together with two tank companies, attacked German positions in the nearby Okęcie. As part of the offensive, a portion of the soldiers, commanded by Czesław Chamerski, and supported by half of a tank battalion, captured the Służewiec Racecourse with light German resistance. From there, it headed towards the Fort VI "Okęcie", being pushed back by heavy fire from fortified German soldiers, eventually retreating at 11:00 am. The Polish side suffered around 80 dead and wounded soldiers, which was around of its 45% forces.Józef Kazimierz Wroniszewski: Ochota 1939–1945. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo MON, 1976, p. 113–124. (in Polish)Dariusz Kaliński: Twierdza Warszawa. Pierwsza wielka bitwa miejska II wojny światowej. Kraków: Znak Horyzont, 2022, p. 308–318. ISBN 978-83-240-8785-3. (in Polish)Ludwik Głowacki: Obrona Warszawy i Modlina na tle kampanii wrześniowej 1939. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1985, p. 156. ISBN 83-11-07109-8. (in Polish) While under the occupation, the race track served as an airstrip for the fighter aircraft of the German Air Force. In July 1944, between 600 and 800 German soldiers were stationed there.Lesław M. Bartelski: Mokotów 1944. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1986, p. 198–199. ISBN 83-11-07078-4. (in Polish) On 1 August 1944, on the first day of the Warsaw Uprising, Polish resistance participants from the Karpaty Battalion of the Baszta Regiment, carried out an unsuccessful attack on the airstrip, suffering heavy casualties.Lesław M. Bartelski: Mokotów 1944. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1986, p. 206–207. ISBN 83-11-07078-4. (in Polish)Adam Borkiewicz: Powstanie warszawskie. Zarys działań natury wojskowej. Warsaw: Instytut wydawniczy PAX, 1969, p. 71. (in Polish) Later that day, in retaliation, the German forces organised an execution at the racecourse, killing captured partisans and a group of civilians, rounded up in the nearby Służew. Służewiec was completely destroyed in 1944 by the German officers, as part of the planned destruction of Warsaw. The only surviving historical structure is a small Roman Catholic shrine located at the Bokserska Street.
Industrial district
In 1951, the area of Służewiec, Zbarż, and Wyczółki, was designated to become the Industrial and Storage District of Służewiec (Polish: Dzielnica Przemysłowo-Składowa „Służewiec”), later known as Służewiec Przemysłowy (Industrial Służewiec).Bronisław Ryś: Budowa i rozwój Służewca Przemysłowego. In: Kronika Warszawy. 3 (7). p. 45. (in Polish)Józef Kazimierski, Ryszard Kołodziejczyk, Żanna Kormanowa, Halina Rostowska: Dzieje Mokotowa. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1972, p. 269. (in Polish) It was envisioned to feature 60 factories and industrial plants. The construction begun in 1952, and utilized the large panel system technique, marking it as one of the first instances of its usage in Poland. The designated area covered around 2.6 km2 (1 sq mi).Kronika wydarzeń w Warszawie 1945−1958. Warszawskie Kalendarz Ilustrowany 1959, p. 67, 1958. Wydawnictwo Tygodnika Ilustrowanego "Stolica" (in Polish) In the early 1970s, around 20,000 people were employed in the industrial district.
In 1951, the Institute of Organisation and Mechanisation of Construction was founded. It was renamed in 1973 to the Institute of Construction Mechanisation, and again in 1986, to the Institute of Mechanised Construction and Rock Mining, becoming a research facility for the mechanisation of construction, and development of machinery for construction, road, building materials industry and rock mining. It had its headquarters at 6 and 8 Racjonalizacji Street. It operated until 2023, when it merged with the Institute of Precision Mechanics to form the Warsaw Institute of Technology, with its headquarters in the Żoliborz district.
In 1953, the Mokotów trams depot was opened at 27 Woronicza Street "Kronika wydarzeń w Warszawie 1945−1958", Warszawskie Kalendarz Ilustrowany 1959. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Tygodnika Ilustrowanego Stolica, 1958, p. 74. (in Polish) In 1959, the Woronicza bus depot was also opened on the other side of the road, at 29 Woronicza Street.Bronisław Ryś: "Budowa i rozwój Służewca Przemysłowego", Kronika Warszawy, no. 3 (7), p. 53, 1971, Warsaw. (in Polish) In 1961, the neighbourhood was connected to the tram network, with tracks built alongside Wołoska and Marynarska Streets, and ending with a turning loop near Suwak Street.Arkadiusz Kołoś: Rozwój przestrzenny a współczesne funkcjonowanie miejskiego transportu szynowego w Polsce. Warsaw: Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, p. 66. ISBN 9788388424212. (in Polish) In 1962, the Warszawa Służewiec railway station, was opened at Logarytmiczna Street.