Okęcie () is a neighbourhood, and a City Information System area, in Warsaw, Poland, within the Włochy district. Its northern and western portions feature residential areas with apartment buildings, including the housing estates of Jadwisin, Okęcie Lotnisko, and Wieża. The majority of the area of the neighbourhood is dedicated to the Warsaw Chopin Airport, an international airport and central hub for LOT Polish Airlines. In 2024, it was the busiest airport in Poland and the 28th busiest airport in Europe, with 21.3 million passengers in 2024, handling approximately 40% of the country's total air passenger traffic. The area around the airport features factories and warehouses partially dedicated to the aviation industry, as well as the Institute of Aviation, a state research institution.
Okęcie was founded in the 14th century, when it was separated from the southeastern part of Raków. By 1409, the village of Zbarż was also recorded in the area. The later received the Kulm law rights in 1451. In 1883, two military fortifications, known as Fort VI "Okęcie" and Fort VII "Zbarż" were constructed in the area by the Imperial Russian Army, and used until 1913. In 1934, the Warsaw Chopin Airport was opened in the area, becoming the largest airport in the country, and the hub of the LOT Polish Airlines. Numerous factories also developed around the airport. In 1939, Okęcie became the seat of the municipality named after it. During the Second World War, while Warsaw remained under the German occupation, the airport was used for cargo transportation, and as a base for the German Air Force. The area was incorporated into Warsaw in 1951. Between 1958 and 1972, two housing estates, known as Jadwisin and Okęcie Lotnisko, were constructed in the neighbourhood, for a total of around 12,800 residents. The airport was expanded and modernised between the 1960s and 1980s.
Toponomy The name Okęcie comes from Old Polish term "w zakąciu", meaning in the corner, as the settlement was founded as an extension of the village of Raków, in its southeast corner. Originally, the name was recorded as Zakącie and Okącie, and later also as Okencie.
History
In 1232, the village of Raków was first recorded in the area, when it was given to knight Gotard of Służew, by Duke Konrad I of Masovia, the ruler of the Duchy of Masovia. In the 14th century, the village of Okęcie was separated from the southeastern part of Raków, being first attested in records in 1421.Robert Gawkowsk: "Skąd się wzięła nazwa 'Okęcie'", [in:] Okęcie – czyli lotnicze tradycje w dzielnicy Włochy. Warsaw: Włochy Town Hall, 2016, p. 6. (in Polish) It was placed on the Sadurka stream, which flowed through that area until sometime between the 1920s and 1930s, when its course was altered and directed through underground canals, with Służewiec Stream currently being its only remainder. They were owned by the Rakowiecki family, which descended from Gotard of Służew, and was part of the Radwan clan. In the 16th century, the branch owning Okęcie adopted the name Okęcki.Robert Gawkowski: Moja Dzielnica Włochy, historia Włoch i Okęcia. Warsaw: Włochy Town Hall, 2010, pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-83-928365-1-3. (in Polish) Two more villages, Zbarż and Gorzkiewki, were recorded to the southeast of Okęcie, in 1409 and 1422, respectively. They were owned by the Zbarski family.Adam Wolff, Kazimierz Pacuski: Słownik historyczno-geograficzny ziemi warszawskiej w średniowieczu. Warsaw: Instytut Historii PAN, 2013. (in Polish) In 1447, Raków was granted the Kulm law rights by Duke Bolesław IV of Warsaw, the ruler of the Duchy of Masovia, with Gorzkiewki and Zbarż also receiving them in 1451. In 1528, the farmlands of Raków and Okęcie measured 6 and 2 lans, which corresponded to around 108 and 36 hectares, respectively. The same year, Gorzkiewki and Zbarż were acquired by the Babicki family. In 1652, Okęcie was bought by Paweł Petrykowski, the parson of Drohiczyn and archdeacon of Pułtusk. Following which, the hamlet of Paluch was founded between Okęcie and Gorzkiewki. The same century, Raków was acquired by magnate and politician Stanisław Warszycki, while Gorzkiewki and Zbarż, became property of Jakub Hieronim Rozdrażewski, the voivode of Inowrocław Voivodeship. The area changed hands over the next centuries, including being owned by Lubomirski, and Plater families, among others. In the 18th century, Paluch was acquired by Arnold Anastazy Byszewski, the lieutenant general of the Crown Army, and the aide-de-camp of King Stanisław August Poniatowski. In the 19th century, Okęcie and Raków were incorporated into the Łabęcki family's landed estate, with new buildings being constructed alongside modern Komitetu Obrony Robotników Street. In 1827, Raków had 185 inhabitants, making it the second largest settlement in the area, after Solipse. Gorzkiewki and Okęcie had 82 and 81 residents, respectively.Robert Gawkowski: Moja Dzielnica Włochy, historia Włoch i Okęcia. Warsaw: Włochy Town Hall, 2010, pp. 22–25. ISBN 978-83-928365-1-3. (in Polish) In 1856, a palace residence was built in Okęcie, for the Bagniewski family, and was demolished in the next century. Following the abolition of serfdom in 1864, Okęcie, Raków, and Paluch were incorporated into the municipality of Skorosze, while Gorzkiewki and Zbarż, into 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, p. 43. 1973. (in Polish) Between 1883 and 1888, Forts VI "Okęcie" and VII "Zbarż" were constructed by the Imperial Russian Army near Raków and Okęcie, as part of the city fortifications, known as the Warsaw Fortress.Lech Królikowski: Twierdza Warszawa. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Bellona, 2002, ISBN 83-11-09356-3. (in Polish) As such, the government heavily restricted construction in their vicinity, hindering the development of the nearby villages. Around that time, Kraków Road (now forming Krakowska Avenue) was built next to the village, connecting Warsaw and Kraków. At the beginning of the 20th century, Raków had 21 households. The village was eventually surpassed in size by the rapidly developing Okęcie, and was subsequently incorporated into it in the late 1920s.Robert Gawkowski: Moja Dzielnica Włochy, historia Włoch i Okęcia. Warsaw: Włochy Town Hall, 2010, pp. 89–92. ISBN 978-83-928365-1-3. (in Polish)Robert Gawkowski: Moja Dzielnica Włochy, historia Włoch i Okęcia. Warsaw: Włochy Town Hall, 2010, p. 29. ISBN 978-83-928365-1-3. (in Polish) The military fortifications were retired and partially demolished in 1913. In 1929, the Okęcie Warsaw association football club was founded in Okęcie, with the homefield located at 1 Radarowa Street since 1963.Marian Marek Drozdowski: Warszawa II Rzeczypospolitej, część 2. Warsaw: Instytut Historii Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 1970, p. 300. (in Polish) Between the 1920s and 1930s, the course of the Sadurka stream, which flowed through Okęcie, was artificially altered to bypass the area.Weseła Wojnarowicz, Paweł Gnieszawa-Słodkowski: Dzielnica Włochy. Parki, zieleńce, zabytki.... Warsaw: Włochy Municipal Office. 2012. pp. 18–19. 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).
In 1923, tram tracks were constructed alongside Kraków Road, connecting Okęcie with Warsaw. In 1925, the government acquired 285 ha of land from Okęcie, Paluch, and Gorzkiewki, for the development of the Warsaw Chopin Airport, known until 2001 as the Warsaw Okęcie Airport, and another 200 ha for the nearby infrastructure.Jerzy Gromski: "Ochota w latach 1916–1939", [in:] Dzieje Ochoty. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1973, p. 128. (in Polish)Zdzisław Suwiński: Krajowa Baza Operacyjna nr 1 z Okęcia we wrześniu 1939 roku. Oświęcim: Wydawnictwo NapoleonV, 2016, p. 23. ISBN 978-83-65652-72-0. (in Polish)Robert Gawkowski: "Okęcka historia", [in:] Ochotnik, no. 72/2011, pp. 8–11, Warsaw: Ośrodek Kultury Ochota. (in Polish) Its construction began in 1933, and it was opened on 29 April 1934, becoming the largest airport in Poland.Dominik Sipiński, Paweł Cybulak, Paweł Placha: Lotniska w Polsce. Łódź: Dom Wydawniczy Księży Młyn, p. 153. ISBN 978-83-7729-241-9. (in Polish)Krzysztof Komorowski (editor): Warszawa walczy 1939–1945. Leksykon. Warsaw: Fundacja Polska Walczy i Wydawnictwo Bellona, 2015, p. 552. ISBN 978-83-1113474-4. (in Polish) It included two dirt intersecting runways, measuring 1,470 and 1,270 m (4,822.84 and 4,166.67 ft). It was originally only planned as a military airbase. However, upon its opening, it also replaced Mokotów Aerodrome as a passenger and cargo airport. It also became the central hub for the LOT Polish Airlines, and the home base of the 1st Aviation Regiment of the Polish Armed Forces.Ryszard Mączewski: Warszawa między wojnami. Łódź: Księży Młyn, 2009, p. 63. ISBN 978-83-61253-51-8. (in Polish)Grzegorz Mika: Od wielkich idei do wielkiej płyty. Burzliwe dzieje warszawskiej architektury. Warsaw: Agencja Wydawniczo-Reklamowa Skarpa Warszawska, 2017, p. 186. ISBN 978-83-63842-67-3. (in Polish) Around the airport were also developed factories catering to the aviation industry were also developed, such as Doświadczalne Warsztaty Lotnicze (Experimental Aeronautical Workshops) and Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze (State Aviation Works), and research institutions, such as the Institute of Aviation. Additionally, in 1932, a weather station was also opened next to the airport.Bernard Budzyński: "Zarys historii instrumentalnych obserwacji pogody w Warszawie", [in:] Kronika Warszawy, no. 2 (154), p. 42, 2016. (in Polish) In 1934, Żwirki i Wigury Street was opened, providing a direct connection between the airport and the Downtown Warsaw.Jan Bystroń: Warszawa. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1977, p. 311. (in Polish)Barbara Petrozolin-Skowrońska (editor): Encyklopedia Warszawy. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994, p. 1035. ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish) In 1935, a 20-metre-tall steel column, topped with a sculpture of three eagles, was unveiled at the airport. It was dedicated to Józef Piłsudski, a 20th-century statesman who served as the Chief of State from 1918 to 1922, and the Marshal of Poland from 1920 to 1935. The monument was destroyed in 1944.Kurier Warszawski , no. 77/1935 (morning edition), Warsaw, 19 March 1935, p. 5. (in Polish) The same year, the Warszawa Okęcie railway station was opened near the airport. It formed a connection with the Warszawa Aleje Jerozolimskie station near Jerusalem Avenue, predominantly used by cargo trains. The line passed through Okęcie, including stations Wyczółki and Lotnisko, and was closed down in 1966, except its terminal stations. Additionally, between 1937 and 1939, a railway line operated between stations in Wyczółki and Paluch, with a stop at the factories of Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze. On 1 April 1939, Okęcie became the seat of a new municipality, named after it, which encompassed the surrounding area.