::Our City::

OUR CITY

The Podlaskie Province
Bialystok
Science and Education
Culture
Leisure time, sport and recreation

THE PODLASKIE PROVINCE

Podlaskie Province is voivodeship, situated in the north-east part of Poland. Its area is 20,180 sq km and is inhabited by 1,224,000 people. Population of this region constitutes 3,2% of a total number of the Poles. The voivodeship borders on three others: Mazowieckie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie and Lubelskie, and from the east on Belarus and Lithuania.

Podlaskie is divided into 14 administrative poviats, including 36 towns and 3,950 villages. The capital of the voivodeship and the largest city is Bialystok (283,000 inhabitants).

The Narew - the main river of Podlaskie Province is swelled out by one bigger tributary - the Biebrza. There are lots of wonderful lakes in the northern part of the our province. Natural environment retained much of its natural state. The evidence of it is the largest in Europe complex of swamps and primeval forests, which has not been yet transformed by a man activity. 4 National Parks, 4 landscape parks and Augustowska primeval forest are of a special historic, recreation and ecological value. From the midst of all natural advantages, the most important feature is localisation of the entire voivodeship within the functional area of "Green Lungs of Poland".

Podlaskie Province is a multi- cultural and multi-national region. With regard to ethnic problem, it is probably the most differentiated region. There are Belorussians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Tartars and Gypsies here. It has also many cultural monuments, places of historical and folk tradition. Landscape and nature values of Podlasie (Podlaskie Voivodeship) as well as its monuments create great possibilities of tourism and recreation development, especially in the countryside.

BIALYSTOK

Bialystok, the capital of Podlaskie Province, is one of the few big European cities placed on the border of Western and Eastern European cultures. It is barely 188 km from Bialystok to Warsaw and 54 km to the border with Belarus. 9 road and railway tracks cross here as Bialystok is on the way of the international railway route Berlin - Warsaw - St. Petersburg - Moscow. Its location in the neighborhood of Belarus, Lithuania and Russia, as well as the convenient transportation links, create excellent conditions for the development of economical and cultural contacts with countries of Eastern and Southern Europe

Basic data of Bialystok:

population - 286 365 people
area - 94 km2
budget per one inhabitant - 1453 PLN
average salary - 1961 PLN
number of cars per 1000 inhabitants - 193
stationary telephone users per 1000 inhabitants - 364
universities and colleges - 15
students - 42 500

SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

Bialystok is the most prominent academic and scientific center of north-eastern Poland. The 15 Bialystok institutions of higher education offer services to 38 thousand Polish students and 300 foreign students (data from 1999).

The oldest public education institutions of considerable achievements are: Akademia Medyczna (Medical University) and Politechnika Bialostocka (Bialystok Polytechnic). There is also the local University of Bialystok, created from the former Bialystok Branch of the University of Warsaw. Higher education is also represented by The Department of Puppetry of the Aleksander Zelwerowicz Warsaw Theatre Academy and the Bialystok Branch of the Fryderyk Chopin Warsaw Music Academy.

The city's universities create the base for Bialystok's economy.

All the educational institutions of Bialystok altogether employ about 10 thousand people, which is 7.5% of all the employed in the city.

CULTURE

For centuries Bialystok has been a place of different religions and nationalities, creating the specific character of the city, its openness, friendliness and hospitality. It was the multicultural nature of Bialystok that was the main reason why Ludwik Zamenhof created the Esperanto language.

There are numerous cultural institutions and organisations in Bialystok. Every year, the State Philharmonic in Bialystok hosts many outstanding musicians from Poland and abroad. Festivals such as: "Dni Sztuki Współczesnej" ("The Days of Modern Art."), "Jesień z bluesem" ("Autumn with the Blues"), "Katedralne Koncerty Organowe" ("Cathedral Organ Concerts") and "Letnie divertimento" ("Summer Divertimento") are important events in the life of the city. The Bialystok Puppet Theatre and the Aleksander Węgierko Drama Theatre produce interesting theatre performances. The stage of the latter has hosted many well-known actors. Professional art is exhibited by the "Arsenal" Gallery where, apart from contemporary art, there are also presentations of performances and the so called art projects. "Marszand" is another one of Bialystok's galleries. It has evolved in a different direction that the "Arsenal" as it concentrates on presenting the works of regional artists. The art and archives of the famous Sledziński family is presented a Gallery of their name. The institution was founded in 1992.

LEISURE TIME, SPORT AND RECREATION

Bialystok is the capital of the north-eastern region of Poland called "The Green Lungs of Poland". The city's location in the unspoilt and attractive region, as well as its rich infrastructure, makes it an appealing place to live, relax and develop tourism.

Bialystok has several hundred relics of architecture, about 150 of which have been enlisted in the official register. The most important buildings are: Branickis Palace, Equerry's House from 1771r, historical town palaces of factory-owners, the City Hall and sacral buildings, such as the cathedral complex of The Holy Virgin Mary, or the 19th century Orthodox Church of St. Nicholas The Wonderworker.

The city has become the base from which visitors set off to other parts of the wide area of The Green Lungs of Poland - to the forests of Bialowieska Wilderness, to the swamps of the Biebrza River, to the charming old towns and villages and other sites of the Podlasie region.

Several dozen kilometres from Bialystok one can find many wonderful plant complexes, unique in Europe. The most popular of them are:

Bialowieski Park Narodowy (Bialowieski National Park) - it is the oldest Polish National Park, located in Bialowieska Wilderness, which is the habitat of the European bison.
Narwianski Park Narodowy (Narwianski National Park) - a refuge of the unique in Europe species of water-uliginose fowls.
Biebrzanski Park Narodowy (Biebrzanski National Park) - the biggest complex of peat bogs in Eastern Europe; it is also the biggest National Park in Poland.
Wigierski Park Narodowy (Wigierski National Park) - a lake complex which has maintained its ecological zones
Park Krajobrazowy Puszczy Knyszynskiej (Landscape Park of Puszcza Knyszynska) - a charming complex of forests, a remnant of the forests which used to spread on the border of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Bialystok is also a city of sports. There are several sport pitches and a stadium, as well as an airport where the Bialystok Balloon Club and The Aircraft Society of Bialystok regularly organise aircraft competitions. There are also competitions of aircraft models organised. Fitness clubs and gyms are to be found in each town district. Three horse-riding clubs situated in the city provide horse-riding opportunities. In the summer, The Water Sports Centre welcomes everybody to take up swimming, canoeing, water bicycling and sailing. Several swimming pools create conditions for swimming the whole year round. Bicycle roads in the city allow for safe cycling. Tennis courts, which spring up in the city and which are available for everyone, are the reason why tennis is becoming an increasingly popular sport among the locals. Winter sports fans can take advantage of the ice rink open in the winter, or of the cross-country skiing areas in the Solnicki Forest, Pietrasze District and the nearby towns of Suprasl and Ogrodniczki.