Rzeszów

Rzeszów () is a city in south-eastern Poland with a population of 164 000 (2005), granted a town charter in 1354, the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodship (since 1999), previously of Rzeszow Voivodship (1945-1998). In 2004, Rzeszów hosted the Central European Olympiad in Informatics (CEOI).

Location

Rzeszow is located on both sides of the Wislok river. It is located in the heartland of the Sandomierska valley. Rzeszow is also the capital of the Subcarpathian Voivodship, and site of the Rzeszów County.

History

Rzeszów was founded in 1354 by king Casimir III of Poland. For a long time it was just a domain of the noble family of Lubomirski, one of the most important in Poland. Besides having a famous annual market, Rzeszow remained only another city on the trade route to Hungary. In 1658 Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski established the Piarist school, the second secondary school in Poland. During the XIX century Rzeszów began to lose significance in favour of Przemysl.

Development of Rzeszów started when in 1937 military industry was located in the city: Państwowe Zakłady Lotnicze, producing aircraft engines, and a cannon factory by Hipolit Cegielski.

In 1944 Rzeszów became the capital of voivodship and the most important city in southeastern Poland. Many factories were built in the next 30 years. Nowadays, Rzeszów is continuously growing in population, new villages join the city and a lot of work is done to modernise it.

Education

Rzeszów is the largest academic centre in south-eastern Poland. Several high schools and universities can be found there:

University of Rzeszów (established in 2001)
Rzeszów University of Technology (formed from The Higher Engineering School in 1974) website
University of Information Technology and Management (established in 1996) website
- Branches in Dębica, Krosno and Nisko
Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania
Wyższa Szkoła Administracji i Zarządzania in Przemyśl, branch in Rzeszów (established in 1995) website

Transport

Transit

Rzeszów is located on international route number 4, connecting Germany and Ukraine. Traffic is therefore high, but as the city has a ring road through its southern disticts, transit does not have to pass through the city centre.

Airport

Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport (Port Lotniczy Rzeszów-Jasionka) is located in the village of Jasionka north of the city. Scheduled passenger services include flights to: Warsaw (WAW) and London (Stansted).

Buses

Rzeszów is a gateway to Bieszczady mountains, many buses heading for Sanok.

Railway

Rzeszów is a step on the main railway from Silesia to the Polish eastern border and further on to Ukraine. Its big railway station was established in the XIX. century. There is also a unique, non-electrified railway to Jaslo.

Culture

Theaters

Theatre of Wanda Siemaszkowa (est. 1944)
Theatre Maska

Museums

Etnographic Museum
Museum of the City of Rzeszów
Diocesan Museum

Economy

Industry

Valeant Rzeszow (formerly Polfa Rzeszów) - pharmacy
Pratt & Whitney - plane engines
Zelmer - household equipment
Asseco Poland SA (earlier Comp Rzeszów S.A) - computer software
Novartis Rzeszow - food for children
Sanofi Synthelabo

Tourist attractions

palace of Lubomirski family from XVIII cent.
main square
town hall, established in 1591
synagogues: "Small" (XVII cent.), "Big" (XVIII cent., restored 1954-63)

Sports

Stal Rzeszów - men's football team (Polish Cup winner 1975)
Resovia Rzeszów - men's volleyball team playing in Polish Volleyball League (Polska Liga Siatkówki, PLS: Seria B in 2003/2004, Seria A in 2004/2005 season).

Media

Radio

Radio Rzeszów
Radio Eska Rzeszów
Akademickie Radio Centrum
Katolickie Radio Via
Radio RES

Press

Dzień Rzeszowa
Gazeta Codzienna NOWINY
Super Nowości

Television

Polish Television (TVP) branch in Rzeszow
Rzeszow's cable television
Local television Vectra (old DAMI)
Municipal television Rzeszow

Sister Cities

Buffalo, New York, United States
Košice, Slovakia

External links

Cities in Poland | Urban counties of Poland | Galicia (Central Europe)

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