open access - Mazovia Regional Studies

Marshall Józef Piłsudski Square – a permanent feature in Warsaw’s urban space The years 1944 to 2024

Anna Wieczorek, Magnolia Gorzelak

DOI: 10.21858/msr.51.05

Vol. no: 51

There are many publications on Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square in Warsaw and the surrounding buildings covering the history of the capital, as well as the history of architecture and urban planning. There are also substantial cartographic and iconographic resources available in museums and archives. An analysis of the source materials indicates a significant dispersion of information. There is a lack of a compendium on the origins of the Square, changes in its appearance, and the associated design concepts. These issues are the subject of a series of articles under the common title Marshall Józef Piłsudski Square – a permanent feature in Warsaw’s urban space. This article, the fourth and final in the series, describes how the appearance of the Square has changed between 1944 and 2024, from the ruins of the Second World War to its current state.

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Modernization of the Japanese Garden in the Silesian Park in Chorzów – case study

Jakub Botwina, Beata Fortuna-Antoszkiewicz, Jan Łukaszkiewicz

DOI: 10.21858/msr.51.04

Vol. no: 51

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The area where the Culture and Recreation Park in Chorzów was established consisted primarily of degraded post-mining areas, spoil heaps, landfills, sinkholes and marshes. In 1950, due to the initiative of General Jerzy Ziętek, the governor of Silesia, it was decided to establish one of the largest urban parks in Europe on the border of Katowice, Chorzów and Siemianowice. The design was commissioned to Professor Władysław Niemirski of the Warsaw-Ursynów School of Landscape Architecture at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences. The implementation work began in 1951 and lasted for almost 20 years until 1968. The park’s programme was designed to offer a great variety of recreational and natural functions, making this project unique both in Poland and in Europe. Among the numerous attractions, several objects deserved special attention, such as the Amusement Park, the Silesian ZOO, the planetarium, an extensive water system and a forest zone. The modernity of the park can also be demonstrated in the diversity of its internal transport system with a wide walking promenade, numerous paths for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as a narrow-gauge railroad and a cable car, which provide access to the most distant parts of this nearly 600 ha area. Along the central axis of the park, a series of theme gardens were designed, and only some of these have been created. The most important of these, designed by Professor Edward Bartman, are the Rose Garden and Japanese Garden, which have beenonly partially completed. In the cooperation between the Department of Landscape Architecture, Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the Silesian Park, a comprehensive natural inventory and a series of pre-design analyses of the area were carried out between 2014–2016. The concept for the modernization of the Japanese Garden was developed in the next stage, followed by a construction project and a building permit. The work on the detailed documentation was completed in the autumn of 2016. The project was completed and commissioned in July 2021. In 2023, it won the internauts’ vote in the Public Space category of the Poland Architecture 2022 Poll. The paper presents the key results of the spatial analyses carried out, the programme, assumptions and methods, and selected design solutions related to the design and implementation of the Japanese Garden in the Culture and Recreation Park in Chorzów.

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Target transport system of the Kalisz agglomeration

Tadeusz Wójcicki

DOI: 10.21858/msr.51.03

Vol. no: 51

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A cursory comparison of the transport status of the Kalisz agglomeration with the similar-size agglomeration in Poland, e.g. Kielce agglomeration, leads to the conclusion that Kalisz and its surroundings, including the neighbouring city of Ostrów Wielkopolski, are relatively underinvested in transport. The symbol image of underinvestment is the complete lack of highways or expressways connecting Kalisz with other agglomerations and the lack of fast railway connections with the nearest agglomeration. In this regard, this article aims to examine what the target transport system of the Kalisz agglomeration should be. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to describe the current state of the agglomeration, develop a theoretical model of the transport system, diagnose the condition of the existing system, present the assumed development plans for this system, analyze and evaluate them, and finally specify the optimal target system for the agglomeration.

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The concept of the Radom agglomeration railway in the context of the latest infrastructure investments

Bartłomiej Drąg

DOI: 10.21858/msr.51.02

Vol. no: 51

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The article attempts to outline the author’s concept of a regional/suburban railway services for the Radom subregion NUTS 3, referred to in this article as the Radom agglomeration railway. The population potential of the Radom subregion was also presented. The important element is the description of completed and planned infrastructure investments that will enable better operation of regional/suburban railways. The article also includes a classification of the different categories of trains operating on the railway lines of the Radom subregion. These are determined by the range of connections and the desired frequency of connections on a given route. The concept is primarily based on the use of existing infrastructure. A proposal for its extension with certain elements is included in the subsection ‘Proposal for the addition of rail infrastructure’.

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The currency of the development strategies of municipalities of the Warsaw Functional Urban Area in the context of the reform integrating socio-economic and spatial planning

Dominika Jędrzejczak, Jan Cieplak, Aleksandra Kępińska, Patrycja Poniewierska, Aneta Zyskowska

DOI: 10.21858/msr.51.01

Vol. no: 51

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Local authorities have been facing significant pressure in recent years to review municipal development policies and update their strategies in response to emerging challenges and legal requirements. In 2020 and 2023 new legislation was enacted in Poland that initiated a reform aimed at integrating the strategic planning system and the spatial planning system, among others, at the local level. This paper presents the main changes in the legislation related to the municipal development strategy, and the subsequent challenges in spatial policy-making. In this context, the evaluation was made of the currency of the municipal development strategies of the Warsaw Functional Urban Area. The analysis demonstrates that the integration of socio-economic and spatial aspects of development policy at the local level is being implemented slowly, with the result that local authorities may not be adequately prepared for the legal environment that will exist from 2026 onwards.

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50th issue of the scientific journal “MAZOWSZE Studia Regionalne”

Aneta Bogiel

DOI: 10.21858/msr.se.2024.06

Vol. no: SE.2024

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The scientific journal “MAZOWSZE Studia Regionalne” (MAZOVIA Regional Studies – MSR) has been published since 2008 by the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw (MBPR), a unit of the Regional Government of Mazovia, making it the only scientific journal in Mazovia to be published by a local or regional government. 2024 is a special year for Mazovia, as it marks the 25th year of the regional government’s functioning.1 In 2024, the Regional Government of Mazovia can also be proud of one more anniversary – the printing of the 50th issue of MSR.

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25th anniversary of the Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw

Aneta Bogiel

DOI: 10.21858/msr.se.2024.05

Vol. no: SE.2024

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The Mazovian Office of Regional Planning in Warsaw (MBPR), established in 1999 by the Regional Assembly of the Mazovia Region, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Therefore, on January the 29th, a celebratory meeting took place in the Jan Kiepura Mazovian Musical Theater. The attendees included, apart from MBPR employees, representatives of the Regional Government of the Mazovia Region, the Ministry of Development Funds and Regional Policy, the Statistical Office in Warsaw, as well as scientists and artists.

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Popularising knowledge of Mazovian history through the activities of the Mazovian Museum in Płock

Tomasz Kordala

DOI: 10.21858/msr.se.2024.04

Vol. no: SE.2024

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This article elaborates the ways of popularising knowledge about the past of Mazovia by Museum in Płock since its establishment, as part of the Płock Scientific Society, in 1821. It had a strictly regional character. The collection consisted, on the one hand, of school teaching aids (minerals, physical and chemical equipment, globes, etc.), and on the other hand, of various exhibits donated by teachers, students, landowners, military personnel and priests, including numerous archaeological artefacts, coins, medals, natural history specimens, documents, etc. During scientific meetings, the latest archaeological and numismatic troves were reported, field inspections were organised, historical monuments were collected and placed in the museum. The institution was closed down shortly after the fall of the November Uprising. It was reactivated at the beginning of the 20th century. In December 1912, a permanent exhibition depicting the geological and historical past and the ethnography of Płock Mazovia was opened in the Gothic canonry at 8 Kanoniczny Square. In 1930, the premises were enlarged by the purchase of the House under Providence at 2 Kanoniczny Square, where the expositions of nature, geology, ethnography and archaeology were arranged. Until 1949, the facility, called the Mazovian Museum in Płock, was a part of the Płock Scientific Society. Afterwards, a new stage in its history began – a stage of independent development. The construction of a petrochemical plant in Płock in the 1960s contributed to the significant development of the facility. It obtained new premises in the renovated Castle of the Mazovian Dukes in Płock (Benedictine Abbey) on Tumskie Hill, which resulted in an increase in exhibition space and the number of specialised employees. In 1993, the Museum obtained the building of a historic granary on the Vistula embankment, where the collections of the Ethnography Department were located. In November 2004, the collections were moved from the Castle of the Mazovian Dukes to an art nouveau tenement house at 8 Tumska Street and a permanent Art Nouveau exhibition was arranged there. In the following years, the museum developed dynamically, in terms of its premises, its programme of activities, including the popularisation of historical knowledge. New museum pavilions and new permanent exhibitions were created.At present, the popularisation activity of the Mazovian Museum in Płock comprises a wide range of activities carried out by the Dissemination and Promotion Department and individual substantive departments. These include museum lessons, historical lectures, scientific sessions, workshops for children and people with disabilities, outdoor events, promotions of publications, concerts, competitions, educational films, periodicals (“Rocznik Muzeum Mazowieckiego w Płocku”, “Nasze Korzenie”, “Biuletyn Muzealny”), paratheatrical performances and many others.

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Legally protected natural areas in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship in the years 1999–2022

Elżbieta Jaglak, Grzegorz Derbin, Marcin Rojek

DOI: 10.21858/msr.se.2024.03

Vol. no: SE.2024

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The article discusses the changes in the scope of natural legally protected areas, that occured after the administrative reform in 1999. It indicates the tasks carried out by the Self-Government of the Mazowieckie Voivodeship in the field of regional policy and spatial management in accordance with the principle of sustainable development. The Mazowieckie Voivodeship – created under the territorial division reform – covered a system of protected areas that included the Kampinos National Park, 164 nature reserves, 9 landscape parks and 29 protected landscape areas. In nearly 25 years, 26 nature reserves and one protected landscape area were created. The boundaries of the existing forms of nature protection have also been modified. With Poland’s accession to the European Union, the most significant changes concerning legally protected areas have taken place. The implementation of EU law into Polish law resulted, inter alia, in the introduction of a new form of nature protection – Natura 2000 sites, complementing the existing system of legally protected areas. By March 2023, 80 areas of the Natura 2000 network had been designated and approved in the Mazowieckie Voivodeship. The article discusses how the position and competences of the regional self-government in the field of nature protection have evolved as a result of changes in the law. The voivodeship self-government took over competences in the field of landscape parks and protected landscape areas. As a result of the acquired rights, the Mazovian Voivodeship Sejmik, inter alia, established the Mazovian Landscape Parks complex and protection plans for landscape parks. The boundaries of the protected landscape areas have been specified. Spatial databases are also maintained in the field of protected areas.

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