Piątek, Łódź Voivodeship

Piątek [ˈpjɔntɛk] is a town in Łęczyca County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Piątek. It lies approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Łęczyca and 32 km (20 mi) north of the regional capital Łódź.

Piątek
Town
Parish church of The Holy Trinity, 15th century.
Piątek
Coordinates: 52°4′9″N 19°28′50″E
Country Poland
VoivodeshipŁódź
CountyŁęczyca
GminaPiątek
Population
2,130

The town has a population of 2,130. It is claimed to lie at the "geometrical centre" of Poland, although it is not the true geographical centre – it is the centre determined as the intersection of the great circle diagonals of a rectangle formed by lines of latitude and longitude passing through the four extreme points of Poland.

World War II history

During the German Invasion of Poland in 1939, Wehrmacht soldiers on 13 September mass murdered 50 people of which 43 were Poles and 7 Jews. The victims were murdered without any reason given. After Germans entered the town males were forcibly taken out of homes and ordered to repair a damaged bridge. After the work was completed the German soldiers shot all of them. Another massacre took place later in which 50 Jews were executed.[1]

Points of interest

Sculpture in Piątek marking the "geometrical centre" of Poland.

References

  1. Szymon Datner, "55 dni Wehrmachtu w Polsce", pp. 373-375. Warszawa, Wydawn. Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1967. OCLC 12624404


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