Legionowo County

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Legionowo County (Polish: powiat) is located to the north of Warszawa (Warsaw) in central Poland. It was created in 1999 as result of Local Government Reorganization Act. It is part of the Masovian Voivodship.

Legionowo is part of the greater Warsaw area and it counts ca 60 thsd inhabitants. With its 'bedroom of Warsaw' nickname, the city has a large commuter population who take the 30 to 60 min one way to commute to work in Warsaw. The road connection tends to jam in the rush hour and is awaiting a major overhaul by 2007. The train connection takes about 30 mins to downtown Warsaw (connection to subway at Warszawa Gdańska station) and is slated to be reinforced as part of the planned Warsaw Rapid Train (Warszawska Szybka Kolej Miejska) system by 2010. The Rapid system will cut the wait time and elevate the user experience with its standard air-conditioning and modern cars. Both the road and the train connection pass through the national reserve forest which separates Legionowo from Warsaw and is a favorite weekend walk and biking destination for many Legionovians. 5 minutes drive further away from Warsaw is the Zegrzynski Lake (Zalew Zegrzynski). Ever since it was created as a side effect of a river dam in 1970, its sizeable waterfront served Warsaw, Legionowo and other local communities as a weekend and sommer vacation break-away. Watersports, horseriding, biking, dining and other leisures have been developing along with the local communities' wealth ever since the 1989 overturn of communism.

Another communist memory nearby is Jablonna, halfway through the drive from Legionowo to Warsaw. The village housed the largest population of private production and greenhouse businesses back in the communist times, making the village the absolute richest in all of Poland at that time and continuing to this day in the form of a thriving business community.

Legionowo has made its name Poland-wide for its Police Academy (Centrum Szkolenia Policji). It is likely the academy's influence that the crime rate is among the lowest in and around Warsaw. At that, the police there are also known to be very active pulling over cars and checking up on larger late-night street gatherings at random.

The city has a neat downtown area with increasing number of office premises and a lively shopping atmosphere. The city has its old part made up of detached houses and a larger, newer part with communist era high rises (bloki aka wielka plyta). The estate prices have started their rise in the recent years as the affluent Warsawians are increasingly on the seek-out for a calm refuge housing.

The local economy enjoys the benefit of neighboring with Warsaw and is therefore relatively free of unemployment and poverty.

Adjoining counties (from the north, clockwise): Pułtusk County, Wyszków County, Wołomin County, Warszawa County, Warszawa Zachód County, Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki County.

[edit] Administrative parts

Legionowo County consists of five boroughs (Polish: gmina)

Legionowo city borough (Polish: gmina miejska) with 49,800 inhabitants (end of 2003)
Serock city-village borough (Polish: gmina miejsko-wiejska) with 10,500 inhabitants (end of 2003)
Jabłonna village borough (Polish: gmina wiejska) with 11,300 inhabitants (end of 2003)
Nieporęt village borough (Polish: gmina wiejska) with 11,300 inhabitants (end of 2003)
Wieliszew village borough (Polish: gmina wiejska)