Ursus, Warsaw

Ursus is a district (dzielnica) of Warsaw, one of the 18 such units into which the city is divided. Between 1952 and 1977 it a was separate city, a legacy of which are Ursus' poor road connections with the Warsaw city centre. Until 1954 it was known as Czechowice.

History

On the area that is today Ursus, there were three villages in 14th century: Czechowice, Skorosze and Szamoty (later called Gołąbki).

20th century industrialisation contributed to developing these villages. Then Skorosze became seat of municipality, and in the beginnings of 1920s on the Szamoty's area Zakłady Mechaniczne "Ursus" (English: Ursus Industrial Plants) were built. Czechowice became a housing estate due to factory's vicinity. In the 1939, before World War II, there was 7 000 inhabitants. Skorosze has school, police station and train station on its area.

In 1952 Czechowice, Skorosze and Szamoty were combined into one city, called Czechowice, which in 1954 changed its name to Ursus (there has been Czechowice-Dziedzice city already, located in southern Poland).

From June 25 to June 30, 1976, the city of Ursus witnessed strikes after the communists raised food prices. Many people got injured and arrested. It was the signal that started Komitet Obrony Robotników (KOR), a movement which was successful in uniting the workers and intellectuals against the communist government, which eventually led to the birth of the Solidarity movement.

On August 1, 1977, Ursus joined to Warsaw as part of Ochota district. It was some kind of punishment after strikes in June 1976. Ursus lost its independence as a separate city.

Since January 1, 1993 Ursus has been a separate district.

The present

Ursus is one of the smallest Warsaw districts. It also has the lowest crime rate.