Otwock, like a fairy tale city

It is 25 kilometers from Otwock to the center of Warsaw. This city of 42,000 is the capital of its administrative district, which consists of two other cities and 135 small towns.
The city is located on the Świder River, among the pine forests of the Mazowiecki Landscape Park, which occupies more than 40% of its area. These forests create a unique micro-climate with excellent therapeutic and rehabilitative properties.
The cradle of modern Otwock was... the ‘Otwock’ train depot for the Vistula Rail Line and 18 villas that were built around it in 1877-1880. The Vistula Rail Line was opened in August of 1877. It connected Mława, which was then a cross-border town, to Warsaw, and led further to do Lublin and Chełm. It had 522 kilometers of wide gauge rails.
One of the first settlers who appreciated the beauty of the area was a famous illustrator and graphic artist named Michał Elwiro Andriolli. In 1880, on the bank of the Świder, he built a manor/studio, utility buildings, and the first wooden villas for summer visitors, taking his inspiration from the architecture of resorts in the Alps and Schwartzwald, as well as Russian datchas. The unique, richly ornamented wooden buildings was later referred to jokingly as ‘Świdermajer’ by the poet K. I. Gałczyński. By the turn of the 20th century, Otwock already had 600 wooden villas built in this special style, where around 2,000 people spent their recreational time in the summer. Currently, the most interesting examples of this type of building can be seen in the Świder district, especially on Kołłątaja Street and Mickiewicza Street.
The Otwock train depot, which is elegant and tasteful, was a place for people to meet and a center of entertainment. The railroad platform served as a covered walkway where people could take a stroll regardless of the weather. The wooden single-storey building held exchange offices, a telegraph, a ticket window, a waiting room, and a buffet. The excellent buffet served delicious meals and a full range of alcoholic and carbonated drinks. A wide, wooden veranda was built on the railroad platform for travelers, and it sometimes turned into a dance floor, where people danced unti l the wee hours of the morning. In 1910, Otwock was graced by a new, brick train depot building, which was built according to a design by the architect Jan Fijałkowski.
The popularity and development of Otwock were encouraged by something else besides its recreational attributes, good location and good transportation. It also has a unique climate, which helps in treating lung disease. The first person to recognize it was Jozef Marian Geisler - a doctor from Karczew who created the first lowland sanatorium for respiratory illnesses (1893). That is how Otwock came to have two fathers - the father of recreational Otwock was Andriolli, and the father of the Otwock as a spa was Geisler.
In 1915, Otwock gained the status of a climate station; on the 9th of November, 1916 it received its city charter; in 1923, it was given the status of a city-spa. Before World War II, there were years when there were two times more summer holidaymakers and sanatorium patients (around 40,000) than local residents (who numbered around 20,000). One of the most famous of them was the laureate of the Nobel Prize in literature, Władysław Reymont, who wrote part of his epic ‘Chłopi’ (The Peasants) at a villa in Otwock which belonged to his father-in-law. Irena Sendlerowa, who saved two and a half thousand children from the Warsaw ghetto, spent a happy childhood here. Her father, Dr. Stanisław Krzyżanowski, ran a sanatorium at 21 Kościuszki Street.
Muzeum Ziemi Otwockiej (Local Museum in Otwock) is located in the Soplicowo district. Here, it is possible to see old pictures of how the city used to look. It also has a notable collection of Judaica. Before the war, a large number of the permanent residents and holidaymakers in the city were Jews.
Presently, the city is developing very rapidly, which is attested to by the fact that in 2008 it became one of the best local governments in Poland (14th place) in obtaining European Union funds.
Because of its location and interesting historical sites, it is an excellent place for tourists - whether on foot, bicycling or kayaking, and for recreation. The forests in Otwock are also an excellent place for ‘mushroom walks,’ and in the wintertime, they are great for cross-country skiing. In addition, the city is vibrant with plenty of cultural and sports events in the spring and summer seasons.
We invite you!

Urzad Miasta Otwocka
ul. Armii Krajowej 5
05-400 Otwock
tel. (022) 779 20 01,
fax (022) 779 42 25
umotwock@otwock.pl 
www.otwock.pl