Sep 4, 2020 | History, Society The neighbouring Polish and Czech border towns of Cieszyn and Český Těšín which sit on opposite sides of the Olza river and were previously a single city are teaming up to symbolically reconstruct an old tram route that ran between them 100 years ago The plans are part of a wider revitalisation project to make the border towns more attractive and accessible to tourists which traversed the Friendship Bridge across the Olza with information boards erected at the location of former tram stops A replica of a tram car will placed by the river visible from both the Polish and Czech towns A regular passenger tram service ran through the town from 1911 when it was a single entity and part of the Austro-Hungarian empire after Cieszyn/Těšín divided into separate Polish and Czech towns following World War One choć częstotliwość aktualizacji z różnych przyczyn ostatnio spadła A teraz specjalnie dla Państwa tramwaj na Moście Głównym Opublikowany przez Tramwaje w Cieszynie/Těšínské tramvaje Piątek, 17 lipca 2020 There had been plans to restore the tram line itself But these were ruled out two years ago on account of their expense and technical difficulty “Construction activities will form the basis for the implementation of an innovative the aim of which will be to increase tourist traffic in Cieszyn and Český Těšín by commemorating the history of the former Cieszyn tram whose route used to connect both parts of our city,” said Cieszyn mayor Gabriela Staszkiewicz the historical tram line was also resurrected in a virtual exhibition another joint venture between the two border towns The project consisted of a series of bilingual display cases with archival photographs on both sides of the border as well as a projection of the tram on a building in Cieszyn The upcoming development plans will also include revitalisation of the area around the tram line in order to help the town “regain its splendour” Around 24 million zloty (€5.4 million) will be spent on the project in total as well as support from a Polish national programme for the reconstruction of local roads A co-financing agreement is also being drawn up to determine how much will be covered by EU funding The planned revitalisation of Cieszyn (© Palmett) The town has in the past been a source of conflict between the Poles and Czechs the newly emerged states of Poland and Czechoslovakia both laid claim to the town seeking its rich surroundings of coal and rail connections The two fought a brief war over the region in 1919 came up with a compromise – which was initially disputed by Czechoslovak powers – decreeing that the town should be split with the smaller western suburbs becoming Český Těšín the entire town became part of Poland following the annexation of Zaolzie leaving Cieszyn in Poland and Český Těšín in Czechoslovakia Official cooperation between the towns only began after 1990 when Poland and the Czech Republic joined the Schengen area border checks between the two sides towns were abolished Earlier this year, a group of Polish soldiers accidentally crossed a separate section of the border and briefly occupied a chapel on Czech side The Polish defence ministry blamed the situation on a “misunderstanding” Polish soldiers occupy chapel on Czech side of border in “misunderstanding” both towns bear the hallmarks of their dual national history Český Těšín is home to the only Polish secondary school in the Czech Republic and its Těšín Theatre has both Czech and Polish ensembles The film festival Kino na Granicy (Cinema on the Border) has also been held on both sides of the border since 1999 the towns were torn apart as a result of the coronavirus pandemic close ties between the communities have persisted Poles erected a sign in Czech facing the river This was soon followed by a response on the other side of the river Polish-Czech border in Cieszyn/TěšínIn Czech: We miss you, CzechsIn Polish: We miss you too, Poles <3 #Poland #Czechia #coronatime pic.twitter.com/1aFHtovIPn — Kinga Stanczuk (@KingaStanczuk) March 21, 2020 Border controls have also had a significant impact on the daily lives of many who commute between the towns for work protests took place at border crossings by individuals and families demanding a loosening of restrictions Juliette Bretan is a freelance journalist covering Polish and Eastern European current affairs and culture Her work has featured on the BBC World Service , , Karol Nawrocki even suggested that the state security services were involved in creating the scandal , , The 1,200 square metre national symbol was unfurled on the beach in Międzyzdroje , , The proportion of Poles saying the US has a positive influence on the world has also fallen to its lowest recorded level Apr 30, 2025 | , , , That response will include “large Polish and NATO exercises in Poland” Apr 29, 2025 | , , , Those employed in Poland work on average the third-longest hours in the European Union Apr 28, 2025 | , , , , Westinghouse and Bechtel were first chosen in 2022 as partners on the 192 billion zloty ($51 billion) project please consider helping us to continue and expand it [email protected] Copyright © 2025 Notes From Poland | Design jurko studio | Code by 2sides.pl Senior Research Fellow at the Global Europe Centre ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Weronika Strzyżyńska is currently studying journalism at Goldsmiths as a Scott Trust Bursary recipient She  has written on issues immigration and Brexit for New Statesman and Prospect Agnieszka Wądołowska is managing editor of Notes from Poland She has previously worked for Gazeta.pl and Tokfm.pl and contributed to Gazeta Wyborcza ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland and assistant professor of history at the Pedagogical University of Krakow He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications The Independent and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Stanley Bill is the founder and editor-at-large of Notes from Poland.He is also Senior Lecturer in Polish Studies and Director of the Polish Studies Programme at the University of Cambridge Stanley has spent more than ten years living in Poland He founded Notes from Poland in 2014 as a blog dedicated to personal impressions cultural analysis and political commentary He is committed to the promotion of deeper knowledge and understanding of Poland He is the Chair of the Board of the Notes from Poland Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor of European Studies at Oxford University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Professor at the Institute of History of the Jagiellonian University ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Executive Director of Taube Family Foundation ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Science ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR ARTICLES BY THIS AUTHOR Mondelēz International empowers people to snack right in over 150 countries around the world With 2022 net revenues of approximately $31 billion MDLZ is leading the future of snacking with iconic global and local brands such as Oreo Clif Bar and Tate's Bake Shop biscuits and baked snacks you can find career opportunities in functions that service Polish & Baltics business such as: sales; marketing; customer services & logistics; finance; information technology solutions; strategy insights & analytics; corporate & government affairs; legal and human resources Warsaw is also a home for many regional and global functions such as: procurement; supply planning; product change management; business services and Travel Retail & European Export Development & Quality (RDQ) Center are located in the Lower Silesia province The Factory in Bielany Wroclawskie was established in 1993 from tasty caramels to sublime flavors of chocolates Milk Tray pralines are produced along with Cadbury chocolate tablets 650 employees and the IL6S program had been implemented in the factory RDQ is where we invent the products you love In Central Europe we support 4 categories: Chocolate RDQ core functions include Product Development Nutritional Communication and Analytical Services Our team of 250 talented experts- scientists technicians and other specialists from all over the world is waiting for you The factory in Cieszyn is located in southern Poland in the Silesian province The plant can boast of almost 100 years of history It was established in 1924 under the name "Olza" and it is the oldest of the seven Mondelēz factories in Poland The famous Prince Polo wafers have been produced here for over 60 years the factory has products from such brands like Milka Majority of our wafers is produced for Polish market and the rest of volume goes to the European countries like UK Germany or Austria and non-EU countries to such exotic locations like Iceland are very popular and are national delicacy Mondelēz chocolate factory in Jankowice is located about 30 km away from Poznan initially under the name Stollwerck and joined Mondelēz International in 2013 We use unique technology for many of the products produced in Jankowice factory In our brand portfolio you can find the top chocolate such as Côte D'Or Our products go to stores throughout the country and to countries all over Europe Our factory's headcount is about 300 employees in various positions In the Jankowice plant the Integrated Lean Six Sigma program is implemented Currently the plant produces biscuits of well-known local and international brands such as SAN We also supply our products much wider markets The plant employs around 500 people and is one of the largest employers in the region We are one of the best performing plants with a strong continuous improvement agenda Kaunas is the second largest city located in the heart of Lithuania at the confluence of the two rivers - the Nemunas and the Neris Our confectionery factory history dates back to 1888 We have been manufacturing various products such as Cadbury Kaunas plant was the first and still is a single plant that introduced novelty into market: tablets produced by Sheet&Cut technology Regionally Kaunas plant is recognized as the best place for product development what is based on available ''know how'' flexibility and readiness to support new ideas That is why we strive to be not just the best but legendary we are one of the biggest employers in the region and providing a supportive environment for growth and interesting work The history of the factory in Płonsk dates back to 1973 when the then Ministry of Food Industry decided to design a confectionery factory Płonsk has become a convenient location for this type of investment mainly due to the location (between Warsaw and Tricity) and by creating by the then authorities a very good area for the construction of the entire industrial district at Mazowiecka Street the first production under the name of the Bakery Bread Factory in Płonsk began on the three production lines From the very beginning to the present day as well as Misie Lubisie and Milka biscuits huge part of which is exported Our factory employs approximately 700 people develops in line with the IL6S methodology and plans on several new investment projects There is one factory located in Opolskie province about 40 km from Wroclaw The construction of the chocolate plant began in 2008 and the first production started already in 2010 The factory portfolio is mainly a wide range of chocolate bars - Cadbury and Milka are just some examples of snacks produced here and a huge part of our products is exported to other countries This factory is a multiple laureate of the Pillars of the Polish Economy it has a social activity on its account: assistance in the renovation of schools and orphanages The Integrated Lean Six Sigma program is implemented at the factory The Tomaszow Mazowiecki plant is located in central Poland we are one of the largest employers in the region If you are interested in the sweet world of innovation then our factory is waiting for you Discover Customer Service & Logistics in Central Europe at Mondelēz International Discover Finance in Central Europe at Mondelēz International Discover Manufacturing in Central Europe at Mondelēz International Discover Procurement in Central Europe at Mondelēz International Development & Quality in Central Europe at Mondelēz International Discover Sales in Central Europe at Mondelēz International Renewable Energy Project in Mondelez Lietuva Production UAB Mondelez Europe Services Informacja zgodnie z art 27c ustawy o podatku dochodowym od osób prawnych za rok 2023 MONDELĒZ EUROPE SERVICES INFORMACJA ZGODNIE Z ART 27C USTAWY O PODATKU DOCHODOWYM OD OSÓB PRAWNYCH ZA ROK 2022 It is not easy to celebrate a common past in a town that has been divided by history in spite of tensions between Poles and Czechs life in Cieszyn and Český Těšín is beginning to benefit from the border that separates the two towns In early December when municipal authorities in Cieszyn (on Poland's southern border with the Czech Republic) were finalizing plans for celebrations of the town's 1,200th anniversary, at the last minute, their neighbours from across the border in Český Těšín announced that they wanted to take part in the festivities The news came as surprise because the local government on the Czech side of the Olza is traditionally less than enthusiastic about joint celebrations: a fact highlighted by Czech plans for wholly separate ceremonies to mark the 90th birthday of Český Těšín which was created in 1920 by a redrawing of the border Many Poles living in Zaolzie (literally the lands beyond the river Olza an area that is now in the Czech Republic) are none too happy about this latter anniversary — nor are most of the citizens of Cieszyn According to the legend on both sides of the Olza the town of Cieszyn was founded in 810 when three sons of a Slavic king crossed paths there while returning from pilgrimages Following the demise of the Austro-Hungariain Empire in the autumn of 1918 the national council of the Principality of Cieszyn officially took power on behalf of the Polish government Its goal was to implement an agreement on the division of Cieszyn Silesia into Polish and Czech parts which had been drawn up to reflect linguistic data from the 1910 census and was signed by both the Polish and Czechoslovak governments 32,000 Czechs and 22,000 Germans living in the area The Poles were convinced that the question had been settled and nothing was to be gained from keeping troops in Ciezyn They even sent the local infantry regiment to eastern Galicia to fight with the Ukrainians — a fact which the Czech army later turned to its advantage quickly ended with a ceasefire imposed by the Entente powers the future of Ciezyn Silesia was finally sealed by a largely arbritrary decision: the richest and most industrialized part of the region and the railway that links Czechia to Slovakia was attributed to Czechoslovakia The bloody events of 1919 were later marked by a crop of monuments on both sides of the border local authorities are now planning to reconstruct a monument to Tomáš Masaryk - the father of independent Czechoslovakia and its president from 1918 to 1935 - which was destroyed in October 1938 when the Polish army entered Zaolzie for whom Masaryk's policies contributed to the division of Cieszyn Silesia; others adopt a more stoic attitude "It is a Czech celebration for a Czech hero What has that got to do with us?" exclaims Zygmunt Stopa President of the Polish cultural and educational association in the Czech Republic A few years ago on the other side of the border the Poles rebuilt a 1934 monument commemorating the successful battles of the Polish troops which had been destroyed by the Germans in 1939 "I know that the Czechs were none too happy about that In the declaration on shared ceremonies to celebrate 1,200 years of Cieszyn which was adopted in early September at a joint session of municipal councils from both sides of the border but we can build a common future for new generations." As Bogdan Ficek explains "We believe that both our towns should reach out to each other even if not everyone is in favour of that." It was made possible by Voxeurop’s community High-quality reporting and translation comes at a cost To continue producing independent journalism Subscribe or Donate Retailers in Cieszyn make 70% of their sales to Czechs and Slovaks who take advantage of the favourable exchange rate between korunas and zlotys The day of our visit to the market in Cieszyn was marked by a brisk trade in wicker products vegetables and sweets also appeared to be selling well Heavily loaded Czech shoppers hailed Polish taxis for transport to the train station or back to their cars on the other side of the river cabbies pull over to hide the taxi signs on their cars but that is not to say that that local authorities apply the law to the letter Polish ambulances would have to stop in the middle of the bridge and wait to hand over their patients to Czech ones," explains the mayor of Cieszyn The tolerance for minor violations on the border also extends to local police who are allowed to pursue criminals from one jurisdiction to another it seems inconceivable that there was a time when young singers like Zaolzie's Ewa Farna were unable to perform on both sides of the Olza She is the best ambassador for Polish identity in the region and a huge star with young people from both the Czech and Polish communities only half have decided to exercise their right Problems have even occurred for a plaque on a house in Smilovice, commemorating the birthplace of the current president of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek. “The Czechs are just not used to it, and we need to give them more time,” says Józef Szymeczek, head of the Congress of Poles in the Czech Republic where local authorities attempted to close down a Polish school and refuse to even discuss the matter of bilingual signs Poles living in the Czech Republic claim that most of the hatred directed at them comes from young Czechs An internet group called “I Hate Poles” has nearly a thousand members “It is obvious that Polish-Czech relations are much better at a governmental than local level” Voxeurop depends on subscriptions and donations from its readers hosted the fourth round of the EMX Quad European Championship with the best riders of the Continental series at the start The panoramic view of the motocross track attracted more than 4000 spectators in the whole weekend On Saturday practice and qualifying race took place in good conditions and sunny weather The surface of the track on Sunday was prepared by the CKM Club Team Members and was good after track maintenance and evening watering Red plated Christopher Tveraen had to step down in front of the Estonian rider Kevin Saar who won both races followed by Harry Walker and the home-rider Roman Gwiazda Gwiazda was in the third position in the first race and in second position from the start to the finish in the second race which made him gain the second place on the event podium | Copyright 2025 FIM Europe | Terms of use - Privacy statement | Archive Pavilions In Feature Articles by Jaroslaw AdamowskiAugust 3, 2016 By Jaroslaw Adamowksi | @JaroslawAdamows The development is a first attempt by Polish publishers to compete Empik and Matras are the dominant players in Poland’s bookstore industry. Together, they have more than 400 outlets across the country, and they’ve been criticized by some local publishers for what are sometimes called quasi-monopolistic practices. At Empik, books are just one product line, the chain also carries music, movies and video games. As of May, Empik was operating some 228 outlets in the Polish market. By contrast, Matras aims to attract mostly avid readers, and some of its 180 bookstores are located in smaller cities, such as Szczytno, Ustroń, Drawsko Pomorskie and Cieszyn, where its largest competitor is absent. The concept for this new BookBook location in Krakow includes a coffee house and theater. BookBook is managed by Porozumienie Kultura (a “culture agreement”), a company established in June 2015. Last November, the firm bought an 89.63-percent stake in the formerly state-owned bookstore chain Dom Ksiazki (House of Books), and in April, BookBook was launched as a new brand among bookstores. The chain says it comprises more than 80 bookstores today in various parts of Poland. Rebranding efforts as BookBook rolls out are accompanied by major discounts. Last month, BookBook added two outlets to its network in eastern Poland’s Białystok, along with bookstores in Węgorzewo, Mońki, Knyszyn, Bielsk Podlask, Ciechanowiec, and Złocieniec. The launch was accompanied by a one-day 30-percent discount on all titles except textbooks. Company representatives say that BookBook seeks readers in locations that traditionally have been deprived of well-stocked bookstores. Maria Czarnocka, a promotion and marketing manager at BookBook, tells Publishing Perspectives, “We aim to achieve a dynamic growth of our network through expanding to new locations. Our bookstores are in Poland’s north, south and the [eastern] region of Podlasie. “In September, we’ll open a new hybrid bookstore in Krakow with a coffee house and theater. We have a big goals and we think Poland is a place where there always will be people who love paper books and the unique atmosphere of our bookstores. Each of our new investments is related to a wide range of events and promotional activities.” Asked about BookBook’s strategy to compete with the established retailers, Czarnocka says BookBook thinks of its experienced staff as a major asset. “Competition is an inalienable part of trade,” she says, “and we cannot avoid it. It’s a healthy factor that fosters market growth. Our offer is tailor-made to local tastes, our bookstores have a warm, unique atmosphere, and we have experienced booksellers who have served customers with their assistance for many years. They’re our forte, and other chains will find it difficult to compete against us.” Inside the display window at the BookBook store in Cieszyn BookBook has entered the market amid major financial woes related to the development of the state-run textbook program In 2014, the country’s first graders received their first comprehensive school books free of charge from Poland’s Ministry of Education. This has caused the textbook market to contract. Several Polish publishers have filed for bankruptcy and other industry players have had to look for new market segments. As reported here at Publishing Perspectives local market research firm Biblioteka Analiz estimates that the value of the textbook marked has decreased by more than 10 percent in 2014 Plans to introduce fixed pricing for new-book releases for 18 months after publication—a measure strongly promoted by the Polish Chamber of Books (PIK)—were halted by parliament earlier this year the industry organisation says it will continue to lobby for the policy to be implemented about the future capacity of bookstore chains to maintain their competitive advantages It’s also worth pointing out that Empik’s future has been the subject of speculation, local business daily Rzeczpospolita reporting in May that the chain could be sold to an unnamed investor for more than 1 billion zloty (US$261 million) These claims were denied by Krzysztof Rabiański Jaroslaw Adamowski is a freelance writer based in Warsaw Dr Kasper Hanus joined Franklin Templeton in April of 2021 as Senior sustainability Manager for Franklin Templeton Fixed Income and maintaining ESG strategies for global and European funds including those participating in Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) Article 8 and 9 categories Prior to his employment at Franklin Templeton Hanus was a research fellow at the Institute of Mediterranean and Oriental Cultures of the Polish Academy of Sciences He has over a decade of experience in sustainability and resilience studies and Australian universities including: Harvard Hanus holds a doctoral degree awarded by Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań based on his dissertation exploring links between water management and political power in ancient Inner Asia and a Master and Bachelor of Arts from Jagiellonian University in Kraków highlights the impact opportunities in the sustainable bond market.. Head of Stewardship at Brunel Pension Partnership sees greater scope for asset owner and manager collaboration Head of ESG Analytics and Research at Infranity explains how the emerging ‘impact in infrastructure’ space is delivering impact alongside returns The Blue Economy and Finance Forum and UN Ocean Conference in June will provide an opportunity to channel private investment Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter below and never miss a story Thanks, I’m not interested WEST LIBERTY — West Liberty University’s Nutting Gallery opened a new exhibition featuring three visiting Polish artists and all Nutting Gallery exhibitions are free and open to the public The artists are first-time visitors to WLU and the United States and spent six days in New York City prior to arriving on the hilltop campus “We are fascinated by this country and familiar with the United States from movies and media so we appreciate the opportunity to be here and exhibit our work,” said Masternak who is a doctorate student at the Katowice School of Technology a technical and artistic private higher school in Silesia which offers bachelor’s and master’s degree programs Masternak teaches graphic art and painting He and the other Polish artists were invited to exhibit their work by WLU associate professor of art Martyna Matusiak when she was traveling in Poland with students for summer study abroad and I invite the whole campus community to visit our Nutting Gallery This exhibition is worth a trip across campus to the Hall of Fine Arts,” said Matusiak which is the capital city of the Silesian province of Poland Michalina Wawrzyczek-Klasik and Michal Klasik are married Michalina studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice digital printing and video-painting for creating installations and objects Art Institute in Cieszyn with Diploma of Fine Arts with a major in sculpture and second major in ceramics video and sound to create installations and objects that are interactive “Academy sounds of the Earth” connecting sounds sculpture and ceramics to the earth itself He has participated in numerous exhibitions in Poland and abroad and is a member of the Polish Artists Society the Nutting Gallery is dedicated to educating enriching and engaging students and the public through art exhibitions and to promoting the visual arts within the WLU community Today's breaking news and more in your inbox STEUBENVILLE — Those involved with the Dean Martin Association exclaimed they are proud to present “an .. STEUBENVILLE — The personal journey of Rebekah Cohen Morris along with the impactful work she performs in her .. Copyright © 2025 Ogden News Publishing of Ohio | https://www.weirtondailytimes.com | 114 Lee Ave. Are you nervous before eating it?” - Jan Blachowicz This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Who tells two young boys in the middle of communist Poland to wait an hour and expect them to listen The one day when a bottle of sugary brown paradise made them feel like kings Father always found a way to get his boys a Pepsi each week And if he’d insist it was too cold in the dead of winter to drink they’d race around the house in search of any heat source they could find but Jan Blachowicz has always been nothing if not patient The kid who felt fortunate to share a soda — who could’ve imagined he’d one day be the superstar of their tiny Polish town the folk hero who meets with Prime Ministers and keeps the local dog shelters and cancer centers afloat and still surprises his older brother with a brand new car They’re calling him a national treasure now Not from the guy who lost four of his first six bouts in the big leagues Only in the movies do afterthoughts like him catch fire at age 37 and become one of history’s most unlikely UFC champions overnight Has anyone outside of Michael Bisping ever flipped their own script so late “Everybody thought that I was crazy,” he says the light heavyweight division starts and stops with the name Blachowicz Every betting favorite who was supposed to beat him every top-ranked contender who dismissed him as an easy mark every supposed expert who scoffed at the legend of Polish power as the most famous man in Cieszyn readies to face Israel Adesanya at UFC 259 He was 6 years old when the revolution came vignettes mostly strung together in short bursts Soldiers in the town square and constant shortages of basic goods All the trappings of totalitarianism that swept away when freedom’s wind blew through Poland in 1989 bringing mass protests and mass abandonment of the old ways He considers himself lucky though; the Cieszyn of Blachowicz’s childhood was a warmer place than that of the previous generation They could get into silly fights at school they could flood across the border and raid the stores of their Czech Republic neighbors then hustle back over to the Polish side of the town and hock the booze at a profit for ice cream cash He wanted to be a soldier in those days. “Like Rambo,” Blachowicz says. The life would’ve suited him, a life of discipline and strength. And he was on his way until the morning he and his brother stumbled upon a Sherdog highlight of Igor Vovchanchyn, the great Ukrainian bear who mauled many poor souls in MMA’s golden era then suddenly that dream of being a soldier vanished into thin air In a country still recovering from the aftereffects of its communist regime he’d run into a blind spot he couldn’t shake loose “There was no MMA in Poland,” says Blachowicz’s older brother “And there was no possibility of making a living from MMA He quit his day job as a plumber and searched far and wide he tracked down a lone fight club hidden on the outskirts of his hometown over 50 kilometers away claustrophobic Maluch and putter his way there Is he really throwing away his life for this “You’ll never make money on it.’ And he also was a fighter I will prove to you — and to everybody who doesn’t believe in me — that they are wrong.’” Others around Blachowicz thought it was simply a phase that the stubborn kid would spend his days getting beaten black and blue for a couple of years then move on and find a real job like everyone else He worked nights as a bouncer to keep himself afloat five drunks who he threw out of the club stormed back with an army of 30 “and they destroyed us completely,” Blachowicz says one particularly bold partygoer decided to shoot up the joint and blasted a hole straight through one of Blachowicz’s co-worker’s hands That feeling in the air since last September Sometimes life is just about catching the right wave at the right time and Blachowicz was lucky enough to catch his fair share By the time upstart organization Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki — KSW for short — introduced MMA to his country’s masses with a series of one-night tournaments in the capital of Warsaw in 2004 “Everybody thought that the cage was for dogs and that people couldn’t fight in the cage,” KSW co-founder Maciej Kawulski says “The majority of people thought they were fighting to the death,” says Wojciech “that it was something criminal like that.” The shows were a first of their kind for a wary populace and their aesthetic mirrored early UFC events with fighters competing in their traditional garb — judo gis for judokas jiu-jitsu gis for jiu-jitsu stylists — as a means to teach audiences to expect pure martial arts rather than a bloodsport And they were exactly what Blachowicz had been preparing for his whole life Blachowicz smashed through three of the KSW’s biggest one-night tournaments and took over the Polish light heavyweight scene And yet he was never like the other top fighters Jurkowska was 21 when she met Blachowicz at a KSW show in 2007 She was struck not just by the humility of the local star He didn’t care about fancy clothes or expensive brands He didn’t have lavish presumptions about where fighting could take him or his career “The UFC was too far away,” Blachowicz says And when a 2011 loss for the vacant KSW title to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou — a Cameroonian striker who parlayed two of Pride FC’s most legendary upsets into a UFC career and who also doubled as the first significant opponent of Blachowicz’s life — reinforced what Blachowicz had quietly suspected “Maybe I’m not going to be better than this How could the poor kid from Cieszyn be expected to compete with the monsters of the world Long after Blachowicz outclassed Sokoudjou in a title rematch that same year When the improbable became reality in 2014 and he vaulted into the UFC after a long and dominant KSW championship reign “‘He’s not ready for the real first-class fights.’” Blachowicz lost four of his first six octagon walks and pondered taking a long hiatus from the sport after a miserable loss to Corey Anderson in 2015 he was thinking that maybe the level is too high for him,” Jurkowska says ”Because (Anderson) won that fight just like that and actually he was starting to think that maybe — maybe Jan is done and maybe he’s supposed to start doing something else Blachowicz was still just the big fish from a small pond just like they all warned from the beginning Three knockouts over a brutal four-fight tear tends to get you a little respect Blachowicz doesn’t know why he indulged the fan who slid into his DMs he’d just reached a point where any advice seemed worth pursuing If a well-wisher was in his messages offering a potential career elixir “Awaken the Giant Within,” a book by American self-help guru Tony Robbins Its cover claimed to teach struggling dreamers how to take instant control of their mental but in life.” The mind is a curious thing; it can be the ultimate cheat code or the ultimate liability “It totally changed his way of thinking and what he would say,” Jurkowska says I heard it a lot: It’s not the sky that’s the limit So is that how a 37-year-old who spent most of his life getting submissions or decisions suddenly discovered the punching power of a silverback gorilla in his final chapter It’s hard to tell where jokes end and seriousness begins and both Robbins and the dead man stumbled into Blachowicz’s life around the same time Blachowicz was walking his dogs in a forest in Warsaw in 2017 when he happened upon it the man with an elongated neck hanging by a noose from a tree When a police officer asked whether Blachowicz took some of the rope home with him He made a point to return to the forest and touch the rope before his next fight Blachowicz visited it before each fight throughout his life-changing streak After he knocked out Dominick Reyes to win the UFC title in September, the story of the hanged man hit the mainstream, so Blachowicz sliced off a chunk of rope as the police officer suggested and asked a friend to fashion it into a bracelet just in case a nosy fight fan came along and stole the original He has it with him in Las Vegas for UFC 259 “If something important is happening in my life,” he says to have his culminating moment come so late into his career who knows what direction his life could’ve taken the most famous man in Cieszyn would choose the hard road 100 times out of 100 Even if it played out in a way no one could’ve expected So I’m happy that in the last years of my fighting Not somebody who finishes his career as meat for somebody else.” A post shared by Jan Blachowicz (@janblachowicz) Jurkowska said they cried together last September after the scene in Cieszyn Poland’s returning hero being mobbed by thousands of his awestruck countrymen He figured maybe a few of his friends and family members would show up to welcome him home after UFC 253 The whole town packed shoulder to shoulder in the market square but I’ll try — he doesn’t have that feeling he’s a role model for the people People treat him actually like a national treasure Blachowicz and Jurkowska welcomed their first child to the world “The small legendary Polish power,” Jurkowska jokes He has the resources now to provide his baby boy the life he never had even if he’s still the same simple man at heart Throw him a cheap backpack and a mountain range to hike and he’ll relish it over a thousand pointless shopping sprees But maybe that’s why he’s best suited to the role “He’s one of the most popular people in Poland right now,” Kawulski says ”But there’s a difference between popularity and respect you just feel like you’re looking at a television show that is still what resonates with them all the most The outpouring of messages they got from proud Poles and foreigners alike Total strangers penning heartfelt notes about how he inspired them to live out their dreams no matter their age To be able to achieve something like that so late in his professional life and do it in a way that didn’t betray his roots And no one will ever be able to take it away “I proved to everybody who didn’t believe it that they are wrong,” Blachowicz says He’s the same near 2-to-1 underdog against Adesanya as he was against Reyes So much has changed yet nothing has changed the folk hero who met the Prime Minister and defied every expectation A stepping stone for another man’s greatness Fourteen years may have felt like an eternity (Top photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images) when you have the knowledge that you’re going to foreign fields with a bunch of parkrun pals Thus started the latest trip to Poland by Hull parkrunners rather than going to our old favourite Poznan we elected to nip a bit further south to Krakow (some of us went even further South to Cieszyn) The ten sleepy heads that assembled for our latest adventure were Paul Tremere As we set off in our convoy of cars to Leeds/Bradford airport there was time for me to reflect on what Paul has previously noted That this group of 10 diverse parkrunners had in the main drink a bit more and then laugh a lot more All in the name of a 5 kilometre running event that has captured the imagination of thousands Of course the sensible thing to do when we eventually got to our apartment destination would be to recharge the batteries with a light siesta I was the unofficial and unelected tour guide of sorts and having a soft spot for the pubs in the Jewish quarter Unfortunately I hadn’t accounted for my drunken state on the previous visits (one being for Mark’s stag do and only one with the calming influence of my wife Hence my route had been a little less direct than we would’ve liked The collective inner sat nav’s did the trick in the end though and a thoroughly enjoyable night was had by all but Dave decided we needed a little more and me being easily led that our scheduled visit to see the Auschwitz camp setting off at 9:45 came round a little quickly Martin had done all the donkey work in setting the trip up and rather than make our own way there I can thoroughly recommend paying out the little extra to get one as it was very informative and certainly well worth the extra cost where so many people lost their lives in such wicked circumstances is not for everybody and Tony elected to stay behind in Krakow to do his own thing for the day The rest of us had a very sombre if educational visit The mid-afternoon saw a parting of our ways Steve and Dave took the journey back to Krakow a much smaller city on the border with the Czech Republic This was inspired by our friends at Hull parkrun who had recently been on holiday back in Poland and related the story regarding the only parkrun that crosses an international boundary this was an opportunity that was too good to miss and after a quick look on the map and some internet research Alan and Mark for having a similar curiosity Having already carb loaded to the maximum the previous night we decided on a quieter evening discovering this quite unique (another grammatical in-joke for Paul Another thing that attracted us to this particular parkrun apart from the geographical wonder of a City divided into two separate countries (on the Czech side it’s called Cesky Tesin) was the fact that it had a castle with a brewery – what’s not to like So we set out to find this and to have a walk across the border doing the typical touristy half and half photo’s etc a Czech bar so that we could live the curiosity of being English only to be met by a troupe of musical actors doing what appeared to be some medieval virgin deflowering – well that was Mark’s thoughts I’m guessing he’d already been away from home too long was that the castle rotunda is depicted on the bottom left corner of the Polish 20 Zloty before buying a couple of bottles brewed locally to have in the apartment as we chatted the night away At just 5 Zloty/pint or the equivalent of around £1 The Cieszyn parkrun straddles the Olza river which forms part of the boundary between Czech Republic and Poland you run alongside the river and over a rather rickety wooden bridge half way over the bridge you enter the Czech Republic where you then run alongside the opposite river bank to a touch post (which I missed) and then back on yourself to Sikora park before going back across the bridge into Poland (and no through a wooded area to a loop around a picnic site Then it’s follow the path back again to finish where you started we had a pleasant time chatting to the assembled Poles and Czechs until it was time to get on our way to shower in our apartment and sit and relax at a pleasant pavement café whilst loading back the calories with coffee and exotic looking cakes where our comfortable coach took us on the 2 ½ hour journey back to Krakow to meet up with the six lads that had stayed there Here’s a cracking Krakow parkrun report by Gary: Following a very sombre visit to the camps at Auschwitz and Auschwitz Birkenau Alan and Keith and wished them a safe journey as they set off on their epic adventure to Cieszyn for a spot of parkrunning across the Polish/Czech Republic border Steve and I returned from Auschwitz to Krakow on the bus to re-join Tony who had spent his Friday in Krakow doing a city tour that took in Oskar Schindler’s (of Schindler’s List fame) enamel factory and also finding the location for the Krakow parkrun that the remaining six of us would be running the next morning (Tony’s advance parkrun reconnaissance mission was far more successful than the one Chris and I had when our early Friday morning 5-mile run ended with us only finding where the parkrun wasn’t!) The Friday evening included a few beers and a meal of the largest selection of meat on a sharing platter known to mankind we had another sneaky beer (purely to aid a restful night’s sleep) Saturday morning was sunny and very warm as we set off on our steady walk to the Krakow parkrun taking photographs of landmarks and statues along the way; while wondering if our four friends had made it to Cieszyn for their separate parkrun We arrived at the park and found the start line Someone had obviously been busy doing some early morning street-art because #221 parkrun was chalked on the pavement There’s something very special about doing a parkrun in another country and we were soon greeted by the local runners and volunteers who made us feel very welcome indeed.Our Hull contingent weren’t the only Brits taking part because parkrunners from Belfast and Durham also had the same idea triangular shaped one-and-a-bit lapper on good pathways with many of the locals setting off at tremendous speed.Along the second part of the triangle the stadiums of Krakow’s two football clubs – Wisla Krakow on the left and Cracovia’s on the right – come into view you are met with the most stunning view of a castle on a hill in the distance we were grateful for the trees offering shade along much of the course and as we navigated the final bend there was still about 1.5 kilometres to go seemed never-ending.Conversations with runners and volunteers continued around the finish area which really hit the spot.Photographs were taken and handshakes were exchanged before we said our goodbyes and went to a café in the park to share our experiences of one of the friendliest parkruns you could ever wish to visit We spent the main part of the afternoon watching Hull KR beating Widnes to gain promotion some admittedly watching through their fingers but mainly Chris and Martin had a very enjoyable afternoon Alan joined us eventually after staying back to shave and shower and have the directions explained to him as he’d completely failed to notice a 5 acre building in the middle of one of the largest squares in Europe that we’d walked through many times already he suggested it’d just been built yesterday Gary and Steve spent this time touring the various sites of Krakow with their City Tour Passes and showing that at least some of us had an eye on the culture After this we filled our bellies with a mixture of pork before making our way back to the old town where we found a live band that kept us singing and dancing well into the small hours Mind you at least he kept the rest of his clothes on a feat that wasn’t matched by all back in the apartments as someone decided a game of naked knocking off ginger was called for (names withheld to protect the innocents) knowing that the time was coming to an end and we’d be heading back to the airport soon so there was just time to have a final mooch around the town in the very hot sunshine Gary and Steve again making the most of their travel passes There was just time when we went back to collect our bags at reception for one last laugh in the pretence that we had a fine to pay for incidents caught on camera the previous night Martin to his credit wasn’t taken in by this I can only assume because he knows what respectable citizens we really are © parkrun Limited (Company Number: 07289574) No part of this site may be reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the permission of the copyright owner Log in and download the free e-publication of the latest A&B The printed version is available for sale online in our store and press salons throughout Poland unique e-mail [will also be used as login in the portal] Only name - check the correctness of the data Only the last name - check the correctness of the data password must be at least 8 characters long * fields required for registration; data can be completed in account settings after logging in ** establishment of a student account follows verification of the validity of the student ID card Please try later or let us know: contact Technology: aitnet.pl Ⓒ AiB Publishing House 2025. All rights reserved. I’ve been to Cieszynfew times and every time I am trying to find something interesting. This time, I was in Cieszyn only for a moment but decide to visit a new place. Jewish cemetery in Cieszyn which I visited is one of the most interesting and objects of this type in Poland. I often visit this city because it is full of great places and is also a great starting point to the other side of the border (Czech Republic) Cieszyn is one of the few cities that looks much better on the Polish side than on the opposite Let’s look at Słubice-Frankfurt or Zgorzelec-Gorlitz – the cities on the other side look much better there and I have recently discovered Jewish traces in it They constituted a large group of Cieszyn residents and the history of cemeteries is one of the proofs two cemeteries – Old and New are located on the same street (Hażlaska) on two sides The Old Cemetery was established in the 17th century the area was the property of the Singer family In 1785 it was sold to the Jewish community in Cieszyn and the last burial was made there in 1928 This is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Poland it belongs to the Jewish Religious Community in Bielsko-Biała the cemetery was planned to be turned into a park but the recommendation was not implemented which served as a warehouse in the seventies The New Cemetery was created due to lack of space in the old Jewish cemetery the new one survived the war despite plans to make a park out of it The funeral home could not be rebuilt in its original form Both cemeteries are in the register of monuments and immediately after visiting them you will know which one is old and which is new The new layout and area prepared for the Jewish cemetery can be seen Cieszyn itself works well as a destination but it is also a great place to stop on the way to the Czech Republic or farther It’s worth visiting the Castle Brewery and see the Romanesque rotunda which image can be found on a 20 zloty banknote My name is Jakub Juszyński and I create this place Nie zabraknie tu lokalnych smaków i ciekawostek 2013-2023 © tymrazem.pl | made with ♥ by fajne studio kreatywne if Jan Blachowicz is still holding his belt after a fall bout against Glover Teixiera The Light Heavyweight division has a new contender for the belt and current champion Jan Blachowicz is ready for it The Czech fighter was promised a title shot if he defeated Reyes and we can’t imagine that impressive finish would result in anything else This sets up a battle between neighboring countries: Czech Republic and Poland Hey @jiri_bjp.Me vs you in Cieszyn Prince vs SamuraiSword vs Katana #LegendaryPolishPower For all those who do not know the Slavic context of the previous post and its humorous nature.Of course, Glovera is the next contender. I always keep my word . #LegendaryPolishPower “Hey Jiri,” Blachowicz wrote on Twitter after the impressive win Cieszyn is a town literally split in two along the Czech / Polish border and while there’s no way a fight this size can be held there wouldn’t a press conference right on the border line be cool The only thing standing in the way of this bout that has the potential for a lot of European attention who has been waiting patiently for his 205-pound title shot since a Nov that scrap is looking like it will go down on Sept That leaves “Jirka” in a bit of a lurch for at least eight months. Who knows, maybe he’s just crazy enough to accept another fight in the meantime. He alluded to enjoying the journey during his post-fight interview and felt like his rise in UFC was almost going too fast For complete UFC Vegas 25 results and coverage click here 2020Get email notification for articles from Shlomo Avineri FollowFeb 16 2020The harsh exchange between Vladimir Putin and Polish President Andrzej Duda marking the 75th anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of Auschwitz reflects the wide rifts that World War II left behind in the politics and history of Europe – even more than seven decades later American looking forward to USA Pro Cycling Challenge Evans, Hincapie extend with BMC Sagan strikes in Cieszyn Danielson motivated to win USA Pro Cycling Challenge The American’s bold bid for glory was ultimately snuffed out in the finale but Beyer explained that his main aim in joining the breakaway was to take pressure off his team BMC’s leader in Poland is Mauro Santambrogio who was suspended and then reactivated by the team earlier in the season following his implication in the Mantova-based doping investigation While many riders at the Tour de Pologne are fine-tuning their form ahead of the Vuelta a España, Beyer is looking forward to returning to the United States to compete in the Tour of Utah and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge later in the month “I have two days between the Tour of Poland and the start of the Tour of Utah so it’s going to be a short turnover,” Beyer told Cyclingnews in Zakopane Tour de France winner Cadel Evans is also set to line up at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado and Beyer said that the Australian’s victory had provided a significant boost in morale to the team if you are planning to travel to Poland for important reasons we would like to remind you that due to COVID-19 Slovakia and Lithuania have been temporarily reintroduced Polish borders can be crossed only at designated points and the increased traffic has led to longer waiting time at the border we urge you to choose less frequented border crossing points The border with Germany can be crossed at the following road border crossing points: Jędrzychowice You can cross the border with Lithuania in Budzisko and Ogrodniki The border with Slovakia can be crossed in Barwinek and Chyżne The following border crossing points are open on the border with the Czech Republic: Cieszyn-Chotĕbuz Głuchołazy and Cieszyn-Český Tĕšín (Friendship Bridge) with pedestrian traffic only Please note that transit via the Czech Republic is closed to passenger traffic Transit is open to lorries and trucks only You can check the waiting time to cross the border at www.strazgraniczna.pl It is important to note that all persons who are travelling to Poland right now are required to self-isolate on arrival for 14 days all travellers have to give the address where they will be staying If they cannot be quarantined at the place of their residence they can stay in a collective quarantine facility This information is put directly in the database and forwarded automatically to relevant authorities that will monitor if the quarantine is respected Important notice: According to the current rules quarantine can only be shortened by a state sanitary inspector who has jurisdiction over the place of the quarantine or by other entity authorized by the Chief Sanitary Inspector Gold diplomas in the mixed choir and contemporary music categories as well as special awards for the best performance of a work by prof Józef Świder and the best performance of a work by a living Polish composer - these were the achievements of the UG Academic Choir at the 8th Prof Józef Świder International Music Festival in Cieszyn The end of the year brought the University of Gdańsk Academic Choir many successes 2nd Conductor of the University of Gdańsk Academic Choir ‘We would like to thank our one and only Aneta Majda who led us through the competition auditions in the morning and brought out the beautiful sounds in us with her enthusiasm and mobilisation Marcin Tomczak for taking care of us and supporting us with his excellent advice and words at every moment of preparation We would like to thank Filip Cieszynski for preparing us for this trip and for his full commitment during the many hours of rehearsals,' writes the UG Academic Choir on social media It is worth noting that for many members of the ensemble made up almost half of University of Gdańsk students this was their first participation in a competition after less than two months of preparation Read more about the trip and the Choir's subsequent activities on the group's Facebook page tel. portiernia:+ 48 58 523 30 00 Krytyka Polityczna is the largest Central and Eastern European liberal network of institutions and activists It was established in 2002 following the publication of an Open Letter titled “The Open Letter to the European Public Opinion” demanding a more open and integrated European policy from the Polish elites Krytyka Polityczna consists of the online paper KrytykaPolityczna.pl cultural centres in Warsaw and Cieszyn and a research centre: the Institute of Krytyka Polityczna in Warsaw Krytyka Polityczna are the contemporary heirs to the Central and Eastern European traditions of an engaged intelligentsia representing an ethos of public activity and creating a “social glue” through the use of social movements This tradition dates back to the late 19th century where the movements were charged with the task of modernising and developing society and was later revived during the 1970s and 1980s through dissident movements which were seeking to empower society against authoritarian rule and to restore democracy All of these movements have centred around building independent institutions an orientation towards progressive social changes and a desire to maintain a strongly ethical approach Stanisław Brzozowski (1878-1911) is recognised as the one of the most pre-eminent Polish philosophers and literary critics of his generation as well as being a respected author of novels and plays and a charismatic advocate of the Polish intelligentsia at the beginning of the twentieth century He died aged only 33 but by this time he had managed to write several books and hundreds of essays His work and biography have become subjects of a century-long heated discussion among Polish intellectuals It is almost impossible to find an important Polish intellectual who has not devoted a special work to Brzozowski Andrzej Mencwel and Adam Michnik are only some of the most important people who were fascinated by Brzozowski and who have written about him Brzozowski himself was inspired by contemporary European thought In his works he combined a lot of seemingly contradictory streams; for instance Nietzsche’s philosophy of deed with the ‘young’ Marxist analysis of social relations or Sorel’s concept of myth with the philosophy of John H Newman’s Catholic modernism and British romanticism Brzozowski opposed its deterministic version as well as any concepts reifying human beings From his youth he was fascinated by great Russian literature and ideas whose ‘Demons’ he confronted with his own novel In this book he passionately demonstrated the horizon of ideas at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth century giving voice to critics of wild capitalism All of this was no mere testimony to the disputes of the foregone era Considerations and discussions of the book’s protagonists which include discussions over what it means to be Polish Brzozowski was above all an acute cultural critic He declared the necessity for the artist to engage in diagnosing the social reality of his times and in shaping social structure After almost a hundred years his ideas are still relevant He provides many tools critical of the liberal vision of the ‘end of history’ where the hegemony of the free market is supposedly an unconditioned necessity where liberal democracy assumes a ban on thinking about social change and where freedom is identified with unlimited consumption Economic relations and working conditions are and not consequences of any objective mechanisms; art and literature are testimonies to their times rather than of the independent mind of the artist It is the duty of the intellectual to speak in favour of creating a better society The Krytyka Polityczna journal exploded onto the Polish market with the provocative and smouldering title: “Intelligentsia: helpless or dead?” funded the first two editions of the journal slyly commented and applauded the necessity of the question posed claiming: “This is Zbyszek’s best financial decision The mass media gave the first issue enthusiastic “Gazeta Wyborcza” reprinted interviews conducted by Krytyka Polityczna journalists The first thousand printed copies sold out fast and so a second thousand were ordered Language Barriers,” and it included with the final text co-written by the famous dissidents and leaders of the anti-authoritarian opposition of the communist era Jacek Kuroń and Karol Modzelewski: “Tomorrow’s Left: Sense and Sensibility “An Open Letter to the European Public” is the title of the letter written by Sławomir Sierakowski and sociologist Kinga Dunin expressing support for the European Constitution project The letter also protests against the Polish European policy of the time “Nice [the French city] or Death!” The letter was signed by 250 Polish intellectuals and was printed in both Polish and European newspapers The letter found an activist audience at home and abroad which succeeded in pushing Krytyka Polityczna into the wider where the signatories of the letter and Krytyka’s leaders met with the Polish president the Minister of Foreign Affairs,Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz Sławomir Sierakowski spoke rousingly in the name of those who signed the letter 2004 – Homecoming: a flock of artists migrate to KP Artists from many places and various disciplines began to collaborate Krytyka Polityczna The relationships proved to be fruitful and fostered the social issues that Krytyka Polityczna focused on in its work and film producers working with Krytyka Polityczna increased Some of Poland’s leading contemporary artistic minds are at the head of the movement: Olga Tokarczuk Żmijewski took over the role of artistic editor for Krytyka Polityczna and was soon joined by Yael Bartana Twożywo created a new visual form and a unique aesthetic to subsequent editions of the journal and later to the books published by Krytyka and the places where their events take place Polish intellectuals and cultural activists such as Kazimiera Szczuka became Krytyka’s guides to Polish culture as well as good friends of the organisation Krytyka Polityczna announced the establishment of the Stanisław Brzozowski Association This organisation would become the foundation upon which all other Krytyka Polityczna-related institutions were to be based on the activities of the Association were monitored by Dorota Głażewska The first Cultural Clubhouse in Warsaw was established the editorial activities of Krytyka Polityczna opened with a double event: the premier of Agnieszka Arnold’s film about Karol Modzelewski followed by a debate celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Workers’ Defence Committee literary and artistic spheres were also hosted such as philosophers Slavoj Žižek and Peter Singer honouring their artistic achievements: for example the great literature historian Maria Janion celebrated 50 years of her work and Wilhelm Sasnal screened his some of his movies Krytyka organised exhibitions of leading Polish contemporary artists In collaboration with the Kraków- based corporation Ha!art the Political Critique Series was launcheed The literary scene was hit with our first publication: Revolution at the Gates The book sparked fierce debate in the Polish media The first series to be printed by the new publishing house was a series of user guides to leftist politics Krytyka’s publishing house publishes around 9 series and 40 books a year We translate and publish stars from the world of humanities as well classical writings by Polish dissidents The first volume in our Literary Series – Angels’ Final Sabbath by Marian Pankowski – was awarded the prestigious Gdynia Literary Prize in 2008; one of our author’s was awarded the Paszport Polityki prize in 2010 for the most influential weekly opinion column The Clubhouse on Chmielna Street was named “Place of the Year 2008” by journalists from ‘Gazeta Wyborcza’ the clubhouse hosted 300 events from discussions seminars to exhibitions and film festivals which were all free 2008 – Cultural clubhouses: from the people Local communities sympathising with our political goals began to organise a programme of cultural events and social activist-ivities and collectively formed a web of Krytyka Polityczna Clubs all over Poland Thanks to these local activists and Przemysław Wiśniewski and later Agnieszka Wiśniewska Krytyka’s new Cultural Headquarters in Warsaw Clubhouses and cultural centres in Gdańsk-Gdynia-Sopot and Cieszyn were also opened The Stanisław Brzozowski Association won the rights to a 3-year rental agreement with the City of Warsaw for the new Cultural HQ at 63 Nowy świat Michał Borucki and Izabela Jasińka were responsible for the grand opening and were later joined by Joanna Tokarz soon became the greatest centre for and of independent cultural activities in the capital of Poland and collaborated with over 100 different institutions and organisations local Krytyka Polityczna troupes formed cultural clubs and safe havens The 2009 Academic year saw the addition of seminars and debates being hosted by the newly unveiled Critical University The dissemination and enthusiasm for our events and the Critical University proved what we had been saying all along: that our questions inspire many diverse groups of people from all over Poland and is soon to become an international one Vasyl Czerepanyn and Oleksyj Radynski began publishing the Ukrainian edition of the Krytyka Polityczna journal and supplemented it with a set programme of cultural and political events in Kiev This heralded the beginning of Krytyka’s work in Ukraine ‘Political Critique’s Guide to the Ukraine’ a book-length interview with professor Yaroslav Hrytsak Krytyka’s new cultural house is opened in Łódź The leaders are Hanna Gill-Piątek and Martyna Dominiak this cultural house received a local award for its engagement with the Łódź local community 2013 – “Thinking about an international career” 3 issues of the Krytyka Polityczna magazine had over 1100 new texts published on the Opinion Daily website with outreach of around 1 mln users a year and had organised over 400 socio-cultural events in Poland and Ukraine including debates exhibitions as well 17 seminars at the Institute for Advanced Study and a series of economic lectures and two conferences Krytyka Polityczna developed our international platform by opening a Cultural Center in Kiev and launching an international website PoliticalCritique.org We join forces with our friends from Kiev Visual Culture Research Centre to open a culture centre in Kiev and we invite visitors to exhibitions and debates I have to act and do things – very important things beyond me and my life Without activism I would be bored to death” Jacek Kuroń continues to be vividly remembered but rarely followed as an inspiration for critical thinking about contemporary Poland and future challenges it was his remarkable passion for improving the world that formed the core of his political For two consecutive years Political Critique has held a festival dedicated to social-political debate and commemorating the work of Jacek Kuroń The first Jacek Kuroń Festival took place in 2014 on the year of the 25th anniversary of the historical political shift in Poland and its first free elections The second festival in 2015 focused on the challenge of solidarity in a diverse as well as to the question how to mobilize and engage communities in collective actions The main idea of the festival revolves around the critical analysis of contemporary societies and global processes with reference to the topics and values Jacek Kuroń addressed throughout his lifetime and which are linked to the challenges of the present important for the Polish transformation: Jeffrey Sachs The festival programme includes exhibitions – an inspiring life-line with the thread of quotes and important milestones in Jacek Kuroń’s life artistic commentaries on current inequalities and exclusion by Joanna Wowrzeczka and Marta Frej We launch our Culture and Growth research project by opening a debate about the relations between social and economic capital The conference attracts participants from Poland and abroad: Slovakia A year later we embark on a new project of mapping cultural practices to explore their impact on growth We are fully aware of the importance of culture culture has become a language for describing the world In Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski culture operators develop an exhibition bringing back to the public awareness the history of the local labour camp Six months earlier the same group of people open a debate about Ostrowiec market-square an expensive recently rebuilt granite desert Local activists respond and begin infusing life into the place We organize in Cieszyn the second Congress of Culture and … Communication Krytyka Polityczna is a hub connecting people artists from Częstochowa and community activists from Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski All of them exchange knowledge and their unique experiences and inspire one another This is why each year we hold a Krytyka Polityczna networking meeting this has taken the form of an international Central & Eastern Europe Meeting of KP and Friends Over 100 people from over ten countries meet in Cieszyn on the Czech-Polish border Relationships lead to mutual trust and the trust is the social glue KrytykaPolityczna.pl online daily and PoliticalCritique.org online magazine The online daily paper is the latest initiative of Krytyka Polityczna’s milieu and the Stanisław Brzozowski Association published online and focused on presenting opinions rather than news or entertainment It is an online daily oriented towards high-quality content In response to the prevailing trend of media commercialization and subordination to the principles of mass-market culture high-quality journalism in the third sector that is not directly affected by the demands of the (advertising) market It can be sustained by the financial (and other kinds of) support of the Association and all its institutions editorial team of the magazine and publishing house through the resources of the Institute for Advanced Study KrytykaPolityczna.pl provides readers with commentary on current political events in Poland and abroad publishes extended interviews and conversations on various topics translations and excerpts from recently published books film reviews and articles about various cultural events One of the general principles is balancing global KrytykaPolityczna.pl publishes influential Polish authors: essayists theatre and literature critics; as well as foreign contributors the role of KrytykaPolityczna.pl is not only to convey opinion and present ideas professional as well as amateur journalists and local community leaders KrytykaPolityczna.pl serves as a milieu-building platform the English-language version of our website and its Ukrainian counterpart: Ukraine.politicalcritique.org Both sites publish translations of KrytykaPolityczna.pl articles for foreign readers and locally curated content developed by editorial teams in Czech Republic The Political Critique project aims to go beyond the Polish context and create a modern accessible platform for sharing information about cultural and socioeconomic stories and practices in East-Central Europe Its goal is to create a hub for critical opinion and comments on the situation both in Poland and in the Central and Eastern European region In the nearest future we plan to develop a Russian version of PoliticalCritique.org in order to expand its impact onto international readers Krytyka Polityczna is a quarterly magazine launched in 2002 Besides its content and the topics discussed attracting contributors from different fields and building an inspiring intellectual atmosphere igniting a growing movement of activists and sympathisers which later developed into further institutions The magazine focuses on the most important phenomena and trends in today’s politics One of its main premises was to level the artificial boundaries between politics Krytyka Polityczna publishes the most relevant authors in the fields of sociology (Zygmunt Bauman theory of art and culture (Georges Didi-Huberman as well as social activists and politicians (Srdja Popović and it always strives to combine and confront different perspectives Krytyka Polityczna has had over 40 Polish and 6 Ukrainian issues and has covered an impressively wide range of topics: from the legacy of the intelligentsia in the modern era to the hidden exclusiveness of the liberal public sphere the relevance of the left-right divide today the equally constructed character of history and futurology the potential of imaginative utopia as a political force the myth of Russia or the Chinese model and its discontents The magazine has also had special ‚visual’ issues embodying the idea of a direct intersection between the arts and developed by art-directors Artur Żmijewski and Yael Bartana The Publishing House of Krytyka Polityczna was established in September 2007 with a mission to bring into the Polish public sphere the most important works on philosophy as well as to publish original societal and cultural diagnoses by Polish authors new books as well as renewed editions of classical works in literature and theory As of 2015 we have published nearly 250 titles and over 9 book series (Readers We were among the first in Poland to introduce new political and social theories (in books by Zygmunt Bauman new historical perspectives (in books by Timothy Snyder critical analyses of various social phenomena (like Taxes etc.) or art and music (first Polish monographs on Karlheinz Stockhausen In 2015 we published the worldwide bestseller in economics The Capital in 21st Century by Thomas Piketty heavily commented in Polish electronic media and press We also re-edit classical works of literature and political writings including works by Polish dissidents: Jacek Kuroń and Jan Józef Lipski; essays on Stanisław Brzozowski as well as classical philosophy by Adorno and Horkheimer we address to the most recent phenomena in politics and society by releasing books covering the Economic Crisis in USA and Europe and Indignados movements or the (cultural) phenomenon of Polish mourning after the 2010 Smolensk plane crash and many others We also publish important works on Jewish and Polish wartime memory (by Grzegorz Niziołek Elżbieta Janicka) and on Poland’s post-war cultural and social modernisation (by Andrzej Leder Our book releases are always accompanied by intensive social and cultural campaigns (in our network of clubs and cultural centres on the Internet (on the Dziennik Opinii website and various social networks) in traditional media (especially major general and cultural press titles and opinion-leading radio stations) and outdoor advertising Several hundred copies of each publication are sent to opinion-leading circles in Poland: intellectuals but also discussed in the major media; some of them have become a source of inspiration for social movements and various forms of civic activity Since images and other media are just as relevant to us as the words our books books are produced in co-operation with recognized artists (Wilhelm Sasnal Institute for Advanced Study Warsaw was established for research and educational activities in the area of fundamental problems of contemporary culture The main idea behind its founding was to create an environment conducive to searching for responses to the current crisis of liberal democracy springing from the crisis of social bonds and collective imagination Zygmunt Bauman Wyzwania stulecia (Century Challenges) we have organized dozens of seminars on a broad variety of themes in social economy: Podstawy polityki gospodarczej: ujęcie ekonomii postkeynesowskiej (Economic Policy Basics: Post-Keynesian Economy Approach) delivered by former Minister of Finance Co może psychoanalityczna teoria krytyczna wnieść do rozumienia historii Polski Psychoanalytic Critical Theory and the Understanding of Polish History) by Prof Agata Bielik-Robson; social policy and feminism: Co się stało z drugą falą (What Happened to the Second Wave?) by Agnieszka Graff Gender w polityce społecznej (Gender in Social Policy) by Dorota Szelewa PhD; analysis of contemporary social movements in Poland and abroad: Miasto–przestrzeń–własność (City – Space – Property) by Joanna Erbel and Przemysław Sadura Zmiany społeczno-polityczne w świecie arabskim w XXI wieku (Autumn of Arab Middle Ages Socio-Political Changes in the 21st Century Arab World) by Patrycja Sasnal IAS open lectures and debates have given thousands of people direct access to experts decision-makers and intellectuals of the highest order former president of Poland Aleksander Kwaśniewski In the following years we launched projects in theoretical studies and empirical research into various aspects of cultural practices in the Polish society In the project Praktyki kulturowe klasy ludowej (Cultural Practices in Working Class) a team of sociologists lead by Maciej Gdula conducted field research that produced a report with recommendations for decision-makers and culture professionals about the instruments for maximizing social cultural inclusion The institute’s flagship in the recent years has been Kultura i rozwój (Culture and Development) a project conducted under the auspices of former Minister of Economy The three-year seminar programme and conferences (2013 2014) involved a broad empirical research into grassroot cultural initiatives in Poland and their relations with official public institutions The project resulted in a comprehensive diagnosis on the relationship between culture economy and democratic social growth in the context of civilizational challenges faced by contemporary Poland Kiev) and clubs in Poland serves as a platform for fostering integration and social commitment among the hundreds of people working with Krytyka Polityczna run cultural centres for underprivileged groups debate new ideas and current problems that appear in the public sphere The first of the cultural centres was REDakcja It served as an open house for the exchange for ideas as well as for presenting social and political projects The general idea was to erase the boundaries between science REDakcja was a place in which artists were inspired to think and act in political terms and officials were encouraged to treat culture as a language crucial for shaping the entire society REDakcja held around 300 open meetings with politicians (including the Danish Prime Minister Poul Nyrup Rasmussen) intellectuals (Peter Singer and Slavoj Žižek) and artists (Yoko Ono and Rene Pollesch) artists (Joanna Rajkowska and Wilhelm Sasnal) In over three years REDakcja became become one of the most important cultural centres of the Polish capital In November 2009 Krytyka Polityczna moved to new headquarters Centrum Kultury Nowy Wspaniały Świat (Brave New World Cultural Centre) was situated in the centre of Warsaw It housed one of the city’s most popular clubs and cafés as well as being the venue of numerous cultural events We invited over 50 other NGOs invited to cooperate with us mostly active in the fields of human rights In Brave New World weheld multiple open lectures and workshops on philosophy the Cultural Centre organised over 1,600 cultural events movie screenings as well as lectures and debates inviting audiences to meet well-known politicians such as former Polish President Aleksander Kwaśniewski former Prime Ministers Tadeusz Mazowiecki and Jan Krzysztof Bielecki Harald Welzer as well as artists such as Agnieszka Holland In 2012 a large part of these activities moved to the newest headquarters of Krytyka Polityczna well-wishers and associates of Krytyka Polityczna we began launching Political Critique Clubs in other Polish cities local interventions in urban space and other events In Gniezno we organized three an open-air exhibitions (2014–2016) accompanied by a debate Ghosts of transformation; we collaborate to the Offeliada Film Festival and every year we give award with Stanisław Brzozowski Award to director of one of the presented movies In Wrocław we covered medially the Romanian Roma litigation and co-organised a round table discussion with the participation of non-governmental organisations In Opole we organized the exhibition What Cannot Be Seen presenting socially engaged art with works of contemporary artists such as Joanna Wowrzeczka and Marta Frej We organised Democracy 4.0 workshops in Warsaw In 2015 we launched a web browser of female experts Ekspertki.org to provide an useful tool for journalists and public debates organizers’ easier contact to expert in specific topics in order to fight exclusion of women from public debate or media We organized workshops to journalists and local curators in Kraków many of Krytyka Polityczna clubs grew into the bases for other organizations which established friendly relations with Krytyka Polityczna Simultaneously with the growth of the KP clubs network we developed partnerships with associations and non-formal groups in several cities around Poland In subsequent years we established three new cultural centres outside Warsaw: in Gdańsk All three have their own venues in which they regularly hold meetings movie screenings and artistic performances and sometimes celebrities to speak to local audiences and address locally relevant questions as well as discuss general problems of culture and society The new KP cultural centres soon became prominent landmarks in the socio-cultural landscapes of their respective cities In Łódź the centre regularly holds urban space social consultations sessions local activists and city officials in debates about the future of urban development the Krytyka Polityczna club is an important venue for debates also on the subjects of local history and minorities it is also instrumental in helping various NGOs and activists in the development of an anti-drug policy located in the former Polish-Czech border control building on the river Olza besides running events typical for centres in Łódź and Gdańsk also undertakes regular community work with children and young people from underprivileged environments as well as inspiring community education policies projects Since 2010 Krytyka Polityczna has been present in Ukraine with a club in Kiev and a group of activists in Lviv In 2014 we opened a KP Cultural Centre in Kiev run in cooperation with the Visual Culture Research Centre lectures (for example with Zygmunt Bauman) and exhibitions focusing mainly on the political dimension of art and the cultural dimensions of the post-communist transformation involving citizens in opposition against the privatisation of urban spaces in Ukraine A broad group of activists has been managing the Ukrainian edition of Krytyka Polityczna magazine Since 2014 Ukrainian Krytyka Polityczna has had been also published online on www.ukraine.politicalcritique.org In 2011–2012 Krytyka Polityczna ran a series of debates on the political dimension of art in close cooperation with Berliner Kunstwerke and the great art festival Berlin Biennale the artistic director of Krytyka Polityczna magazine Central and Eastern Europe Agora Meeting in Cieszyn Central and Eastern Europe Meeting in Cieszyn a project of Krytyka Polityczna and its milieu an occasion for summing up the year’s activities In 2014 and 2105 they were an occasion to meet friends We invited fellow organisations from Poland and abroad to Cieszyn to get to know one another and discuss changing the world for the better as we know this is something in which we all share a keen interest Most participants of the Cieszyn events are activists academics and journalists from Central and Eastern Europe The region has been an obvious point of reference from the start a tradition in which we were brought up (socially involved intelligencia) and where we deliver our activities collaborating with countries outside the EU is what we do on a daily basis We invite friends from Western and Southern Europe to Cieszyn to inspire to get a thorough understanding of the local contexts We have always viewed operating in a network working with other activists and friendly organizations as a space for building relationships Our term for it is “the making of social glue.” Through working together towards the change of political discourse and installing leftist thinking into social debate Each undertaking to achieve this goal means hours of work as a team: research We consider those hours spent together equally important as our shared ideas Polish philosopher Stanisław Brzozowski wrote: “What is not biography – is nothing at all.” It is doing things together that is our biography Krytyka Polityczna is a platform that brings together people We are matchmakers for all sorts of people people fighting for minority rights and economists inspire and share their unique experiences Sociologists and artists use different tools but if they all sit down together to explain and demonstrate them they may learn something that would not cross their minds if they remained separate This sort of “matchmaking” helps a lot of people we meet get to know one another is why we invite our friends to Cieszyn each year Over a hundred people from 12 European countries gathered in Cieszyn in 2014 During the four-day event we talked about the identity of Eastern Europe and the current situation in Ukraine In a series of workshops we shared our daily work experiences strategies for social and political movements as well as gender studies 130 participants from 18 countries attended the meeting in 2015 (Poland The programme consisted of discussions of Poland’s political situation a series of group discussions on topics such as new political actors in Europe fighting non-traditional authoritarian regimes The programme also included a lecture by Michał Sutowski on solidarity in Europe Piszą dla nas Nieustannie dostosowujemy witrynę do potrzeb osób ją odwiedzających. Korzystamy z plików cookies zgodnie z Polityką prywatności. Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns Light heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz certainly kept an eye on the UFC Vegas 25 headliner last night Jiri Prochazka met Dominick Reyes in the headliner and delivered one of the greatest two-round fights of all time as it was a back-and-forth war throughout However, Prochazka was the one leading the dance more and eventually earned the victory following a brutal spinning elbow that put the lights out on Reyes The performance was so impressive that many observers even called for Prochazka to get the next title shot over Glover Teixeira. And Blachowicz teased that prospect after the event Me vs you in Cieszyn🇵🇱 Prince vs 🇨🇿 Samurai Sword vs Katana😁 #LegendaryPolishPower” Hey @jiri_bjp.Me vs you in Cieszyn🇵🇱 Prince vs 🇨🇿 SamuraiSword vs Katana😁 #LegendaryPolishPower Blachowicz would clarify that Teixeira would still be next which is good news for the Brazilian Blachowicz did make sure to point out that there was context to his original tweet “For all those who do not know the Slavic context of the previous post and its humorous nature.Of course For all those who do not know the Slavic context of the previous post and its humorous nature.Of course, Glovera is the next contender. I always keep my word 👊🙂. #LegendaryPolishPower So what was the context of Blachowicz’s tweet “Cieszyn is a town right on the Poland-Czech Republic border It has a lot of historical significance for both countries Bottom line: Central Europe has two of the best light heavyweights in the world right now.” Cieszyn is a town right on the Poland-Czech Republic border. It has a lot of historical significance for both countries. Bottom line: Central Europe has two of the best light heavyweights in the world right now. https://t.co/T9Tme37flm we might just see this central European clash before the end of the year Experienced freelance sports writer covering mixed martial arts (MMA) extensively for the last few years In the opening moments of the first round it seemed as if Blachowicz may have had the Swede’s number in the stand-up department ‘The Mauler’ quickly took the contest to the ground and implemented a strong top game as Gustafsson once again took the fight to the ground in order to display a dominant top game in which he cut Blachowicz on the top of the head with some nasty ground-and-pound Gustafsson would seal the deal en-route to a unanimous decision victory over Blachowicz with another takedown in the third round as he would hold down the ‘Prince of Cieszyn’ until the final horn of the contest Check out the video highlights of Gustafsson’s wrestling-based win starting at the 1:20 mark of his post-fight interview right here: Has been covering mixed martial arts (MMA) for the past several years Also covers professional wrestling for WrestleZone and EWrestlingNews and the Houston Texans for USA Today's Texans Wire UFC president Dana White has no idea what he did to a UFC champion Light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz fought in the main event of UFC 259 on March 6 taking on the current UFC middleweight champion The “Prince of Cieszyn” defended his 205-pound strap by unanimous decision halting Adesanya’s dream of becoming an undefeated UFC double champ It was the Polish fighter’s first title defense extending his win streak to five and adding another big name to his mantel which includes the likes of former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold and top light heavyweight Dominick Reyes Blachowicz went from a lesser-known fighter to the king of light heavyweights Because his start in the UFC was less than stellar going 2-4 in his first six promotional bouts as well as capturing gold after Jon Jones vacated the title some haven’t given Blachowicz the credit he deserves Blachowicz had something to say about that after the UFC president wrapped the light heavyweight belt around the Prince of Cieszyn’s waist on Saturday night “When I got up in the Octagon, I put the belt on [Blachowicz] tonight and he turned around, looked at me and said, ‘You don’t believe in me,'” White told the media during the UFC 259 post-fight press conference “I’ve done nothing but say good things about the guy,” he continued he thinks I don’t believe in him.” White reiterated that he does in fact believe in the 205-pound champion “I was stunned,” White continued What did I ever say to make you think that I don’t believe in you?'” ALL the latest UFC news straight to your inbox! Subscribe to the Heavy on UFC newsletter here White gave his thoughts on the outcome of the UFC 259 main event he doesn’t get the light heavyweight title he doesn’t fight Jon Jones,” White said during the presser You can never hurt somebody for thinking big and trying to become great He is the 205-pound champ and now he starts taking on all-comers in that weight division.” Here are the full results for the UFC 259 fight card: Follow the Heavy on UFC Facebook page for the latest breaking news READ NEXT: Wild Challenge to Dana White: ‘I’ll Bet the House’