Category: Częstochowa

This is a slightly random post, mostly just photos with very little supporting text. It’s mainly some of my remaining photos from my trip to Częstochowa in Poland a few weeks ago that I didn’t otherwise do much with.

I’m not sure if there was a specific reason for this being located at ul. Ogrodowa by the bridge over the railway line.

Street art.

The Solidarity imagery at a square, Solidarności, named after the important movement which drove Poland towards independence. In the early 1980s it was illegal in Poland to even wear a badge with this on as the authorities desperately tried to repress the country and they placed it under martial law.

A memorial to honour textile workers.

More street art and I thought that this made the otherwise bland Soviet-style building look somewhat better.

There are no shortage of statues of Józef Piłsudski in Poland, and this is the local one.

It’s certainly revered judging by the floral arrangement in front of it.

A walk along the river, this stretched for some distance although was rather muddier in some areas.

The city’s railway station, which doesn’t in my view look much like a railway station. I think there was a hope it would become a slightly decadent shopping centre as well, but it’s all a bit barren at the moment.

And two photos of the square in front of the station, where the authorities have seemingly spent some money to improve things somewhat. There are some murals on the neighbouring buildings and the square has been opened up and traffic mostly kept out.

I wrote about the city elsewhere, it’s a welcoming place which is very much dominated by the presence of Jasna Góra. There are many central areas which are derelict and no shortage of empty shops and offices. It seems that Częstochowa needs more residents so that these units can all be redeveloped and turned into housing which can in turn create economic growth. Investment in the city’s infra-structure is clearly being made, not least with the tram system, but they’re going to need a lot more money to reverse the industrial decline which seems to have blighted at least part of this city. At least though they remain a major pilgrimage site, which must help financially.

Going back a couple of weeks to my little trip to Częstochowa in Poland, this was one of the few craft beer bars that seemed to be open at times that I could visit. It’s located not too far from Jasna Gora, so they might get something of a tourist trade to add to their local custom.

Very nicely done, the list of available craft beers is chalked up on the boards outside the entrance. I like it when they’re chalked up above the bar, but tempting in customers walking by seems a particularly clever idea. I thought that the beer selection had a suitable range of different styles and from a number of different breweries, so it all felt well thought through.

It wasn’t packed when I visited, but the atmosphere was warm and homely. It was slightly awkward when I went in as there was quite a lively discussion going on between what looked like an angry Polish man and the barman. I stood there trying to look nonchalant in my British manner, but probably to not much success. As the discussion finished after a couple of minutes I ordered my beer and the angry Polish man came back to talk to me, telling me that his daughter was working in London. It transpired that he wasn’t an angry man, he was a friendly character with an excellent English speaking ability.

I went for a Stormy Pacific from Funky Fluid brewery who are based in Warsaw, and this was a very decent Double New England IPA. It felt an odd environment to be drinking it, a quiet bar in a relatively rural Polish city with a traditional atmosphere, but yet it was an on-trend and quite exciting beer. The prices were moderate for the quality of the beer, but these are premium products and I’m impressed at how the bar owner has managed to get quite a local following and such positive reviews.

There weren’t any other customers during the time I was in my little corner and the barman was off doing some bar related things judging from the banging of barrels and the like. That meant I just sat and read a book on my phone for an hour, really quite comfortable in this warm environment. Certainly not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon and I very much hope bars like this continue to open up across Poland. I’ve seen the future and I like it……

Just some random photos of Częstochowa…….

St. Sigismund Church, the oldest in the city, first constructed in the middle of the fourteenth century. It was knocked about over the centuries during conflicts, before being used by the Germans as a military warehouse during the Second World War, after which it needed substantial repairs. Until 1825, there was a cemetery located at the front of the church, but it was knocked down to allow for the building of Aleja Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Częstochowie.

The Cathedral Basilica, which dates from the early twentieth century when the city was growing in population size and needed a cathedral of this size. Located on the site of a cemetery, work wasn’t completed until just before the outbreak of the Second World War and the new towers were only added in 1997.

It’s clear to see here how the railway dominates the heart of the city and also divides it in two.

There’s a walk by the Warta River, the country’s second longest river, with only the Vistula being longer. The area to the left in this photo was the Jewish ghetto during the Second World War, but I’m not that very much of that survives.

I liked the clock in the city’s main shopping centre.

These photos are all a bit bleak, but there are many buildings in this state in the city centre. The city has been depopulating over recent decades and it’s not the industrial powerhouse that it once was. It’s often possible to judge a city’s fortunes by looking at how many cranes there are building and renovating properties, but it’s fair to say that there aren’t many in Częstochowa. The local council themselves admit that the city has significant economic challenges, but there have been a number of ongoing infrastructure improvements, some of which have been funded by the European Union. There are new roads being built in the area and there’s also a relatively modern tram system, with some areas being defined as Special Economic Zones to encourage investment.

The city does have a large number of tourists, but these seem to nearly all be going to Jasna Góra which presents its own benefits and challenges. Museums in the city seem to be closed at the moment, or just badly advertised, and there’s not much else aimed at tourists which is a situation that isn’t helping the local economy.

I was slightly surprised to see that this Indian restaurant in Częstochowa opens at 11.00 in the morning, which doesn’t seem a time when many customers might be coming in for a curry. Well, other than me, just before mid-day, and I was the only customer. However, the staff member was friendly and she spoke English, which was handy as I’ve felt I’ve already overdone my limited Polish today.

The interior of the restaurant, all clean, comfortable and empty, with the environment feeling warm and welcoming. A couple of customers did come in shortly before I was leaving, but I suspect it’ll remain quiet until this evening. The restaurant is well reviewed though and it seems that there’s quite a demand for takeaways from here.

Żywiec isn’t perhaps the greatest beer, but it’s perfectly adequate in these circumstances. There were a choice of beers available, although all lagers, with plenty of soft drink options.

The jalfrezi chicken curry with rice, naan and salad. Although this was perhaps a little lacking in a depth of heat in terms of the spice, it tasted decent and the chicken was tender. There was lumps of broccoli in it, but fortunately the curry sauce disguised the taste nicely. The naan bread was generous in its portion size, since I received four pieces, and the rice was cooked well. I went for this as it was on the discounted lunch menu, with the curry option changing on a daily basis.

And the cost of the curry, rice, naan, salad and beer came to £4.89….. It’s fair to say that I felt that I received value for money and all told really rather a lovely lunch in a welcoming environment.

It’s raining outside, so I thought I’d pop in to this outlet of Consonni, an Italian company which expanded into Poland in 1991. The snail above the counter is quite brave as it might signify slow service, but is actually meant to represent the Slow Food Movement.

The lighting in this photo is a bit odd, but at the heart of the cafe is this 25-year old palm tree. It was empty when I came in, but all of the six of so tables are now full, so it’s a busy little unit.

Some of the cakes on display, all looking suitably tempting. They sell coffees, cakes, ice cream and breads, so there’s quite a selection for such a small unit. Nearly everything is sold by weight, including the ice cream and cakes, so customers can choose how much they want.

The chocolate cherry cake and a latte, which came to under £4 which is really quite decadent for Poland, but it’s a premium location in an expensive part of the city. The staff member didn’t speak English, but fortunately my very limited Polish is sufficient enough to order chocolate cherry cake and a latte, which is handy. I’ve learned the essentials (or what I consider to be the essentials) at least, even though I can’t do much else in Polish.

Anyway, a nice little cafe, the cake was rich and perhaps not freshly out, but it was still sufficiently moist to be a suitable lunch stop for me. Incidentally, the slice of cake is larger than the photo suggests, it’s on a wide angle and it distorts things somewhat. And looking outside, it’s still raining, which isn’t entirely ideal.

Located along Aleja Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Częstochowie is this memorial to Władysław Biegański (1857-1917), a local doctor. He wasn’t born in the city, but he set up a private practice here in 1883, after studying medicine at the Imperial University in Warsaw.

Biegański also has the honour of having the local library named after him in recognition of his social activism in the city. He seems to have been a busy figure generally in the local area and he was also responsible for the local branch of the Polish Touring Society, an organisation which promoted tourism. The Polish Parliament also annually declares a number of subjects as an annual distinction, whether that be an event or a person, with Biegański getting a whole year dedicated to him in 2017 (along with the Vistula River as another award winner) which marked 100 years since his death.

Unfortunately there’s no English translation….. However, there are a few of these benches located along the street and I think they’re interesting as they give an indication as to who the authorities of Częstochowa feel are the most important people who have lived and worked in the city.