Lubelskie is a region of touristic merit with a relatively small amount of pollution. The city promotes companies involved in environmental protection.

Our city organizes undertakings having to do with the protection of the environment, and among these are Polish academic conferences dealing with, for instance, improving the condition of Lublin’s Zemborzycki Reservoir and waste management in the city. In addition, we cooperate with local companies and are open to propositions for new investments.

Companies like MPO SITA, KOM-EKO, and the heat and power plant Lublin Wrotków, take part in the efforts of local government by providing much financial assistance. Many businesses are involved in the effort to save the Horse-chestnut tree from the Horse-chestnut Tree Miner. The largest of these companies are LUBZEL S.A., Polish Radio, Agora, BOŚ, LPEC, MPWiK, the Carpathian Gas Company, Leclerc, BIOMET, and PKP Cargo.

Apparently, in the near future, Lublin is to become host to a Special Economic Zone. To what sort of firms, to what branches of business, will investment opportunities be available in the Zone?

We will be inviting production and logistical firms to participate in the Zone. We are particularly open to any offers having to do with modern technology. I would like to see Lublin become a city specializing in areas which would render it recognizable on the scientific map of Europe—I see this possibility in the area of sustainable energy. Energetic Lublin will become a place in which to realize interdisciplinary programs, with research and initiatives pertaining to diverse areas of science, ranging from biology, physics, chemistry, on through technical and agricultural disciplines, and even including economics and energy market management.

Among others already interested in the Special Economic Zone is the firm Comarch (investments in the IT sector). SAFO Sp. z o.o., as the subject leading the Asseco Business Solutions group, plans to build a center for the development of new information technologies. We also recieved a response to our invitation from representatives of SolarEnTech, a firm specializing in original solutions in the field of solar batteries.

In addition, Lublin will become home to the Polish Electrical Power Engineering headquarters, and also to the Polish Post Expeditionary-Distributive Center. All together, the above investments will yield 4000 jobs.

Students make up nearly 1/3 of Lublin’s population. In what way will the City support universities in attracting students from abroad?

Our project “Lublin: City of Knowledge”, includes a strategy encompassing educational projects, international cooperation, the development of new academic disciplines, and extracurricular education programs. This will encourage foreign students to study in Lublin. The project plans a publication, to be printed in both Polish and English, which will list educational and scientific opportunities in the City.

And what shape will the cooperation between city hall and universities take, in order to meet the demands of firms investing in the region?

The local government supports schools in all initiatives oriented towards the realization of entrepreneurship incubators. Lublin, with the intellectual and research potential of its institutions of higher learning (Catholic University of Lublin, Maria Curie - Sklodowska University, Lublin University of Technology, Agricultural University in Lublin, Medical Academy of Lublin, private universities) aims to achieve international status as an academic center (an end towards which the program “Lublin: City of Knowledge” is working).

The project aims to create a cooperative network between local government, business, and academics. The arising consortium of Municipality of Lublin, state universities and the Institute of Agrophysics PAS (Polish Academy of Sciences) will eventually lead to such a high level of integration, that it will become possible to present our offers in a convincing way in our approach to firms interested in Lublin region. The project also encompasses the holding of workshops on (among other topics) building cooperative networks and the transfer of knowledge, which will help in the coordination of tasks serving to attract investors.

What advantages to studying, residing, and living in Lublin should be particularly emphasized so that Lublin might be able to compete with other university towns like Kraków, Wrocław, and Warsaw?

Lublin, the biggest city in Eastern Poland, is a place of unique enviroment. Here one can experience what it is to live in a large agglomeration and at the same time, enjoy the merits of provincial in the best sense of the word: safer and quieter living.

Lublin is a city of youth creative energy. Lublin universities are generating these attributes. Thanks to schools the proportion of students to the general population is the highest in Poland. In the very heart of Lublin there is Academic Town, from here emerge artistic and cultural undertakings. The Municipality of Lublin supports initiatives and students creativity through financial aid and cooperating in the organization of, for instance Days of Student Culture.

Lublin is an excellent example of a city whose cultural life rests upon the conception of neighborly cooperation. Examples of this are the “Neighbor” Festival (for the theatres of Central Europe) the Jagiellonian Fair, and transborder cooperation. A good academic and technological resource base (libraries with rich collections and laboratories), are both further virtues of this place. Lublin is also a center for Polonia research as well as the cradle for many institutions, such as the Polonia House and the Polish Collectivit

Lublin, the largest city in Eastern Poland, although  located slightly away from main tourist routes, attracts visitors with its special atmosphere; those who have once been here, will certainly come back to taste delicious local dishes, meet friendly people and see again various historical monuments which contribute to the magical character of a city where East meets West.

Multicultural City

For more than a thousand years since its establishment, Lublin has been a home city for Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, Jews and Armenians. This multicultural melting pot had its own culture and traditions. Lublin is still open and friendly. It is a magical place where history meets present time. Local Old City with its unique historic monuments, marvellous tenement houses and picturesque streets and crescents will enchant every visitor.

Lublin is also a city full of young people, pulsating with the rhythm dictated by 100 thousand students from various countries studying in several colleges and two universities.

History

Lublin attracted a number of great Poles including Renaissance authors Biernat of Lublin, Mikołaj Rej, Jan Kochanowski and  Sebastian Klonowic. Other artists who were born in Lublin and lived there were poet Wincenty Pol, composer and violinist Henryk Wieniawski, writer and politician  Józef Ignacy Kraszewski and poet  Józef Czechowicz; all of them have memorial plaques in the Old Town. 

The history of Lublin dates back to the 6th century. The town was granted its rights in 1317  by prince of Krakow and Sandomierz Władysław Łokietek.  In mid16th century, king Kazimierz Wielki (Casimir the Great)  surrounded it with stout, reliable city walls and built a  castle on a hill which served as an important link in the chain of almost fifty castles constructed by Piast dynasty to defend southern and eastern borders of their kingdom.

In Lublin The best known symbol of the past is the post Nazi concentration camp in Maj-danek. Other historic places related to WWII are graves of people fallen in September 1939, graves of Red Army soldiers of 1944 and a symbolic Katyń Grave built after 1989.

Tourist Attractions

Lublin and Kraków are the only cities in Poland with historic Old Towns which were saved from destruction during WWII.  The Old Town in Lublin has also a very attractive entrance gate, Brama Krakowska, built in the 14th century.

The building of the Trybunał Koronny (Crown Tribunal, established in 1578) is located in the central part of the historic part of the city. According to one of the best known and most popular legends, a “devil’s tribunal” was held there in 1637, when a poor widow instituted a case against a rich nobleman.  Corrupted judges decided against the woman, who appealed to devil’s justice. On the same night, the devils acting as judges re-considered the case and issued a decision in favour of the woman.  As a proof, one of them left a print of its paw on a table which is currently kept in the Castle Museum, near the entrance.

Dominican Basilica is a gem of sacral architecture; the church and the monastery were funded in 1342 by king Kazimierz Wielki  Around 1430, the relics of the Holy Cross were placed there and the church began to enjoy international recognition. A solemn thanksgiving mass was celebrated there after signing the Union of Lublin in 1569, a tractate which contributed to the establishment of European Union many centuries later.

The most interesting part of the Lublin castle is the Holy Trinity Chapel decorated with Russian and Byzantine frescos in 1418.

Before WW II, Lublin had its Jewish district with almost 42 thousand Jews. At that time the total number of Lublin residents approximated  120 thousand. Since 1930, a Rabbinic Academy  Yeshivas Chachmei Lublin had been operating there. The Academy was established by Rabbi Meir Shapiro, one of the greatest scholars of the 1st half of the 20th century and  financed by Jews from all over the world. All rabbis in Poland had to pass their examinations there. At present, the Academy houses of a branch of the Jewish Community of Warsaw.

Lublin Moods

This magical city attracts tourists also with its numerous pubs and restaurants, located mostly in the Old Town and a pedestrian passage at Krakowskie Przedmieście. From the early morning,  summer open air cafes tempt passers-bys with various delicacies. There you can taste a variety of pierogi (stuffed dumplings) and try Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish cuisine, washing the delicious dishes down with excellent local beer. You can meet there various artists, as Lublin hosts numerous international music, theatrical, graphic art and film events. The key ones are International Competition for Young Violinists, Crossroads of Europe - International Days of Documentary  Cinema, International Folk Meeting, Theatre Confrontations - International Theatre Festival, Neighbours - Festival of Central  European Theatres.