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Żyrardów
Historical pension lodge
Flag Coat of arms
Żyrardów
Coordinates: 52°3′N 20°26′E / 52.050°N 20.433°E / 52.050; 20.433Coordinates: 52°3′N 20°26′E / 52.050°N 20.433°E / 52.050; 20.433
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Masovian
County	Żyrardów County
Gmina	Żyrardów (urban gmina)
Established	1830
Town rights	1916
Government
• Mayor	Wojciech Jasiński
Area
• Total	14.35 km2 (5.54 sq mi)
Population (2006)
• Total	41,161
• Density	2,900/km2 (7,400/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	96-300
Area code(s)	+48 046
Car plates	WZY
Website	www.zyrardow.pl

Żyrardów [ʐɨˈrarduf] ( listen) is a town and former industrial hub in central Poland with approximately 41,400 inhabitants (2006). It is the capital of Żyrardów County situated in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Skierniewice Voivodeship (1975–1998) 45 kilometres (28 miles) west of Warsaw. Żyrardów, initially a textile settlement, was named after French engineer and inventor Philippe de Girard, who worked in the area.

History

Founded by the Łubieński brothers as a textile factory in 1833. One of directors of the factory was French inventor Philippe de Girard (from Lourmarin). The town developed during the 19th century into a significant textile mill town in Poland. In honour of Girard, Ruda Guzowska was renamed Żyrardów, a toponym derived of the polonised spelling of Girard's name.

On September 13, 1939 Germany captured the town. In 1941 they transported Jews into Warsaw ghetto. The town museum is nowadays located in the former palace of owner of factory K. Dittrich.
A sign near the entrance to the town states that it was the only city in Europe, entirely set up for a factory.
The town was named one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (Pomnik historii), as designated January 17, 2012. Its listing is maintained by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

Monuments

Winter panorama of main square

City magistrate

Bank Pekao building

Most of Żyrardów's monuments are located in the manufacturing area which dates from the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is widely believed that Żyrardów's textile settlement is the only whole urban industrial 19th-century complex to be preserved in Europe.

Education

• Szkoła Mistrzostwa Sportowego w Kolarstwie


• Wyższa Szkoła Rozwoju Lokalnego


• Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Stefana Żeromskiego


• Zespół Szkół Publicznych nr. 7 im. Henryka Sienkiewicza w Żyrardowie

Sport

Since 1923 in Żyrardów a football club named Żyrardowianka Żyradów (used to be named Włókniarz Żyrardów), which in 2015/2016 was part of IV League of polish football.

Notable people

• 
  Feliks Lubienski, landowner who gave the estate and his blessing to his sons to build the very first textile factory


• 
  Henryk Łubieński, banker and industrialist, son of Felix.


• 
  Feliks Sobański, philanthropist who donated land for the church


• 
  Paweł Hulka-Laskowski, a writer, translator and social activist
  


• Former Prime Minister Leszek Miller (born in Żyrardów on July 3, 1946), started his professional life as electrician in a local textile factory

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Żyrardów is twinned with:

• 
  Tangshan, China


• 
  Delchevo, Republic of Macedonia


• 
  Lourmarin, France


• 
  Siero, Spain

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Żyrardów.

• Official Site of Żyrardów


• A web page of the history of Żyrardów (in Polish)


• Current Population


• Memorial Book of Zyrardow, Amshinov and Viskit


• 
  Jewish Community in Żyrardów on Virtual Shtetl