TOP 10 wydarzeń 2021 roku w Bolesławcu
January 2021
29th WOŚP FINAL
We traditionally began the year by collecting money during the 29th Final of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity, thanks to the Bolesławiec headquarters led by Michał Szwed (BOK – MCC). Thanks to them, the WOŚP Final has been held continuously in Bolesławiec since 2018, after a nearly five-year break (from 2013 to 2016, no Final was organized in Bolesławiec. In 2017, the Blues nad Bobrem Association and the Youth Cultural Centre organized a concert as part of WOŚP, but volunteers from the Nowogrodziec headquarters collected donations). During the 29th Final, we raised PLN 153,169.38.
INCREASES IN WASTE COLLECTION FEES
2021 greeted us with increases in waste collection fees. On 1 January, new regulations governing the municipal waste management system in the Municipality of Bolesławiec came into force. Fees increased by as much as 100%.
COVID-19 VACCINATIONS
Registration for COVID vaccinations began in mid-January. Initially, interest in vaccinations was enormous. After a year, we know that just under 50% of Polish women and men had received the second dose.
MAYOR PAWLISZCZY ACCUSED OF BANDERIST SYMPATHIES
In his Christmas wishes on Facebook, Gromadka Mayor Dariusz Pawliszczy used the words: “Slava Ukraini! Heroyam slava!” A PiS councillor from Jelenia Góra attacked the mayor, claiming that it was a Banderist greeting inappropriate for a Polish official. The mayor notified the Ukrainian consulate about the attack against him. He deleted his post and apologized to those who felt offended by the wishes.
COUNCILLOR DARIUSZ F. BEFORE THE COURT
Before Christmas 2020, a penal order was issued (that is, one issued on the basis of the case files) against councillor Dariusz F., whom investigators accused of abusing an employee and inciting the crime of forging a signature. The prosecutor’s office and councillor Dariusz F. filed objections to the order. The case was to continue throughout 2021.
February 2021
In February, fuel in Bolesławiec exceeded PLN 5 per litre, and the upward trend continued until the end of the year. Twelve months later, we were paying around PLN 6 per litre. Pandemic restrictions were also eased. Cinemas, theatres and hotels, among others, reopened.
KACPER’S FATHER’S TRIAL BEGINS
An indictment against Rafał B., the father of three-and-a-half-year-old Kacper, who drowned in the Kwisa River in April, was submitted to the court. In the brief statement the father gave to istotne.pl after the first court hearing, it was clear that emotions were intense and that he was suffering greatly. More in the article: “I Loved Him More Than Life,” the Father of the Deceased Kacper Says. What Was the Boy’s Last Day with His Dad Like?
ANONYMOUS DENUNCIATION OF A BOLESŁAWIEC PRIEST
The priest’s “good acquaintances” from Bolesławiec wrote an anonymous letter, three A4 pages long. It concerned moral matters. It was full of details from the life of the Bolesławiec clergyman that could only have been known by someone closely connected with the priest. The letter was sent to Zbigniew Kiernikowski, the Bishop of Legnica, the Apostolic Nuncio, the Primate of Poland, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Poznań, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Wrocław and parish priests in Bolesławiec. It was also sent to our editorial office.
March 2021
MAYOR’S AWARDS FOR ONLINE CITY PROMOTION
The mayor presented awards for promoting Bolesławiec during the pandemic year. Honorary awards went to:
- Teresa Wolanin, art historian and director of the Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec from 1971 to 2001
- Primary School No. 4 named after Jan Matejko in Bolesławiec
- Museum of Ceramics in Bolesławiec
- The Territorial Organization of NSZZ “Solidarity” in Bolesławiec County (in 2020, NSZZ “Solidarity” celebrated its 40th anniversary)
- Healthcare Complex in Bolesławiec.
THE END OF TESCO IN BOLESŁAWIEC
The British chain’s stores in Poland were taken over by a Danish chain. Tesco ceased operating in Bolesławiec a few months after the decision.
THE DAYCARE PROBLEM IN BOLESŁAWIEC
This is a recurring issue and a major problem for women who want to return to work. A reader asked us to raise the subject, writing: There are 22 pre-assigned daycare places for all of Bolesławiec. An ordinary person who cannot afford private daycare has nowhere to leave their child when they have to return to work. The problem of daycare in Bolesławiec being available only to the wealthy has been raised for years, without result!
April 2021
BOLESŁAWIEC RESIDENT AWAKENED AFTER A SIX-MONTH COMA
This was a tremendous success for the Bolesławiec Healthcare Complex. After six months of treatment, 62-year-old Mr Marian was successfully awakened.
MORAWIECKI AT BOLESŁAWIEC HOSPITAL AND THE WOMEN’S STRIKE
Undoubtedly lured by the county hospital’s successes, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki visited it with his media entourage and supporters. Local government officials were not invited to meet the head of government: neither Mayor Piotr Roman nor County Head Tomasz Gabrysiak. The Bolesławiec Women’s Strike welcomed the prime minister with a bowl of rice made from Bolesławiec ceramics. In connection with the prime minister’s visit, 25 police officers surrounded and checked the identities of seven people from the Women’s Strike in Bolesławiec.
May 2021
FIRST OUTDOOR EVENTS: CHILDREN’S DAY
On Sunday, 30 May, the Municipal Sports and Recreation Centre in Bolesławiec organized the “Festival on the Bóbr” for Children’s Day. The event was very popular and was also the first outdoor event in Bolesławiec after restrictions were eased. The stars of the programme were acrobats from the Ocelot artistic group.
June 2021
PAID PARKING ZONE
Nothing stirred as much emotion among residents of the city and county as the Paid Parking Zone. Its creation and operation were discussed until November.
July 2021
STORM OVER THE COUNTY
Trees were knocked down in Bolesławiec: near the railway station and by the Orlen station on Zgorzelecka Street. Zgorzelecka Street was flooded and impassable—the water reached approximately 40 centimetres before midnight.
FATAL PEDESTRIAN COLLISION AT THE CROSSING NEAR “MANHATTAN”
The incident occurred on Tuesday, 27 July, at around 7:30 a.m., near the Bolesławiec Manhattan market in Bolesławiec. A 47-year-old woman from Bolesławiec driving a Volkswagen fatally struck a 61-year-old resident of the City of Ceramics, on a pedestrian crossing.
ELECTRIC SCOOTERS
From July, electric scooters could be rented in Bolesławiec, providing another ecological way to move around the city alongside the municipal bicycles.
August 2021
27TH BOLESŁAWIEC CERAMICS FESTIVAL
A record-breaking Bolesławiec Ceramics Festival. Ceramic companies earned huge sums of money. The star of the festival was Roksana Węgiel. This year, the major concerts took place at the sports facility on Ogrodowa Street. The festival concluded musically with a concert for medical staff and everyone involved in fighting the coronavirus pandemic, as well as for those who lost that fight. The concert, “Keep Hope,” directed by Marcin Kołaczkowski, featured outstanding Polish artists including Beata Rybotycka, Jacek Wójcicki, Andrzej Poniedzielski, Kuba Badach, Anna Lasota and Janusz Radek, as well as renowned Kraków instrumentalists.
4TH GLINA SHOW
The fourth Glina Show featured a ZUMBA show—a performance by the dance group ZUMBA led by Magdalena Kwiatkowska-Korczowska and Joanna Piekarz. The FITNESS show by FIT STYLE ZONE included Pole Dance and Street Workout demonstrations and competitions with prizes, free physiotherapy consultations, hand and upper-body massages, and a natural spa & wellness cosmetics presentation. The BODY PAINTING show featured models painted by artists from the “Ceramika Artystyczna” Artistic Handicraft Cooperative, Andrzej Pachom from Kaola Artistic Ceramics—Kaola studio—and artists from Millena Ceramics, as well as a film makeup demonstration by Jadwiga Raczko, a graduate of SzkolArt Wrocław. The MUSIC show featured a recital by Wiktoria Parkita promoting the album “Reaching for Dreams,” and a mini-concert of theatrical songs prepared by young artists: Eliza, Filip and Magda! There was also a drum parade: GLINA SHOW participants walked around the market square accompanied by a team of drummers.
September 2021
CITY DAYS
The star of the unusually September-held City Days was Kaśka Sochacka with her band. Food trucks also came to Bolesławiec. In addition to this concert and other events, the European Picnic took place before the City Days—a culinary and music outdoor event presenting traditional Polish and Czech dishes. The stars were LIMBOSKI and MR. Żarko.
APARTMENT FIRE IN A BLOCK ON BIELSKA STREET
The incident occurred on Thursday, 30 September, at around 11:00 a.m. A fire broke out in a high-rise building on Bielska Street in Bolesławiec, in a first-floor apartment. According to the officers’ findings, a 71-year-old resident of the block on Bielska accidentally started the fire.
October 2021
GALE-FORCE WINDS. GUSTS REACHED 100 KM/H
A gale swept across Bolesławiec County. Trees and billboards were knocked down, cars and power lines were damaged. Firefighters carried out dozens of interventions throughout the county. The wind did not spare the City of Ceramics itself, including its very centre
FINAL SENTENCE FOR PEDOPHILE PRIEST
A former parish priest from Ruszów was finally convicted of paedophilia. The high-profile trial of the paedophile priest from Ruszów ended. The former parish priest was convicted of molesting two intellectually disabled girls whom he was preparing for First Communion.
BOLESŁAWIEC WOMEN’S STRIKE PROTEST: “WE ARE STAYING IN THE EU!”
The Bolesławiec Women’s Strike organized protests in the Bolesławiec market square under the slogan “WE ARE STAYING IN THE EU”. Bolesławiec residents gathered in the square to protest against the policies of Law and Justice and the Constitutional Tribunal’s ruling. More than 250 people attended the demonstration.
PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
The property tax increase was approved. Magdalena Janik, deputy head of the Finance and Budget Department at Bolesławiec City Hall, explained that charges would rise by only 3.6% in 2022.
November 2021
MCDONALD’S IN BOLESŁAWIEC. KFC STRIKES BACK
McDonald’s opened on Kościuszki Street in Bolesławiec. KFC strikes back. The site for the KFC construction was fenced off and building work began
IS MZGK INVOLVED IN ILLEGAL WASTE REMOVAL?
In the investigative report “The Arrangement Around Turów,” prepared by Superwizjer TVN journalists, one sentence concerned “friendly people” from the Bolesławiec waste processing plant (RIPOK), who allegedly covered up the illegal dumping of waste in Bogatynia by Sławomir Z.’s group. The actions of the people from Bogatynia allowed the municipality to avoid environmental and legal waste disposal fees for years. The president gave a brief response on the matter. We will certainly cover the topic in 2022.
NOT ONE MORE: BOLESŁAWIEC WOMEN’S STRIKE PROTEST
In Bolesławiec, as in several dozen other Polish cities, a protest was held under the slogan “Not One More!” The protests were a reaction to the death of 30-year-old Izabela from Pszczyna. The woman died on 22 September, in the 22nd week of pregnancy. She was diagnosed with anhydramnios, but doctors allegedly refrained from removing the fetus until the child’s heart stopped beating. More than 120 people gathered in Bolesławiec’s market square.
December 2021
PROTEST AGAINST LEX TVN
Bolesławiec residents gathered in large numbers for Sunday’s protest near the town hall. Despite the unfavourable weather, more than 200 people came to the market square. Those gathered listened to brief, critical speeches about the rule of the United Right in Poland.
WE HAVE AN ICE RINK IN BOLESŁAWIEC
It was not supposed to be there, but nevertheless... On 27 December, an ice rink opened at the Water and Sports Centre on Spacerowa Street in Bolesławiec
LOUD EXPLOSIONS ANNOY COUNTY RESIDENTS
The explosions could be heard throughout the county. They were artillery exercises in Świętoszów that were making themselves felt.
SALT GRADUATION TOWER IN BOLESŁAWIEC
The opening is planned for New Year’s Day. Approximately 20 people will be able to use the graduation tower at one time. What is more, visitors will be able to quench their thirst with healthy Bolesławiec spring water.