Before the February council session began, local government officials honored Józef Król, who—by decision of that body—was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the City.

– It is a great honor for me – J. Król emphasized. He added: – Bolesławiec captivated me at first sight, at our first meeting.

Profile of the honoree

As stated in the justification for the resolution:

(…) The motion to award Mr. Józef Król the title of Honorary Citizen of the City was submitted by City Council Chairman Józef Pokładek.

Mr. Józef Król came to Bolesławiec in the autumn of 1977, leaving his family home in Janów Lubelski. He lived in the Young Worker’s House on Wojska Polskiego Street and began working for the Bolesławiec Construction Company. He worked as chief technologist, implementing the Wk-70 large-panel construction technology with engineers from the House Factory. In 1980, he became involved in organizing Solidarity structures at the company, becoming a member of the Works Council.

In the 1980s, he actively participated in the construction of the church on Gałczyńskiego Street, now Jana Pawła II Street, in the housing estate where he lived. It was a difficult construction project because of the location and the quality of cement from the now-defunct Podgrodzie cement plant. During construction, he served as the volunteer construction manager.

In 1989, he joined the work of the Civic Self-Government Committee associated with Sejm deputy Jan Kisiliczyk. In May 1990, in the first free and democratic elections to the restored local government, he received the largest number of votes, and in June he was elected by the City Council as Mayor of the City. Four years later, in 1994, he was re-elected Mayor for a second term.

In January 1998, when Mayor Józef Król was appointed by Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek as Deputy Voivode of Jelenia Góra, the achievements of Bolesławiec’s local government were already substantial:

  • a wastewater treatment plant had been built,
  • a modern waste landfill,
  • the Town Hall building had been renovated and the façades of buildings in the market square restored,
  • the first roads had been built in the Kwiatowe and Przylesie housing estates,
  • the Library and Day Care Center had received new premises,
  • construction of the Sports Hall at Secondary School No. 1, financed with funds obtained from Totalizator Sportowy, was nearing completion,
  • construction of the small bypass, financed with funds obtained from the Crosborder fund, was advanced,
  • a major renovation of the office building at Piłsudskiego Square had begun,
  • and mutually beneficial cooperation had been established with the Danish city of Hobro and the German city of Siegburg.

The activity of Bolesławiec’s local government was noticed and appreciated, resulting in Józef Król being elected Chairman of the Convention of Village Heads, Mayors and City Presidents of Jelenia Góra Voivodeship. He held this position for six years. From the establishment of the “Nysa” Euroregion, he was a member of its Convention and was also appointed to the Social Supervisory Board of the Polish-German Association for Economic Cooperation.

Józef Król served as Deputy Voivode of Jelenia Góra until the end of 1998, when the voivodeship became history. The year 1999 brought the implementation of reform and the creation of 16 large voivodeships, including Lower Silesian Voivodeship, as well as another appointment by the Prime Minister, this time as First Deputy Voivode of Lower Silesia. It was a difficult period involving the implementation of four reforms: administration, education, health care and pensions.

Józef Król’s continued commitment to local government was demonstrated by his successful participation in elections to the County Council in five consecutive terms, from 1998 to 2018, with a brief interruption during the first term, when, after taking the position of Deputy Voivode, he transferred his mandate to Krzysztof Konopka. In total, this amounted to more than 16 years of work for county government.

His subsequent positions and engagement on behalf of our city included serving as Sales Director at Bank PKO BP and establishing the Corporate Banking Center in Bolesławiec.

Working as President of the District Heating Company involved modernizing the Central Heating Plant, replacing the network and building the so-called Connector—a district-heating connection between the northwestern part of the city and the Central Heating Plant—as well as demolishing the old, inefficient Industrial Heating Plant, which significantly improved the company’s economic situation.

Working as President of the Water and Sewerage Company in our city meant 11 years of continuous development and investment in the company’s strategic infrastructure. Today, we have a secure water supply system, with all water intake stations modernized and substantial production reserves. A shared network system covers the entire City and Municipality of Bolesławiec and the Lwówek Śląski area, with the possibility of supplying it from multiple directions. What distinguishes the company from others is the use of the most modern techniques and technologies to manage, control and monitor the entire network infrastructure, ensuring the security, continuity and quality of water supplies. Thanks to investment, the Wastewater Treatment Plant no longer generates waste, but instead produces fertile soil from sludge. Investments in green energy include increasing biogas energy production and operating 11 photovoltaic installations with a capacity of more than 500 kWp; further installations with a capacity exceeding 600 kWp are planned for construction this year. During this period, the company expanded its area of operations to include the City and Municipality of Lwówek Śląski in 2014 and the City and Municipality of Wleń in 2020, acquiring new partners and significantly increasing its assets.

Józef Król was the founder and a member of the Association for the Promotion of Lower Silesia. There, he served as Vice-President of the Association and Deputy Chairman of the Chapter of the Lower Silesian Key to Success, helping promote many people, organizations and companies from our city throughout the Region.

Józef Król has received state and honorary distinctions, including the Golden Cross of Merit, the Silver Medal for National Defense, the Gold Medal for Merit to Polish Craftsmanship, the honorary badge of the World Association of Home Army Soldiers, and the bronze badge for merit to the Association of Polish Army Soldiers.

Regardless of his professional or social achievements, he values his family most highly. Together with his wife, they have two children and five grandchildren, considering this his greatest achievement in life.