Julian Gozdowski is an exceptional figure for Bieg Piastów and Polana Jakuszycka. Thanks to his decades-long work, we can enjoy kilometers of ski trails and one of the most prestigious mass races in the world today.
The ceremony to name the DCS after Julian Gozdowski is scheduled for Saturday, March 2, at 3:00 p.m. It will take place at the main entrance to the center, on the railway platform side. During the ceremony, Julian Gozdowski will also receive the title of Honorary Citizen of Lower Silesia.
At 4:00 p.m., a screening of the film “Komandor,” telling the story of Julian Gozdowski, will begin in the DCS conference room. The film is a co-production of the Culture and Art Center in Wrocław and TVP Wrocław, with financial support from the Lower Silesian regional government and TVP Historia.
After World War II, Julian Gozdowski’s family settled in Cieplice. In 1953, he graduated from the Academy of Physical Education in Wrocław. He worked as a physical education teacher and also coached cross-country skiing at MKS Karkonosze Jelenia Góra. In the late 1960s, he left the education system and took a position in the state administration. He became head of the physical culture department at the provincial office in Jelenia Góra.
In 1976, he organized the first edition of Bieg Piastów, which soon became an annual international ski event at Polana Jakuszycka in Szklarska Poręba. In 1995, the race was included in the European Long-Distance Race League (Euroloppet), and in 2009 in the Worldloppet. Julian Gozdowski became the race’s commander and president of the Bieg Piastów Association. He accepted the award presented to this initiative for the best mass event of 2009 as part of the 75th Przegląd Sportowy Poll.
In 2011, President Bronisław Komorowski awarded him the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta, and in 2016, President Andrzej Duda awarded him the Commander’s Cross of that order.