KIELCE – capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, a city located in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains with attractive landscape values, an economic, academic, cultural, sports and tourist center, Host City ERC 2022.
Kielce is located in a unique natural and historical area of the Świętokrzyski Geopark, which was included in the UNESCO World Geopark Network in 2021. Almost 67% of the city’s area is green, and all of the protected areas constitute over 62% of the city’s area. A large part of it is located within the Chęciny-Kielce Landscape Park.
Lots of geological attractions
Kielce is often called the “largest open-air geology museum” and has 5 nature reserves within its borders, including 4 geological ones. The most spectacular and the most famous is the Kadzielnia park and reserve – a former quarry with the most beautiful amphitheater in Poland, built into the rocks, as well as caves (Underground Tourist Route), waterfall, winter icefall and a zip-line (Sky View Route). Apart from the modern Geoeducation Center in the Wietrznia reserve and the extensive Botanical Garden on the Karczówka slope and the Ślichowice reserve, it is one of the areas and facilities managed by the city’s institution called Geonatura Kielce.
Monuments and … “Kielce UFO”
Tourists are charmed with the Castle Hill with the cathedral basilica, the origins of which should be sought more than 850 years ago, and the 17th-century former Palace of Krakow Bishops, now the residence of the National Museum in Kielce. Both cathedral and palace are the Monuments of History. A baroque monastery on the Karczówka hill dominates over the city. This is a place made for lovers! It is worth taking a walk around the Market Square, Sienkiewicza Street and the City Park. One of the symbols of Kielce must also be seen – the world-wide unique Bus Station, known as the “flying saucer” or “Kielce UFO”. While at the Station, it is worth visiting the modern media library called Poczytalnia on dVoRcu – Mediateka and the Kielce Promotion Point, where you can receive promotional publications, as well as obtain detailed information about what is worth visiting in Kielce and the region.
Kielce means culture
Natural and historical attractions are complemented by an interesting and diverse offer of thriving cultural, art and science institutions. The 17th-century former Palace of the Krakow Bishops houses the National Museum in Kielce with original interiors and the Gallery of Polish Painting. Exceptional collections are also presented in the Museum of the History of Kielce, the Diocesan Museum, the Center for Patriotic and Civic Thought, the Museum of Stefan Żeromski’s School Years and the Museum of Toys and Play, which will surely delight the youngest, but also their parents, who will recall the years of their childhood.
The Bureau of Art Exhibitions and the Design Institute as well as galleries of cultural centers: Kielce Cultural Center, Józef Piłsudski, Provincial Community Center, House of Creative Communities – Tomasz Zieliński Palace with the Hammond Museum and the Gallery of Contemporary Sacred Art “House of the Washerwoman”, Youth Culture Center, “Zameczek” Cultural Center and “Białogon” Culture Center, Kielce Countryside Museum (Laszczyk Manor House), as well as several private galleries.
For music enthusists, an interesting program is offered by the Świętokrzyska Philharmonic and the aforementioned cultural centers – especially Kielce Cultural Center, organizer of the excellent Memorial to Miles Targi Kielce Jazz Festival. There are institutional theaters: Stefan Żeromski Theater, Stefan Karski Puppet and Actor Theater “Kubuś” and Kielce Dance Theater. Concerts and cabarets are held in the Amphitheater “Kadzielnia”, recognized as the most beautiful in Poland. Many of them are broadcast on various TV stations.
A paradise for children … and not just them
“Kielce – Paradise for Children” is a product promoting attractions plus tourist and cultural events, dedicated to families with children, encouraging them to visit the city and the greatest attractions of municipalities included in the Kielce Functional Area.
The offer, which is a proposal for a family vacation, inculding various forms of active leisure, is presented in detail on the website: www.rajdladzieci.kielce.eu. One of the biggest attractions is the Geoeducation Center, with its exposition in the shape of the Chronos research station floating in the sea depths 360 million years ago. From its deck you can see amazing tropical seas with its inhabitants. We also encourage you to visit the underground cave and to do a virtual time travel in the 5D cinema, as well as the Geological Experience Garden on the roof of the building.
In the Energy Science Center of the Kielce Technology Park, another place that popularizes learning through play among children and youth, you can use many interactive stations, you can also take part in a very interesting workshops. A visit there will encourage you to ask questions about the world around you and will help you find answers on your own, while the time spent in the Energy Garden of Experiences will be a science mixed with with fun, relaxation and rest.
Actively and sportily
There are walking and tourist routes, educational paths, city trail and the route around the city waiting for tourists in Kielce. Cyclists can use bicycle trails and paths, including a part of the Green Velo Eastern Bicycle Trail – the longest bicycle route in Poland.
Sport emotions are provided by the Łomża Industria Kielce and Suzuki Korona Handball Kielce clubs and Korona Kielce football club. The sports involvement of residents and city authorities resulted in the title of the European City of Sport 2018.
Kielce – on the investment route
The capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship has many advantages that make more and more companies want to relocate here, and the existing ones want to develop.
First of all, it is a great location – the distance from Krakow, Warsaw, Łódź, Lublin and Katowice does not exceed 180 km, and the average travel time by car to the nearest airports – Pyrzowice, Balice, Okęcie – is about two hours. Moreover, the construction of the expressway to Krakow is to be completed within two years, which will shorten the time of reaching the Balice airport.
Talents and Academic Kielce
Kielce also boasts a large human resources potential. It is the main academic center of the entire region, in which 9 universities have located their seats. Of the 190,000 inhabitants of Kielce, almost 20,000 are students.
The largest number of students is educated by two state universities – the Kielce University of Technology, which has been in the forefront of technical universities in the country for years, and the Jan Kochanowski University, which has recently developed several new specializations. The University of Technology focuses not only on the programming and IT sector. The technical university in Kielce educates world champions in the robotics and cosmonautics sector.
In addition to being recognized in the field of robotics, Kielce will soon become the capital of Polish metrology. The Świętokrzyski Laboratory Campus of the Central Office of Measures, which is to be built by 2023 in Kielce, is an investment on an unprecedented scale in our region. The prospect of employment in such an exclusive field as metrology is noticed by students from Kielce, and the university authorities are making efforts to prepare for the expectations of future employers.
Kielce is investing in human resources, teaching entrepreneurship and developing young talents. Task-based learning is the most effective way to prepare excellent human resources that respond to the needs of the modern economy. This idea caught on very well in Kielce and for several years local secondary schools have been successfully developing cooperation with companies and universities by creating patronage classes. By implementing projects in the field of entrepreneurship education in the city, students acquire key competences already at the stage of secondary school.
Business cards
Another argument – the constantly improving quality of life in the city. The presence of Targi Kielce and the Kielce Technology Park is also important, as it is presented as an example of the perfect use of the opportunity for the development of business infrastructure. Companies investing in Kielce can count on the favor of the city authorities and the support of employees of the Investor Assistance Center operating in Kielce City Hall, who engage in the search for locations necessary for running a business, help establish business contacts, and run an online database of investment offers (www.mapa.invest.kielce.pl/en).
Since 2021, there are two key instruments in the city supporting the development of companies in Kielce: real estate tax exemption for newly constructed buildings or their parts related to production activities, and real estate tax exemption for newly built buildings, part of which are high-standard offices. These are two sectors that Kielce wants to develop very strongly.
Kielce is a city with history and traditions – at the same time wide open to the future and modernity. We warmly invite you to Kielce.
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