J. Dąbrowski Park

J. Dąbrowski Park covers 6.5 hectares in the Górna district in Łódź, between Rzgowska Street, Jarosława Dąbrowskiego Street, Podmiejska Street and Stanisława Jachowicza Street. The park is adjoined by an additional two hectares of sports facilities.

Establishment of the park

The park was established in 1960 according to a design by engineer Kazimierz Chrabelski, an architect and urban planner who later also worked on the concept of the Łódź Botanical Garden. During construction, the area of green space was significantly reduced in favour of other facilities: on the adjacent land were placed the sports pitches of the Metalowiec Youth Sports Club, a kindergarten and a municipal bathhouse, which in later years was rebuilt as a bank headquarters.

Sledge hill and outdoor gym

In the eastern part of the park, on the rubble of a former factory, a sledge hill was constructed, which children from nearby housing estates use in winter. In autumn 2006, south of the hill, on Stanisława Jachowicza Street, an outdoor gym was built accessible to all residents.

Tree stock

The park's trees consist mainly of limes, oaks, poplars, birches, rowans and robinia, without exotic or rare species. This composition gives the park a character typical of Łódź's urban greenery from the mid-twentieth century, without any ambition to function as an arboretum or collector's garden.

Park's namesake

The park is dedicated to General Jarosław Dąbrowski (1836–1871), an officer of the Russian army and Polish independence activist, who in 1871 fought in the Paris Commune. He was born on 13 November 1836 in Zhytomyr and died on 23 May 1871 in Paris, commanding a battalion in the final days of the Commune. The park's full name is Park im. gen. Jarosława Dąbrowskiego, though the abbreviated version Park im. J. Dąbrowskiego is also commonly used.

Park surroundings today

In 2009, the land south of the park underwent redevelopment: older structures were demolished and residential buildings containing 315 flats were erected, up to thirteen storeys high, along with reconstruction of the wall of the former factory. Nearby, in the same part of Łódź, is also Podolski Park, the second large public park in this part of the city.

Practical information

• Address: Jachowicza 1, between Rzgowska Street, Jarosława Dąbrowskiego Street, Podmiejska Street and Stanisława Jachowicza Street, Górna district, Łódź
• Access: Stanisława Jachowicza Street, Łódź public transport, parking at the site
• What to expect: park with sledge hill and outdoor gym, sports facilities nearby, tree stock without exotic species, access twenty-four hours