The Grey Ranks Square (Polish: Plac Szarych Szeregów) is an urban square and a roundabout in Szczecin, Poland. It is located at the boundary of neighbourhoods of Centrum and Śródmieście-Północ, within the district of Śródmieście. It forms the intersection of Piastów Avenue, Piątego Lipca Street, Piłsudskiego Street, Wielkopolska Street, and Wojska Polskiego Avenue. The square was designed in 1879.

Grey Ranks Square
Grey Ranks Square in 2021.
Grey Ranks Square is located in Poland
Grey Ranks Square
TypeUrban square
LocationSzczecin, Poland
Coordinates53°25′59.3″N 14°32′24.7″E / 53.433139°N 14.540194°E / 53.433139; 14.540194
NorthWojska Polskiego Avenue
East
  • Piłsudskiego Street
  • Wielkopolska Street
South
  • Piastów Avenue
  • Wojska Polskiego Avenue
WestPiątego Lipca Street
Construction
Completion1879

History

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It was designed in 1879, as a circular square with roundabout. At the end of 19th and beginning of the 20th century, around it were constructed tenements, almost all of which, survive to the present day.[1][2]

It was originally named the Arndt Square (German: Arndtplatz) after Ernst Moritz Arndt, a 19th-century historian, writer and poet.[1] In 1945, it was renamed to the Allied Square (Polish: Plac Sprzymierzonych), and in 1950, to the Konstantin Rokossovsky Square (Polish: Plac Konstantego Rokossowskiego), after a 20th-century military officer who was the Marshal of the Soviet Union, the Marshal of Poland, and the Minister of National Defence.[3][4][5] In 1956, it was renamed to the Vladimir Lenin Square (Polish: Plac Włodzimierza Lenina), after a 20th-century communist revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union, with the name remains until 1991, when it was reverted to the Allied Square.[6][5] In 2009 it was renamed to its current name, after the Grey Ranks, an underground paramilitary organisation of the Polish resistance during the Second World War.[7]

On 19 March 2000, there was unveiled the Marshal Józef Piłsudski Monument, designed by Bohdan Ronin-Walknowski.[8]

Characteristics

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The square forms a roundabout on the axis of Wojska Polskiego Avenue. It forms an intersection of Piastów Avenue, Piątego Lipca Street, Piłsudskiego Street, Wielkopolska Street, and Wojska Polskiego Avenue. There is also a triangular intersection of the tram tracks from Piastów Avenue, Piłsudskiego Street, and Wojska Polskiego Avenue. The square is surrounded by histoical tenements buildings, dating to the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[1][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Tadeusz Białecki (editor): Encyklopedia Szczecina. Tom 2. P-Ż. Szczecin: University of Szczecin, 2000, p. 365. (in Polish)
  2. ^ a b B. Kozińska: Rozwój przestrzenny Szczecina od początku XIX wieku do II wojny światowej. Szczecin, 2002, p. 165, 422. (in Polish)
  3. ^ "Zmiany nazw ulic", Kurier Szczeciński, no. 74 (1533), 15 March 1950. Szczecin, p. 3. (in Polish)
  4. ^ Protokół nr XV z posiedzenia plenarnego MRN odbytego w dniu 20 grudnia 1949 roku. Szczecin: Szczecin City National Council, 20 December 1949. (in Polish)
  5. ^ a b Protokół z pierwszego posiedzenia Zespołu ds. nazewnictwa ulic miasta Szczecina z 15 stycznia 1991. Szczecin: Szczecin Town Hall, 15 January 1991. (in Polish)
  6. ^ Protokół nr VI z posiedzenia plenarnego MRN w Szczecinie odbytego 31 października 1956 oraz 7 listopada 1956 roku. Szczecin: Szczecin Town Hall, 7 November 1955. (in Polish)
  7. ^ Uchwała Rady Miasta nr 241/09 na XL zwyczajnej sesji Rady Miasta z dnia 23 października 2009 roku. Szczecin: Szczecin City Council, 23 October 2009. (in Polish)
  8. ^ "Marszałek Józef Piłsudski". um.szczecin.pl (in Polish).