Siekierki

Siekierki (, literally little axes) is a low-rise housing residential neighborhood in Warsaw, the northeastern part of the Mokotów district belonging to Lower Mokotów, adjacent to the Vistula river. The area is home to an astronomical research center of the Polish Academy of Sciences and a Marian sanctuary.

History
The earliest known settlement in the present-day Siekierki area, formerly known as Kępa Bełt, was the village of Czarnów, known since the 13th century and situated along the Wilanówka River, which then flowed into the Vistula. A village named Siekierki emerged later on, being mentioned since the 16th century. In the 17th century, the settlement came into the possession of Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski, who ordered construction of a recreational pavilion. In the 18th century, the surrounding area was leased by Polish king Augustus II the Strong for hunting purposes. In the 19th century, the village consisted of two parts, namely Siekierki Wielkie and Siekierki Małe (Polish for Greater Siekierki and Smaller Siekierki), the joint population of which totalled 194 residents in 30 households by 1827, having increased to 358 residents by 1889. The entire village was an integral part of a local manor's agricultural estate (folwark), which in 1884 covered an area of 556 morgen (equivalent to 3.11 km2 or 1.2 sq mi), mostly consisting of meadows and pastures.

The village of Siekierki, belonging to the Wilanów gmina at the time, was incorporated into the city of Warsaw on April 8, 1916 by a decree of Hans von Beseler, along with the rest of Mokotów. In 1926, a floodbank along the left bank of the Vistula was completed, mitigating the previously threatening flood hazard and facilitating further development. During the interwar period, the area was designated for the establishment of an "Olympic District", i.e. an Olympic sports complex covering approximately 160 ha, including a stadium and a rowing course. The project never materialized due to the outbreak of World War II.

During the German occupation, Siekierki became site to the only private revelation in the history of Warsaw, as a local girl Władysława Papis claimed to have experienced apparitions of Virgin Mary repeatedly between 1943 and 1949, giving rise to a local Marian worship. During the Warsaw Uprising the neighbourhood suffered from tragic reprisals against the Polish population as the Nazis carried out mass murders and arsons resulting in majority of buildings being destroyed, including the local manor.

After the war, local residents were officially prohibited from any new construction under Bierut Decrees, which contributed significantly to the growth of unauthorized construction. In 1961 the Siekierki Power Station, the largest combined heat and power plant in Poland, was built in the vicinity, although it has later ended up falling within the borders of the Augustówka area after the official delineation. In the later period of the Polish People's Republic plans were made to turn Siekierki into a science park by constructing a complex of scientific facilities along with corresponding housing developments, however the increasing economic crisis halted the project, the only realized object of which is the astronomical research center of the Polish Academy of Sciences, completed in 1978.

In 1994 a local Marian sanctuary, commemorating the wartime revelations, was completed, being managed by the Piarist order ever since. In 2002 a nearby expressway and the Siekierkowski Bridge were opened for use. As part of the European Natura 2000 program, areas of the neighborhood directly adjacent to Vistula were designated as protected landscape in 2004. Between 2005 and 2008 another plans emerged to develop a technology and science park in Siekierki, codenamed "Warsaw Technological Park", however this project was likewise abandoned.

Despite the mentioned unrealized investment plans over the years Siekierki remained an underdeveloped and largely unused area; however, the early 2010s marked the onset of a substantial increase in new residential housing developments. In 2019 the local road network was upgraded due to completion of a new arterial road (Aleja Polski Walczącej), along which an existing tram line is expected to be extended. Additionally, the planned Metro Line M3 is to pass through the neighborhood.