Płock

Płock (pronounced [pwɔt͡sk]) is a city on the Vistula river in central Poland. It is located in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the capital of the Płock Voivodeship (1975–1998). According to the data provided by GUS on 30 June 2009 there were 126,675 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to the preamble to the City Statute, is Stołeczne Książęce Miasto Płock (the Princely or Ducal Capital City of Płock). It is used in ceremonial documents as well as for preserving an old tradition.

Płock is now a capital of the powiat (county) in the west of the Mazovian Voivodeship. From 1079 - 1138 it was the first historical capital of Poland. Its cathedral has the sarcophagi of the Polish monarchy. It is the cultural, academic, scientific, administrative and transportation center of the west and north Masovian region.

The first Jewish settlers came to the city in the 14th century, responding to the extension of rights by the Polish kings. They built a community and constituted a large portion of the population through the 19th century, sometimes more than 40%. Jews contributed to expansion of trades and crafts, and helped the process of industrialization. In 1939, they made up 26% of the city's population. After the 1939 invasion of Poland, the German Nazis established a Jewish ghetto in Płock in 1940. They deported many of the Jews to other areas but exterminated most of them in the Holocaust. By the war's end, only 300 Jewish residents were known to have survived, of more than 10,000 in the region.

Płock (parliamentary constituency)

Płock is a Polish parliamentary constituency in the Masovian Voivodeship. It elects ten members of the Sejm and two members of the Senate.

The district has the number '16' for elections to the Sejm and '15' for elections to the Senate and is named after the city of Płock. It includes the counties of Ciechanów, Gostynin, Mława, Płock, Płońsk, Przasnysz, Sierpc, Sochaczew, Żuromin, and Żyrardów, and the city county of Płock.

List of members

Senate

Sejm

Footnotes

Coordinates: 52°33′00″N 19°42′00″E / 52.550000°N 19.700000°E / 52.550000; 19.700000