Raszyn

Raszyn [ˈraʂɨn] is a village in Pruszków County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Raszyn. It lies approximately 9 kilometres (6 mi) east of Pruszków and 9 km (6 mi) south-west of Warsaw. The village has a population of 6,700.

Raszyn has been the site of two battles. On April 19, 1809, the inconclusive Battle of Raszyn (1809) took place between the Polish forces under Prince Józef Poniatowski and the Austrian army under Archduke Ferdinand d'Este.

In 1931 a longwave broadcasting transmitter was set up in Raszyn. Back then it was the strongest such facility in Europe, with roughly 120 kW of power. During the World War II the radio mast was destroyed, but was rebuilt in 1945 with roughly 500 kW of power. In 1949 a new aerial mast was built there. At 335 metres high, it was until 1962 the tallest structure in Europe. Until the inauguration of the transmitter in Konstantynów in 1974 it served as the central longwave radio facility of the Polish Radio. Until 1978 it served as spare transmitter for Konstantynów. Since 1978 the facility in Raszyn is used at daytime for transmissions of the second programme of the Polish Radio in the longwave range.