Edward Abramowski Street is a street in the southwestern part of the district of à Âódà º, Poland, within the area. Approximately 0.5 km long, it runs almost latitudinally from to .
Since 30 October 1974, the street has been one-way, running from Jan Kilià Âski Street toward Henryk Sienkiewicz Street, opposite to the direction of property numbering. It forms the initial segment of county road no. 1100E, continuing via Brzeà ºna, Henryk Sienkiewicz, and Radwaà Âska streets to the intersection with Inà ¼ynierska and Parkowa streets (county road no. 1168E).
The entire street falls within the pastoral jurisdiction of the .
Measuring approximately 0.5 km, the street was established in the early 1890s. It appears on a map by Wà Âadysà Âaw Starzyà Âski from between 1894 and 1896 as Gubernatorska Street. It certainly did not yet exist around 1880 â it is absent from the map showing the layout of the city at that time. It also does not appear on the plan of à Âódà º attached to Przewodnik illustrowany po Warszawie, à Âodzi i okolicach fabrycznych published by Emil Skiwski in 1897. Sà Âownik nazewnictwa miejskiego à Âodzi states that it was laid out only in 1898 (as Gubernatorska Street), whereas and claim that it was created only after 1898 as Gubernialna Street.
It served as a connector between the then-parallel Mikoà Âajewska (or Nikoà Âajewska, now Henryk Sienkiewicz) and Widzewska (now Jan Kilià Âski) streets. The map indicates that by the mid-1890s, the northern (even-numbered) side was mostly developed, while the southern (odd-numbered) side had only four properties near Widzewska Street. The name Gubernatorska derived from the title of an administrative official in Imperial Russia. Residents colloquially called it "Gubernia", a nickname persisting into the post-war years. From 1899, a stocking and glove factory owned by Alban Aurich operated behind the even-numbered properties, with access from Widzewska Street (now 161 Jan Kilià Âski Street), relocated from Mikoà Âajewska Street (now 9 Henryk Sienkiewicz Street).
In the late 19th century, Sobczyk, a trusted cashier of industrialist Izrael Poznaà Âski, lived on the street. In 1900, the grandfather of , a Polish senator, president of the , and local guide, resided there. Bonisà Âawski himself lived at 34 Edward Abramowski Street for four years in the 1970s.
During World War I, under German occupation from 1915, the street was renamed GouverneurstraÃÂe (German for "Governor Street"). In 1916, the St. Stanislaus Kostka Shelters Society operated a charitable children's institution at 2 Gubernatorska Street. After Poland regained independence in 1918, the street reverted to its Polish name, Gubernatorska.
During the interwar period, the tenement at 2 Gubernatorska Street housed the 11th Police Station, while no. 3 was occupied by the public, male Municipal Elementary School No. 16, led by Tomasz Kilaà Âski. The school was reactivated post-World War II as the co-educational Primary School No. 16. The Thalia Theatrical Association was based at no. 4, and the à Âódà º branch of the was at no. 21. From 2 February 1923 to 29 June 1924, Helena Kowalska, later Saint Faustina, lived and worked at 29 Gubernatorska Street in Marcjanna Wieczorek's shop, known as "Mrs. Sadowska's shop".
In 1925, as part of removing traces of Russian rule, the city renamed the street after Edward Abramowski, a leftist psychologist and sociologist. On 23 June 1925, Dziennik ZarzÃÂ du m. Ã Âodzi reported:
The City Council approved the change on 1 July 1925 during its 21st meeting (third session), held late in the evening with 49 of 75 councilors and 10 of 11 magistracy members present. The resolution stated:
In 1928, the city's planting department planted nearly 200 Turkish hazel trees along narrow lawns on both sides of the street. By 1937, the street was fully sewered. During the interwar period, Karl Dedecius lived on the street briefly during his childhood.
During World War II, German authorities introduced German street names in 1940. Edward Abramowski Street was renamed Eduard Herbst StraÃÂe after , a 19th/20th-century Polish industrialist of German descent and son-in-law of Karl Wilhelm Scheibler. Later that year, after renaming the city Litzmannstadt, it was changed to Hermann-von-Salza-StraÃÂe, honoring Hermann von Salza, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order from 1209 to 1239. Ryszard Bonisà Âawski recalled that in the early 1940s, the 0.5-km street housed 12,000 people, often in cramped conditions, leading to policing issues.
After the war, the street reverted to Edward Abramowski Street. The nickname "Abramka" emerged among residents and gradually replaced "Gubernia" citywide. On 29 March 1947, the city president designated a spot near Jan Kilià Âski Street for two car taxis and three horse-drawn carriages. Post-war, Primary School No. 16 operated at 3 Edward Abramowski Street until its closure in the mid-1960s. A Jordan garden was replaced by a residential block at number 6/10. In the 1950s, outbuildings on the southern (odd-numbered) side were demolished. Residents demanded storage units, so a wide trench was dug on the cleared land, paved with trylinka, and lined with 498 storage units and bins in embankments. Stairs led to the trench, and greenery was planted on the embankments, enclosed by openwork walls. Locals dubbed this area the "catacombs".
On 18 November 1968, the first buses of the newly launched line 77 ran along the street, connecting the southern edge of Józef Poniatowski Park to . Until 29 October 1974, buses operated in both directions; after the introduction of one-way traffic, only toward the park. From 2 November 1983 to 1995, bus line 55 also ran along the street, initially from , later from , and then , toward Obywatelska and Pienista streets.
Between 2011 and 2013, the street ranked 192nd among 362 à Âódà º streets for road accidents, with three incidents resulting in three injuries.
From 10 to 29 June 2013, organized Abramka Fest, offering free workshops (e.g., press, dance, photography) primarily for residents. In late August 2014, artists from the performed a children's musical, Bramogranie, in an open-air setting.
The "catacombs" deteriorated over time, with some sections at risk of collapse. In 2017, the city planned to renovate the "catacombs" and trench surface, plant new shrubs, and preserve a 70-meter section of storage units (out of 400 meters), demolishing the rest to build pergolas and precast concrete walls. The project, costing an estimated 1.5 million PLN, included fencing, facade renovations, thermal modernization, and connecting 22 buildings to the city's central heating network, with the first phase (odd-numbered side) planned for 2019. Work began in early December 2017, with demolitions completed by mid-March 2018.
In 2017, two participatory budgeting proposals for the Katedralna estate were approved for 2018: "Revitalization of Downtown â reclamation of green strips on Abramowski Street" (568 votes, 140,000 PLN) and "Downtown brine tower â healthy microclimate, healthy à Âódà º residents" (818 votes, 248,000 PLN), to be located in the central part of the adjacent Edward Abramowski Passage.
, a graduate of the former Primary School No. 16 and long-time owner of the Nike bookstore-antiquary at 3 , recalled his post-war childhood on "Abramka":
The "catacombs" behind the odd-numbered properties have attracted filmmakers, particularly students from the nearby à Âódà º Film School. Notable productions include:
As of August 2016, 13 tenements (nos. 1, 3, 7, 14, 16, 18, 23, 25, 28, 30, 31, 39, 40) and one residential building (no. 43) were listed in the municipal register of monuments. The listing for no. 30 includes the front building and eastern outbuilding; others include only the front buildings.
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