A Carefully Planned Future

Panorama of Polish Towns Interviews the Mayor of Węgrów Janusz Dołęga.
- Mr. Mayor, I'd like you to begin by introducing your town.  What does Węgrów have to offer tourists?
- Węgrów lies at the intersection of roads leading from Gdańsk, Warsaw and Drohi-czyn. The city has 560 years of
 

history behind it.  Earlier the town was tied to the Uhrowski, Kiszkowie, Radziwiłł, and Krasiński lines.  Węgrów has a beautiful market square, which is crowned by the baroque copula of the so-called Lesser Basilica.  In its churches are frescoes painted by Palloni, which were commissioned by the Krasiński family.  The most well known are in the Lesser Basilica, which also houses the famous Twardowski mirror, as well as sculptures by Andrzej Schlueter.  Węgrów has been a town of many religions.  Catholics, Calvinists, Lutherans, and Orthodox Christians, as well as persons of the Jewish faith, all lived here.  The town has been host to two kings: August II Sas and Stanisław August Poniatowski.  In our traveler's lodge from the XVIII c., Napoleon once spent the night.  More recently, Lech Wałęsa married his wife Danuta in one of the city's churches.  The city has also been affected by various wars and uprisings.  For its part in the November Uprising, the convent of Bartoszkowie clergymen was dissolved, as well as the public school and seminar they had founded.  In 1863, the city's inhabitants took part in the January Uprising, and  Norwid even wrote about the Battle of Węgrów. The Germans caused additional devastation in

 

W WII, destroying the Jewish district and exterminating its inhabitants.The city currently has more than 13 thousand inhabitants and invites all those interested both to visit its historic sites and to take part in its contemporary life

- ...and investors?  What are the town's investment plans?
- In order to create favorable conditions for investment we have taken pains to undertake many investments in our technical infrastructure, including our gas supply and sewerage systems and modernization of our electrical systems.  In addition, a modern solid municipal waste landfill is being developed withinWęgrów's borders.  We are also continually modernizing our existing wastewater treatment plant and expanding housing construction.  And we are planning to build ring roads, allowing drivers to avoid the town center and carrying through traffic away from it.  All of these planned investment activities are contained in our four-year investment plan - a rolling plan. We want to plan these things very carefully, in order to guarantee their realization according to the timeline we have established.
- The Bank Ochrony Środowiska offers loans for undertakings related to protecting the environment.  Are there many of these reliefs? - In the city there currently exist opportunities to acquire attractive investment sites.  The town has assumed a study of the conditions and directions of development.  We are currently working on preparations for regulations  regarding exemptions from paying local taxes.  The exemptions can be applied for as long as five years, but they must lead to increases in the number of people employed and to the growth of companies. The City Council helps investors, and we make sure that contacts between local authorities and those in the economic sphere are as

good as possible.  Within the city, you can find a bowling alley, outdoor stadium, and a sports hall.  There is also an active Cultural Center.  In addition, there is a branch of the Bank Ochrony Środowiska, which is working on establishing contacts with companies, offering them attractive credit terms.
- Mr. Mayor, if you found a genie in a bottle, what would you wish for?
- According to the legend I would have three wishes. First, that none of our town's residents would suffer from unemployment or low wages. Second, there is the problem of the municipal investments that still need to be made.  Third, a solution to housing problems.  I have hope, however, that we will solve these problems without the help of a genie