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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Otwock
| image_skyline = PL Otwock 23 Kościelna Street.jpg
| imagesize = 250px
| image_caption = [[Świdermajer]]-styled house in Otwock
| image_shield = POL Otwock COA.svg
| image_flag = Flaga Otwocka.jpg
| pushpin_map = Poland
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| subdivision_type = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name = {{POL}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Voivodeships of Poland|Voivodeship]]
| subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Masovian Voivodeship|name=Masovian}}
| subdivision_type2 = [[Powiat|County]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Otwock County|Otwock]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Gmina]]
| subdivision_name3 = Otwock <small>(urban gmina)</small>
| leader_party = [[Law and Justice (Poland)|PiS]]
| leader_title = City mayor
| leader_name = [[Jarosław Margielski]]
| established_title = Established
| established_date = 1877
| established_title3 = City rights
| established_date3 = 9 November 1916
| area_total_km2 = 47.33
| population_as_of = 2019
| population_total = 44635
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| utc_offset = +1
| timezone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
| utc_offset_DST = +2
| coordinates = {{coord|52|7|N|21|16|E|region:PL|display=title,inline}}
| elevation_m = 100
| postal_code_type = Postal code
| postal_code = 05-400 to 05-402
| area_code = +48 022
| blank_name = [[Polish car number plates|Car plates]]
| blank_info = WOT
| blank_name_sec2 = [[Highways in Poland|Highways]]
| blank_info_sec2 = [[File:S17-PL.svg|32px|link=Expressway S17 (Poland)]]
| blank1_name_sec2 = [[Voivodeship road]]s
| blank1_info_sec2 = [[File:DW801-PL.svg|32px]]
| website = http://www.otwock.pl
}}
'''Otwock''' ({{IPAc-pl|AUD|Pl-Otwock.ogg|'|o|t|f|o|c|k}}; {{langx|yi|אָטוואָצק}}) is a city in the [[Masovian Voivodeship]] in east-central [[Poland]],{{TERYT}} some {{convert|23|km|mi}} south-east of [[Warsaw]], with 43,895 inhabitants (2024). Otwock is part of the [[Warsaw metropolitan area]]. It is situated on the right bank of the [[Vistula]] River, below the mouth of the [[Świder]] River. Otwock is home to a unique architectural style called ''[[Świdermajer]]''.

It is the capital of [[Otwock County]]. The town covers an area of {{convert|47|km2}}. Forested areas make up 23% of the territory, and there are several nature reserves.

==History==
[[File:Pilsudski in Otwock.jpg|thumb|left|"The Commandant" [[Józef Piłsudski]] with his [[Polish Legions in World War I|legionaries]] in Otwock in 1915]]

Even though the first mention of a village called ''Otwosko'' comes from the early 15th century, Otwock did not fully develop until the second half of the 19th century, when in 1877 the [[Vistula River Railroad]] was opened, which ran from [[Mława]] via [[Warsaw]], to [[Lublin]] and [[Chełm]]. Otwock, which is located along the line, became a popular suburb, with numerous spas and several notable guests, including [[Józef Piłsudski]] and [[Władysław Reymont]], who wrote his [[Nobel Prize]]-winning novel ''[[Chłopi]]'' there. The [[Zofiówka Sanatorium]] was opened in Otwock in 1908. In 1916, Otwock was incorporated as a town and became the seat of a [[powiat]].

During the [[Battle of Warsaw (1920)]], Otwock, along with nearby [[Karczew]], constituted the edge of the right wing of the first line of Polish defense and was manned by the Polish [[15th Infantry Division (Poland)|15th Infantry Division]], whereas the second line of Polish defense began in the present-day neighborhood of Świdry Wielkie; however, there was no Polish-Russian fighting in Otwock.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kowalski|first=Andrzej|year=1995|title=Miejsca pamięci związane z Bitwą Warszawską 1920 r.|journal=Niepodległość i Pamięć|language=pl|publisher=[[Museum of Independence|Muzeum Niepodległości w Warszawie]]|issue=2/2 (3)|pages=147, 163|issn=1427-1443}}</ref>

In 1936 the [[Warsaw Railway Junction|Warsaw - Otwock]] railway connection was the first rail line to be electrified in Poland.

===World War II===
[[File:Otwock Jews - August 19, 1942.jpg|thumb|left|Layover yard in Otwock, 19 August 1942. In the distance, Jews sit on the ground overnight, while awaiting transport to [[Treblinka extermination camp]]. Clandestine photo]]
Following the German–Soviet [[invasion of Poland]], which started [[World War II]] in September 1939, the town was [[Occupation of Poland (1939–1945)|occupied by Germany]]. In December 1939, the German authorities established a [[Ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe|Jewish ghetto]] in Otwock. A murderous [[Action T4]] euthanasia program was carried out by the Nazis in the local [[Zofiówka Sanatorium]] for the psychiatric patients<ref name="statistics">The statistical data compiled on the basis of [http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/selectcity/ "Glossary of 2,077 Jewish towns in Poland"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160208215116/http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/selectcity/ |date=8 February 2016 }} by ''[[Virtual Shtetl]]'' [[Museum of the History of the Polish Jews]] &nbsp;{{in lang|en}}, as well as [http://www.izrael.badacz.org/historia/szoa_getto.html "Getta Żydowskie," by ''Gedeon''], &nbsp;{{in lang|pl}} and "Ghetto List" by Michael Peters at www.deathcamps.org/occupation/ghettolist.htm &nbsp;{{in lang|en}}. Accessed 12 July 2011.</ref> in order to confine its [[History of the Jews in Poland|Jewish population]] for the purpose of persecution and exploitation.<ref name="holocaustchronicle">[http://www.holocaustchronicle.org/staticpages/176.html "The War Against The Jews."] ''The Holocaust Chronicle,'' 2009. Chicago, Il. Accessed 21 June 2011.</ref> The Ghetto was liquidated between August and 19 September 1942, when 75% of its Jewish population of 12,000–15,000 numbering at around 8,000 were assembled by the [[Nazis]] at a layover yard in Otwock ''(pictured)'' and transported in cattle trucks to [[extermination camps]] in [[Treblinka extermination camp|Treblinka]] and [[Auschwitz]].<ref name="Bauman">Sabina Bauman, [http://www.linia.com.pl/public/article.php?1-5342-0 "Czwarty marsz" (The Fourth March of the Living)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007161723/http://www.linia.com.pl/public/article.php?1-5342-0 |date=7 October 2011 }} ''Linia otwocka'' 26 September 2005.</ref> Jews who remained were summarily shot at Reymonta Street soon after.<ref name="SKPZO">[http://swidermajer.nazwa.pl/zo/dzk27.html Społeczny Komitet Pamięci Żydów Otwockich i Karczewskich - działania w latach 2002-2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181030165425/http://swidermajer.nazwa.pl/zo/dzk27.html |date=30 October 2018 }} Sekcja terenowa Polskiej Rady Chrześcijan i Żydów (Otwock Branch of [http://prchiz.free.ngo.pl Poland’s Advisory of Christians and Jews] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090609162849/http://prchiz.free.ngo.pl/ |date=9 June 2009 }}); Zbigniew Nosowski, President. &nbsp;{{in lang|pl}}</ref> 
[[File:PL Otwock Reymonta Street Jewish Memorial 2.jpg|thumb|Memorial to Jews of Otwock who were murdered in the Holocaust]]

Otwock is the hometown of [[Irena Sendler]] (1910 – 2008), the Polish humanitarian who saved thousands of Jewish children during the [[Holocaust]]; as well as [[Krystyna Dańko]], both awarded the titles of [[Polish Righteous among the Nations|Righteous among the Nations]] by [[Yad Vashem]]. Writer [[Calel Perechodnik]], a [[Jewish Ghetto Police]]man from Otwock also hailed from this town. Following the liberation, a children's home for Holocaust survivors was established in Otwock.<ref>[http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/otwock/index.asp?WT.mc_id=wiki A Time to Heal: The Story of the Children's Home in Otwock] an online exhibition by [[Yad Vashem]]</ref>

===Post-war period===
In 1952, the town's limits were expanded by including Świder, Świdry Wielkie, Teklin and Zamlądz as new neighbourhoods.<ref>{{Cite Polish law|title=Rozporządzenie Prezesa Rady Ministrów z dnia 3 maja 1952 r. w sprawie utworzenia i zmiany granic niektórych miast w powiatach warszawskim i radzymińskim, województwie warszawskim.|year=1952|volume=26|number=181}}</ref> Following the [[Korean War]], in 1953–1959, Poland admitted 200 [[North Korea]]n orphans in Świder.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sołtysik|first=Łukasz|year=2009|title=Dzieci i młodzież północnokoreańska w Polsce w latach 1953–1954 w świetle wybranych dokumentów |magazine=Rocznik Jeleniogórski|language=pl|location=Jelenia Góra|volume=XLI|page=196|issn=0080-3480}}</ref>

From 1975 to 1998, it was administratively located in the [[Warsaw Voivodeship (1975–1998)|Warsaw Voivodeship]].

==Sights==
In Otwock there are many buildings in the ''[[Świdermajer]]'' style, unique to the town and its surroundings. There are also memorials to [[Józef Piłsudski]] and to local Jews, who were murdered by [[Nazi Germany]] in the Holocaust.

The Mszar Pogorzelski, Świder and Wyspy Świderskie nature reserves are located in Otwock.

==Economy==
In 1958, [[Ewa reactor|Ewa]], the first Polish [[nuclear reactor]] was activated in Swierk district of Otwock. A second research reactor, [[Maria reactor|Maria]], was erected in 1974.

==Sports==
Otwock is home to the sports club [[Start Otwock]] (founded in 1924). The club is renowned for its weight-lifters such as [[Szymon Kołecki]] and [[Marcin Dołęga]].The club's own prodigy is football forward [[Janusz Żmijewski]], who in the 1960s played for [[Legia Warszawa]] and the [[Poland national football team|national team of Poland]].
[[File:Otwock - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Town hall]]

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Poland}}

===Twin towns – Sister cities===
Otwock is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
* {{flagicon|GER}} [[Lennestadt]], Germany
* {{flagicon|FRA}} [[Saint-Amand-Montrond]], France
* {{flagicon|JAP}} [[Ōarai, Ibaraki]], Japan
* {{flagicon|UKR}} [[Shumsk]], Ukraine

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{in lang|pl}} [http://www.otwock.pl/ Town of Otwock, official website]
* {{in lang|pl}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20080218151500/http://www.twojotwock.pl/ Otwock info site including local news]
* {{in lang|pl}} [http://www.galeriaotwock.waw.pl Otwock Photo Gallery]
* {{in lang|pl}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20040713163921/http://ric.jalix.org/Galleries/?dir=Pologne%2FOtwock Photo gallery]
* [http://www.sztetl.org.pl/en/city/otwock/ Jewish Community in Otwock] on [[Virtual Shtetl]]
* {{JewishGen-LocalityPage|520732|Otwock, Poland}}

{{Cities of Poland}}
{{Otwock County}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Masovian Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Otwock County]]
[[Category:Populated places on the Vistula]]
[[Category:Holocaust locations in Poland]]