Kielce

According to a local legend, Mieszko II Lambert, son of Boleslaus I of Poland, while hunting, stopped to rest and refresh, and fell asleep. During his sleep, he had a dream he was attacked by a band of brigands in a forest. In the dream he saw a vision of Saint Adalbert who drew a winding line which turned into a stream. When Mieszko woke up, he found the Silnica River whose waters helped him regain strength. He also discovered white tusks of an animal, perhaps wild boar. Mieszko announced he would build a town and a church to St. Adalbert at that site. According to this legend, the town's name Kielce commemorates the mysterious tusks ({{lang|pl|kieł}} in Polish). Various other legends exist to explain the name's origin. One states that the town was named after its founder who belonged to the noble family of Kiełcz, while another claims that it stems from the Celts who may have lived in the area in previous centuries. Other theories connect the town's name to occupational names relating to mud huts, iron tips for arrows and spears, or the production of tar ({{lang|pl|pkielce}}, a settlement of tar makers).{{cite web|url=http://www.um.kielce.pl/en/about/legends/|title=Legends / About the city / Kielce City Hall|last=www.ideo.pl|first=ideo -|access-date=20 November 2016}}

The most probable etymology traces the origins of the name to an Old Polish noun {{lang|pl|kielce}} (plural form of {{lang|pl|kielec}} 'sprout') and refers to plants sprouting in the wetlands where the settlement was located.{{Cite web|url=http://dlibra.umcs.lublin.pl/Content/21703/czas17868_27_2009_6.pdf|title=Folk and common etymologies of the toponym of Kielce with ethnic semantics|last=Michow|first=Elżbieta|date=2009|website=Biblioteka Cyfrowa UMCS}} The earliest extant document referring to the settlement by the name of Kielce dates to 1213.{{Cite web |url=http://en.kielce.uw.gov.pl/index.php?str=554 |title=Kielce - The Capital |access-date=2009-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624165845/http://en.kielce.uw.gov.pl/index.php?str=554 |archive-date=2013-06-24 |url-status=dead }}

File:Dworek Laszczyków Kielce.JPG called dworek, dating back to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The pictured house is one of the city's most precious buildings]]

The area of Kielce has been inhabited since at least the 5th century BC. Until the 6th or 7th century, the banks of the Silnica were inhabited by Celts. They were driven out by a Lechitic tribe of Vistulans who started hunting in the nearby huge forests and had settled most of the area now known as Lesser Poland and present-day Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. The lands of Wiślanie were at first subdued by Bohemia, however they soon came under the control of the Piast dynasty and became a part of the emerging Polish state.

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The area of the Holy Cross Mountains was almost unpopulated until the 11th century when the first hunters established permanent settlements at the outskirts of the mountains. They needed a place to trade furs and meat for grain and other necessary products, and so the market of Kielce was formed. In the early 12th century the new settlement became a property of the Bishops of Kraków, who built a wooden church and a manor. In 1171 a stone church was erected by bishop Gedeon Gryf. During the times of Wincenty Kadłubek a parochial school in Kielce was opened in 1229. By 1295 the town was granted city rights. In the mid-13th century the town was destroyed by the Mongol invasion of Ögedei Khan, but it quickly recovered.

Within the Polish Kingdom, Kielce was administratively located in the Sandomierz Voivodeship in the Lesser Poland Province. The area around Kielce was rich in minerals such as copper ore, lead ore, and iron, as well as limestone. In the 15th century Kielce became a significant centre of metallurgy. There were also several glass factories and armourer shops in the town. In 1527 bishop Piotr Tomicki founded a bell for the church and between 1637 and 1642 Mannerist palace was erected near the market place by Bishop Jakub Zadzik. It is one of the very few examples of French Renaissance architecture in Poland and the only example of a magnate's manor from the times of Vasa dynasty to survive World War II.

During The Deluge the town was pillaged and burnt by the Swedes. Only the palace and the church survived, but the town managed to recover under the rule of bishop Andrzej Załuski. During the Great Northern War it was the site of a battle between Swedish forces under Charles XII and Polish and Saxon forces under the Polish-Lithuanian king Augustus II. By 1761 Kielce had more than 4,000 inhabitants. In 1789 Kielce were nationalized and the burgers were granted the right to elect their own representatives in Sejm. The 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Polish Crown Army was stationed in Kielce in 1789.{{cite book|last=Gembarzewski|first=Bronisław|title=Rodowody pułków polskich i oddziałów równorzędnych od r. 1717 do r. 1831|year=1925|language=pl|publisher=Towarzystwo Wiedzy Wojskowej|location=Warsaw|pages=26–27}} Until the end of the century the city's economy entered a period of fast growth. A brewery was founded as well as several brick factories, a horse breeder, hospital.

File:Camp of the Russian Imperial Army near Kielce 1863.png, 1863]]

As a result of the Third Partition of Poland the city was annexed by Austria. During the Austro-Polish War of 1809 it was captured by prince Józef Poniatowski and joined with the Napoleon controlled Duchy of Warsaw, but after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1815 it was joined with Russian-controlled Congress Poland. For a brief period when Kraków was an independent city-state (Republic of Kraków), Kielce became the capital of the Kraków Voivodeship. Thanks to the efforts by Stanisław Staszic Kielce became the centre of the newly established Old-Polish Industrial Zone (Staropolski Okręg Przemysłowy). The town grew quickly as new mines, quarries and factories were constructed. In 1816 the first Polish technical university was founded in Kielce. However, after Staszic's death the Industrial Zone declined and in 1826 the school was moved to Warsaw and became the Warsaw University of Technology.

In 1830 many of the inhabitants of Kielce took part in the November Uprising against Russia. In 1844, priest {{Interlanguage link|Piotr Ściegienny|pl}} began organising a local revolt to liberate Kielce from the Russian yoke, for which he was sent to Siberia. In 1863 Kielce took part in the January Uprising. As a reprisal for insubordination the tsarist authorities closed all Polish schools and turned Kielce into a military garrison city. The Polish language was banned. Because of these actions many gymnasium students took part in the 1905 Revolution and were joined by factory workers.{{cite web |url=http://www.mowiawieki.pl/artykul.html?id_artykul=2317 |title=Piotr Ściegienny – rewolucjonista w sutannie |author=Mirosław Caban |author2=Wojciech Kalwat |publisher=MowiaWieki.pl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080208210323/http://www.mowiawieki.pl/artykul.html?id_artykul=2317 |archive-date=2008-02-08}}

File:Kielce pilsudski.jpg with the Polish Legions in Kielce, in front of the Governor's Palace, 1914]]

After the outbreak of World War I, Kielce was the first Polish city to be liberated from Russian rule by the Polish Legions under Józef Piłsudski. After the war when Poland regained its independence after 123 years of Partitions, Kielce became the capital of Kielce Voivodeship. The plans to strengthen Polish heavy and war industries resulted in Kielce becoming one of the main nodes of the Central Industrial Area (Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy). The town housed several big factories, among them the munitions factory "Granat" and the food processing plant "Społem".

During the Polish Defensive War of 1939, the main portion of the defenders of Westerplatte as well as the armoured brigade of General Stanisław Maczek were either from Kielce or from its close suburbs. During the German occupation that lasted for most of the Second World War, the city was an important centre of resistance. There were several resistance groups active in the town, including Armia Krajowa (AK) and Gwardia Ludowa (GL).

Following the invasion, the German Einsatzgruppe II entered the city to commit various atrocities against the population,{{cite book|last=Wardzyńska|first=Maria|year=2009|title=Był rok 1939. Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion|language=pl|location=Warsaw|publisher=IPN|page=58}} and the occupiers established a special court in Kielce.{{cite magazine|last=Grabowski|first=Waldemar|year=2009|title=Polacy na ziemiach II RP włączonych do III Rzeszy|magazine=Biuletyn Instytutu Pamięci Narodowej|language=pl|publisher=IPN|issue=8–9 (103–104)|page=62|issn=1641-9561}} In September–November 1939, the Germans also operated a temporary Dulag transit camp for some 3,000 Polish prisoners of war.{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|page=524|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}} The POWs were held in poor conditions, there were cases of dysentery and typhoid fever, and 18 POWs were executed by the Germans. Local Poles provided food and medicine to the POWs.

In January and March 1940, the Germans carried out mass arrests of local Poles as part of the AB-Aktion.Wardzyńska, p. 251–252 Among the victims were teachers, priests, and local political and social activists, including women. Arrested Poles were either imprisoned in the local prison, deported to concentration camps or massacred, with a notable massacre of 63 people committed by the Germans on 12 June 1940 at a local stadium.Wardzyńska, p. 252 Many Poles from the prison in Kielce were also murdered in the Brzask forest near Skarżysko-Kamienna on 29 June 1940.Wardzyńska, p. 268 At least five local Polish boy scouts were killed by the Germans during the war.{{cite book|last=Massalski|first=Adam|editor-last=Kostkiewicz|editor-first=Janina|year=2020|title=Zbrodnia bez kary... Eksterminacja i cierpienie polskich dzieci pod okupacją niemiecką (1939–1945)|language=pl|location=Kraków|publisher=Uniwersytet Jagielloński, Biblioteka Jagiellońska|page=246|chapter=Eksterminacja młodocianych harcerek i harcerzy na ziemiach polskich w okresie okupacji niemieckiej 1939 – 1945}}

File:Płyta pamiątkowa na cześć zamachu na szefa gestapo.jpg of World War II]]

Notable acts of resistance included theft of 2 tons of TNT from the "Społem" factory run by the Nazis, which were then used by the partisans to make hand grenades. Also, the daring escape from jail in Kielce of a dozen or so AK members, organized in November 1942 by Stanisław Depczyński. Not to mention, a grenade attack by a unit of the GL on the Smoleński coffee shop, killing 6 Germans including a major in the SS (February 1943), as well as the assassination of the noted Gestapo informant Franz Wittek on 15 June 1944, by a unit under Second Lt. Kazimierz Smolak on the corner of Solna and Paderewski Streets. One of the attackers died during the attack and a further four lost their lives not long afterwards. This was not the first assassination attempt against Wittek. In 1942, Henryk Pawelec fired at him in the market square, but his pistol misfired. In February 1943, a unit under the command of Stanisław Fąfar shot at Wittek by the Seminarium building. Wittek, though wounded by 14 bullets, survived. Successful assassinations of local collaborators, including the shooting of Jan Bocian took place in broad daylight at a shop in Bodzentyńska Street. Similar was the attack on the factory of C. Wawrzyniak in March 1943, terrorizing and disarming the volksdeutscher workers and destroying the machinery, as well as the attack on the HASAG factory in May 1943 and the takeover of the Kielce Herbskie railway station.Historia Kielc (History of Kielce), in Polish Wikipedia. The underground University of the Western Lands gave secret lectures in Kielce.{{cite book|author= |title=Encyklopedia konspiracji Wielkopolskiej 1939–1945|year=1998|location=Poznań|language=pl|publisher=Instytut Zachodni|page=615|isbn=83-85003-97-5}}

From 1942 to 1944, the Germans operated a collection camp for Soviet POWs, seen as potential collaborators.{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|pages=532–533|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}

In 1944, during and following the Warsaw Uprising, the Germans deported thousands of Varsovians from the Dulag 121 camp in Pruszków, where they were initially imprisoned, to Kielce.{{cite web|url=http://dulag121.pl/encyklopediaa/transporty-z-obozu-dulag-121/|title=Transporty z obozu Dulag 121|website=Muzeum Dulag 121|accessdate=26 June 2021|language=pl}} Those Poles were mainly old people, ill people and women with children. 9,000 Poles expelled from Warsaw stayed in Kielce, as of 1 November 1944.

Moreover, the hills and forests of Holy Cross Mountains became a scene of heavy partisan activity. A small town of Pińczów located some {{convert|30|km|0|abbr=off}} from Kielce became the capital of the so-called Pinczów Republic, a piece of Polish land controlled by the partisans. The "Jodla" Świętokrzyskie Mountains Home Army fought against the Germans long before Operation Tempest inflicted heavy casualties on the occupying forces and later took part in the final liberation of their towns and cities in January 1945. During the war, many of inhabitants of Kielce lost their lives. Following the war, Kielce was restored to Poland, although with a Soviet-installed communist regime, which stayed in power until the 1980s. In August 1945, the Polish resistance led by Antoni Heda and Stefan Bembiński carried out the Raid on Kielce Prison and liberated some 350 prisoners.

File:Kielce synagoga front.jpg, built 1903-1909]]

Prior to the 1939 Invasion of Poland, like many other cities across the Second Polish Republic, Kielce had a significant Jewish population. According to the Russian census of 1897, among the total population of 23,200 inhabitants, there were 6,400 Jews in Kielce (around 27 percent).Joshua D. Zimmerman, Poles, Jews, and the politics of nationality, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 2004, {{ISBN|0-299-19464-7}}, [https://books.google.com/books?id=6sbr9cZyw_4C&dq=population+Brest+Poles+Jews&pg=PA16 Google Print, p.16] On the eve of the Second World War there were about 18,000 Jews in the city. Between the onset of war and March 1940, the Jewish population of Kielce expanded to 25,400 (35% of all residents),{{cite web |author=Marta Kubiszyn |author2=Adam Dylewski |author3=Justyna Filochowska |date=2009–2016 |title=Kielce |publisher=POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews |work=Virtual Shtetl |url=http://www.sztetl.org.pl/pl/article/kielce/5,historia/?action=view&page=1 |pages=1–3|language=pl}} with trains of dispossessed Jews arriving under the escort of German Order Police battalions from the Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany.{{cite web |author=Wacław Wierzbieniec |translator=Anna Grojec |title=Kielce |url=http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Kielce |publisher=YIVO Institute for Jewish Research |year=2010 |work=Jews in Eastern Europe}}

Immediately after the German occupation of Poland in September 1939, all Jews were ordered to wear a Star of David on their outer garments. Jewish–owned factories in Kielce were confiscated by the Gestapo, stores and shops along the main thoroughfares liquidated, and ransom fines introduced. The forced labour and deportations to concentration camps culminated in mass extermination of Jews of Kielce during the Holocaust in occupied Poland.{{cite book |title=Zagada ludnosci zydowskiej Kielc: 1939–1945 |author=Prof. Krzysztof Urbański |year=2005 |chapter=III: Ghetto |chapter-url=http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/kielce1/kie076.html |pages=76–116 |via=JewishGen, Yizkor Book Project |translator=Yaacov Kotlicki}}

In April 1941, the Kielce Ghetto was formed, surrounded by high fences, barbed wire, and guards.{{cite book |title=Der Judenmord in Polen und die deutsche Ordnungspolizei 1939–1945 |author=Wolfgang Curilla |publisher=Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh |year=2011 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfrrAwAAQBAJ&q=%22Polizeibataillon%20305%22%20Kielce |page=526 |isbn=978-3506770431}} The gentile Poles were ordered to vacate the area and the Jews were given one week to relocate. The ghetto was split in two, along Warszawska Street (Nowowarszawska) with the Silnica River (pl) running through it. The so-called large ghetto was set up between the streets of Orla, Piotrkowska, Pocieszka, and Warszawska to the east, and the smaller ghetto between Warszawska on the west, and the streets of Bodzentyńska, St. Wojciech, and the St. Wojciech square. The ghetto gates were closed on 5 April 1941; the Jewish Ghetto Police was formed with 85 members and ordered to guard it.{{cite web |author=Chris Webb |title=Kielce |publisher=Holocaust Historical Society |year=2014 |url=http://www.holocausthistoricalsociety.org.uk/kielce.html |at=Sources: The Yad Vashem Encylopiedia of the Ghettos During the Holocaust Volume 1, Yad Vashem, 2009; Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka – The Aktion Reinhard Death Camps By Y. Arad, Indiana University Press, 1987}} Meanwhile, expulsions elsewhere and deportations to Kielce continued until August 1942 at which time there were 27,000 prisoners crammed in the ghetto. Trains with Jewish families arrived from the entire Kielce Voivodeship, and also from Vienna, Poznań, and Łódź.

The severe overcrowding, rampant hunger, and outbreaks of epidemic typhus took the lives of 4,000 people before mid-1942. During this time, many of them were forced to work at a nearby German munition plant run by Hasag. In August 1942, the Kielce Ghetto was liquidated in the course of only five days. During roundups, all Jews unable to move were shot on the spot including the sick, the elderly, and the disabled; 20,000–21,000 Jews were led into waiting Holocaust trains, and murdered in the gas chambers of Treblinka. After the extermination action only 2,000 Jews were left in Kielce, lodged in the labour camp at Stolarska and Jasna Streets (pl) within the small ghetto. Those who survived were sent to other forced labour camps. On 23 May 1943 the Kielce cemetery massacre was perpetrated by the German police; 45 Jewish children who had survived the Kielce Ghetto liquidation, were murdered by Order Police battalions.

File:Kielce planty 7.jpg

On 4 July 1946 the local Jewish gathering of some 200 Holocaust survivors from the Planty 7 Street refugee centre of the Zionist Union became the target of the Kielce pogrom in which 37 (40) Jews (17–21 of whom remain unidentified) and 2 ethnic Poles were killed, including 11 fatally shot with military rifles and 11 more stabbed with bayonets, indicating direct involvement of loyal to Moscow Polish communist troops.{{cite journal |title=Pogrom kielecki – oczami świadka |type=special issue |journal=Niezalezna Gazeta Polska |location=Warsaw |date=4 July 2008 |quote=Leszek Bukowski & Andrzej Jankowski (ed.), vol. II, with Foreword by Jan Żaryn, IPN: Warsaw 2008, pp. 166–171; {{ISBN|8360464871}}. |author=Judge Andrzej Jankowski |author2=Leszek Bukowski |at=1–8 in PDF |url=http://pamiec.pl/download/49/27596/IPN2920080704.pdf |access-date=3 August 2016 |archive-date=26 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826073423/http://pamiec.pl/download/49/27596/IPN2920080704.pdf |url-status=dead }}

During the Cold War, many Jewish historians theorized that the pogrom became the cause of outward Jewish emigration from Poland immediately following the opening of the borders in 1947.Königseder, Angelika, and Juliane Wetzel, Waiting for Hope: Jewish Displaced Persons in Post-World War II Germany, Northwestern University Press, 2001, {{ISBN|0-8101-1477-1}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=Y59izLT_VawC&dq=kielce+%22displaced+persons%22&pg=PA46 pp. 46-47]Wyman, Mark, DPs: Europe's Displaced Persons, Cornell University Press, 1998, {{ISBN|0-8014-8542-8}} [https://books.google.com/books?id=lHNw7MnsmlYC&dq=kielce+%22displaced+persons%22&pg=PA144 p. 144] Nevertheless, the true reasons behind the dramatic increase of Jewish emigration from Poland were far more complex.{{cite book|last=Marrus|first=Michael Robert | author-link = Michael Marrus|author2=Aristide R. Zolberg |title=The Unwanted: European Refugees from the First World War Through the Cold War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ssrLM0yWD1kC&q=%22accelerated+powerfully+after+the+Kielce+pogrom%22&pg=PA336|publisher=Temple University Press|year=2002|pages=336|isbn=1-56639-955-6|quote="This gigantic effort, known by the Hebrew code word Brichah(flight), accelerated powerfully after the Kielce pogrom in July 1946"}} The new government of the Communist Poland signed a repatriation agreement with the Soviet Union helping over 150,000 Holocaust survivors leave the Soviet Union legally.{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oGmTs2SceAgC&q=%22agreements+on+the%22+%22mutual+evacuation+of+citizens%22&pg=PA137 | title=Redrawing Nations: Ethnic Cleansing in East-Central Europe, 1944-1948 | publisher=Rowman & Littlefield | year=2001 | access-date=May 11, 2011 |author1=Philipp Ther |author-link=:de:Philipp Ther | author2-link=Ana Siljak |author2=Ana Siljak | pages=138 | isbn=0-7425-1094-8}} Poland was the only Eastern Bloc country to allow free and unrestricted Jewish Aliyah to the nascent State of Israel, upon the conclusion of World War II.Devorah Hakohen, [https://books.google.com/books?id=hCw6v0TFhdMC&dq=%22Poland+opened+its+gates+to+Jewish+emigration.%22&pg=PA70 Immigrants in turmoil: mass immigration to Israel and its repercussions...] Syracuse University Press, 2003 - 325 pages. Page 70. {{nowrap|{{ISBN|0-8156-2969-9}}}} After the Kielce pogrom Gen. Spychalski of PWP signed a legislative decree allowing the remaining survivors to leave Poland without visas or exit permits.{{cite web |last=Aleksiun |first=Natalia |title=Beriḥah |url=http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/printarticle.aspx?id=219 |publisher=YIVO |quote=Suggested reading: Arieh J. Kochavi, "Britain and the Jewish Exodus...," Polin 7 (1992): pp. 161–175}} Poland was the only Eastern Bloc country to do so, at war's end. Britain demanded from Poland (among others) to halt the Jewish exodus, but their pressure was largely unsuccessful.{{cite book|last=Kochavi|first=Arieh J.|title=Post-Holocaust Politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish Refugees, 1945–1948| url=https://archive.org/details/postholocaustpol00koch|url-access=registration|quote=Britain exerted pressure on the governments of Poland.|publisher=The University of North Carolina Press|year=2001|pages=xi|isbn=0-8078-2620-0}}

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Kielce is one of the relatively cooler cities in Poland. It experiences four distinct seasons and has a warm summer subtype humid continental climate (Dfb), typical of this part of Europe. It has cool, cloudy winters with almost daily light snowfall and generally moderate temperatures within a few degrees of the freezing point, and moderately warm and sunny summers, with frequent but brief hot spells and abundant rainfall falling mostly during numerous and occasionally severe thunderstorms. Surrounded by the Holy Cross Mountains, however, the summer night time temperatures are somewhat cooler and the thunderstorms somewhat more frequent and severe than in surrounding areas of Poland.{{cite web|url=http://spotkanie-z-piorunem.manifo.com/wystepowanie|title=Występowanie :: Spotkanie z piorunem|access-date=20 November 2016}}

Both continental and maritime air masses can enter the area undergoing little modification, resulting in striking differences in the seasons from year to year, particularly in winter when the contrast between maritime and continental air is at its greatest. Maritime influences from the Atlantic typically bring cool, cloudy, damp and often foggy weather both in summer and in winter, whereas continental air masses often result in long periods of sunny and dry weather, hot in summer and on occasion, extremely cold in winter.

The highest temperature recorded in Kielce since 1971 is {{convert|36.4|C|F|0}} and the lowest is {{convert|-33.9|C|F|0}},{{cite web|url=http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/KIELCE/01-1987/125700.htm|title=Climate KIELCE (January 1987) - Climate data (125700)|first=Tutiempo Network|last=S.L.|access-date=20 November 2016}} giving the city a temperature range of 70.3 °C (126.5 °F), the second highest in Poland. The city receives 1720 to 1829 hours of sunshine annually, depending on the source,{{cite web|url=http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/maps/city?FMM=1&FYY=2000&LMM=12&LYY=2012&WMO=12570&CONT=euro®ION=0001&LAND=PL&ART=SOS&R=160&NOREGION=1&LEVEL=162&LANG=sk&MOD=tab|title=climate - Graph - Kielce Poľsko - WeatherOnline|last=sk.weatheronline.co.uk|access-date=20 November 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://kielce.citycheck.pl/|title=City Check - Sprawdź swoje miasto|access-date=20 November 2016}} with a notably sunny spring and summer, and a cloudy late autumn and winter. Winds are generally very light throughout the year,{{cite web|url=http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/maps/city?LANG=en&PLZ=_____&PLZN=_____&WMO=12570&CONT=euro&R=0&LEVEL=162®ION=0001&LAND=PL&MOD=tab&ART=WST&NOREGION=1&FMM=1&FYY=1982&LMM=12&LYY=2012|title=Wind speed - Kielce - Climate Robot Poland|last=weatheronline.co.uk|access-date=20 November 2016}} with an abundance of calm days, and as a result, cool temperatures often feel much milder than expected due to a relative lack of windchill, especially during sunny spells in early spring, as well as during severe winter cold snaps, which are typically dominated by calm, anticyclonic weather. Föhn winds from the Carpathian mountains do occasionally reach the city, resulting in unusually mild temperatures for a semi-continental location at this latitude, on rare occasions reaching approximately {{convert|15|C|F|0}} in the winter months.

File:Sienkiewicz Kielce.jpg

Winter conditions are highly dependent on the source region of the air mass that dominates during a particular month, resulting in tremendous variability from one year to the next. For example, in January 2006, the city experienced typically continental winter weather, resulting in an average daytime high of {{convert|-3.7|C|F|0}}, recording a nighttime low of {{convert|-30|C|F|0}}{{cite web|url=http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/KIELCE/01-2006/125700.htm|title=Climate KIELCE (January 2006) - Climate data (125700)|first=Tutiempo Network|last=S.L.|access-date=20 November 2016}} on the 24th. The very next year, in January 2007, the weather was predominantly of the Atlantic type, resulting in an average high of {{convert|5.7|C|F|0}} and occasional days above {{convert|10|C|F|0}},{{cite web|url=http://www.tutiempo.net/en/Climate/KIELCE/01-2007/125700.htm|title=Climate KIELCE (January 2007) - Climate data (125700)|first=Tutiempo Network|last=S.L.|access-date=20 November 2016}} more typical of coastal locations in Western Europe. As a result of this variability, severe cold with temperatures below {{convert|-20|C|F|0}} can be completely absent during some winters, and in others, it can occur with regularity, even as late as March. Heavy snowfall is rare, and significant snow accumulations typically occur gradually, a few centimeters at a time over a protracted cold spell.

Summer is warm and lasts from June to early September, and is characterized by abundant sunshine, but also severe weather, particularly early in the season. Though temperatures average in the low-to-mid 20s (70s Fahrenheit), they are rather variable with frequent hot spells reaching approximately {{convert|30|C|F|0}} interrupted by cold fronts, which frequently bring violent thunderstorms and several days of cool and sometimes chilly weather. Although hot weather is frequent and many summers experience a few oppressively hot days of around {{convert|35|C|F|0}}, summer temperatures in the city are never extreme and have not exceeded {{convert|36.4|C|F|0}} in recent decades.

The transitional seasons of spring and autumn are highly unpredictable and experience large temperature swings with periods of fine weather and temperatures around {{convert|20|C|F|0}} as early as March and late into October, alternating with much colder periods. Sharp nighttime frosts can occur as early as September and as late as May, though on calm, clear days, it often warms up rapidly to approximately {{convert|20|C|F|0}}, especially in April. Occasionally, significant, accumulating snow can occur in October and April, though mild weather rapidly returns.

{{Weather box

| location = Kielce (Suków) 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present

| metric first = yes

| single line = yes

| Jan record high C = 13.4

| Feb record high C = 18.4

| Mar record high C = 23.7

| Apr record high C = 29.7

| May record high C = 33.4

| Jun record high C = 34.6

| Jul record high C = 36.6

| Aug record high C = 36.4

| Sep record high C = 35.0

| Oct record high C = 26.3

| Nov record high C = 20.0

| Dec record high C = 16.5

| year record high C = 36.6

| Jan high C = 0.8

| Feb high C = 2.6

| Mar high C = 7.4

| Apr high C = 14.4

| May high C = 19.4

| Jun high C = 22.7

| Jul high C = 24.9

| Aug high C = 24.6

| Sep high C = 19.0

| Oct high C = 13.1

| Nov high C = 6.6

| Dec high C = 1.9

| year high C = 13.1

| Jan mean C = -2.2

| Feb mean C = -1.1

| Mar mean C = 2.5

| Apr mean C = 8.4

| May mean C = 13.4

| Jun mean C = 16.9

| Jul mean C = 18.7

| Aug mean C = 18.2

| Sep mean C = 13.2

| Oct mean C = 8.1

| Nov mean C = 3.3

| Dec mean C = -0.9

| year mean C = 8.2

| Jan low C = -5.1

| Feb low C = -4.4

| Mar low C = -1.7

| Apr low C = 2.7

| May low C = 7.5

| Jun low C = 11.0

| Jul low C = 12.9

| Aug low C = 12.3

| Sep low C = 8.2

| Oct low C = 4.0

| Nov low C = 0.3

| Dec low C = -3.6

| year low C = 3.7

| Jan record low C = -33.9

| Feb record low C = -31.0

| Mar record low C = -27.5

| Apr record low C = -9.4

| May record low C = -4.6

| Jun record low C = -1.3

| Jul record low C = 2.9

| Aug record low C = 0.3

| Sep record low C = -4.5

| Oct record low C = -8.7

| Nov record low C = -18.0

| Dec record low C = -26.9

| year record low C = -33.9

| precipitation colour = green

| Jan precipitation mm = 37.3

| Feb precipitation mm = 34.0

| Mar precipitation mm = 40.2

| Apr precipitation mm = 39.5

| May precipitation mm = 70.1

| Jun precipitation mm = 70.2

| Jul precipitation mm = 94.3

| Aug precipitation mm = 67.6

| Sep precipitation mm = 55.1

| Oct precipitation mm = 45.2

| Nov precipitation mm = 40.2

| Dec precipitation mm = 37.4

| year precipitation mm = 631.0

| Jan snow depth cm = 8.1

| Feb snow depth cm = 8.2

| Mar snow depth cm = 5.2

| Apr snow depth cm = 1.4

| May snow depth cm = 0.0

| Jun snow depth cm = 0.0

| Jul snow depth cm = 0.0

| Aug snow depth cm = 0.0

| Sep snow depth cm = 0.0

| Oct snow depth cm = 0.7

| Nov snow depth cm = 2.6

| Dec snow depth cm = 4.3

| year snow depth cm =

| unit precipitation days = 0.1 mm

| Jan precipitation days = 17.13

| Feb precipitation days = 15.43

| Mar precipitation days = 14.73

| Apr precipitation days = 12.13

| May precipitation days = 14.03

| Jun precipitation days = 13.83

| Jul precipitation days = 14.73

| Aug precipitation days = 11.77

| Sep precipitation days = 12.23

| Oct precipitation days = 14.30

| Nov precipitation days = 15.03

| Dec precipitation days = 16.17

| year precipitation days = 171.53

| unit snow days = 0 cm

| Jan snow days = 17.8

| Feb snow days = 16.2

| Mar snow days = 7.0

| Apr snow days = 1.1

| May snow days = 0.0

| Jun snow days = 0.0

| Jul snow days = 0.0

| Aug snow days = 0.0

| Sep snow days = 0.0

| Oct snow days = 0.4

| Nov snow days = 4.6

| Dec snow days = 11.3

| year snow days = 58.4

| Jan humidity = 87.4

| Feb humidity = 84.4

| Mar humidity = 78.4

| Apr humidity = 71.6

| May humidity = 73.2

| Jun humidity = 73.7

| Jul humidity = 74.2

| Aug humidity = 74.8

| Sep humidity = 80.7

| Oct humidity = 84.9

| Nov humidity = 89.2

| Dec humidity = 89.4

| year humidity = 80.2

| Jan sun = 55.8

| Feb sun = 71.3

| Mar sun = 126.2

| Apr sun = 181.4

| May sun = 228.2

| Jun sun = 232.4

| Jul sun = 241.3

| Aug sun = 238.9

| Sep sun = 162.2

| Oct sun = 112.8

| Nov sun = 56.1

| Dec sun = 45.2

| year sun = 1751.8

|source 1 = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211203115527/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TSR_AVE

| archive-date = 3 December 2021

| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TSR_AVE

| title = Średnia dobowa temperatura powietrza

| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020

| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115043924/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMIN_AVE

| archive-date = 15 January 2022

| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMIN_AVE

| title = Średnia minimalna temperatura powietrza

| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020

| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115044916/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMAX_AVE

| archive-date = 15 January 2022

| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/TMAX_AVE

| title = Średnia maksymalna temperatura powietrza

| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020

| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220109045820/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_SUMA

| archive-date = 9 January 2022

| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_SUMA

| title = Miesięczna suma opadu

| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020

| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115051112/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_01

| archive-date = 15 January 2022

| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/OPAD_01

| title = Liczba dni z opadem >= 0,1 mm

| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020

| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115054936/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_SR_GRUB

| archive-date = 15 January 2022

| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_SR_GRUB

| title = Średnia grubość pokrywy śnieżnej

| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020

| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220121044246/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_0

| archive-date = 21 January 2022

| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/SNIEG_0

| title = Liczba dni z pokrywą śnieżna > 0 cm

| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020

| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

{{cite web

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220115055331/https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/USL

| archive-date = 15 January 2022

| url = https://klimat.imgw.pl/pl/climate-normals/USL

| title = Średnia suma usłonecznienia (h)

| work = Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020

| publisher = Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

|source 2 = Meteomodel.pl (records, relative humidity 1991–2020)

{{cite web

| url = https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=350200570&par=tmax&max_empty=3

| title = Kielce–Suków Absolutna temperatura maksymalna

| publisher = Meteomodel.pl

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

{{cite web

| url = https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=350200570&par=tmin&max_empty=3

| title = Kielce–Suków Absolutna temperatura minimalna

| publisher = Meteomodel.pl

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

{{cite web

| url = https://meteomodel.pl/dane/srednie-miesieczne/?imgwid=350200570&par=rh&max_empty=3

| title = Kielce–Suków Średnia wilgotność

| publisher = Meteomodel.pl

| language = pl

| access-date = 22 January 2022}}

}}

Sources:

File:20130421 Kielce Palac Biskupow Krakowskich 3127.jpg, front facade]]

• Palace of the Kraków Bishops in Kielce (1637–1641): summer residence of Bishops of Kraków, built in early baroque style by Giovanni Battista Trevano and Tomasz Poncino; houses a museum with an important gallery of Polish paintings
• Baroque Cathedral (12th century, rebuilt 1632–1635 and again in the 19th century)
• Old Town market (18th century) with the neoclassicist town hall
• Sienkiewicza Street
• Holy Trinity Church (1640–1644)
• St. Adalbert Church, dating back to 10th century, rebuilt in 1763 and 1885
• Tomasz Zieliński romantic manor (1846–1858)
• Former synagogue, built in 1902
• Garrison Catholic Church of Our Lady Queen of Poland, former Orthodox Church, built 1902–1904
• Exaltation of the Holy Cross church, built 1903–1913 in Gothic Revival style
• Bank building at 47 Sienkiewicza Street, built in 1911–1912 in Art Nouveau style
• Socialist realist building of the Jan Kochanowski University (former regional headquarters of the Polish United Workers' Party)
• Modernist bus station, built 1975–1984
• Monuments to Henryk Sienkiewicz, Józef Piłsudski, Tadeusz Kościuszko, Stefan Żeromski, Jan Karski, Stanisław Staszic, Jerzy Popiełuszko, Pope John Paul II, Miles Davis etc.
• Homo Homini monument, first monument in Europe to commemorate the victims of the September 11 attacks in New York City
• Geopark Kielce with the Center of Geoeducation{{cite web |url=http://en.geopark-kielce.pl/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140305165547/http://en.geopark-kielce.pl/ |archive-date=2014-03-05 | title=Geopark Kielce }}
• 5 geological nature reserves in town area

File:Pałac biskupów w Kielcach tył.jpg|Palace of the Kraków Bishops in Kielce, garden facade

File:Katedra w Kielcach.jpg|Kielce Cathedral

File:Kielce-Rathaus.jpg|City hall on the Old Town Market Square

File:Kościół Świętej Trójcy w Kielcach 01 ssj 20060513.jpg|Holy Trinity Church

File:Front kościoła św Wojciecha w Kielcach.jpg|St. Adalbert Church

File:Kiel25DSC 0249.JPG|Tomasz Zieliński manor

File:Kielce, Kościół Garnizonowy Najświętszej Marii Panny Królowej Polski w Kielcach DZolopa 2019-07-10 124252 0808.jpg|Church of Our Lady Queen of Poland

File:JKRUK 20190306 KIELCE KOSCIOL SWIETEGO KRZYZA DSCN3523.jpg|Exaltation of the Holy Cross church

File:Bank,ul.Sienkiewicza 47 - Asirek 132.jpg|Bank building at 47 Sienkiewicza Street

File:Kielce, Pomnik Czwórki Legionowej.jpg|The Monument of The Legion Four

File:Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach.JPG|Jan Kochanowski University

File:KielcePKS.jpg|Modernist bus station

File:Kielce-karczowka.jpg|Karczówka Monastery, built 1624–1631

File:Kadzielnia - Skałka Geologów i Jezioro Szmaragdowe - panoramio.jpg|Kadzielnia natural reserve

File:WMP UJK (5).jpg]]

File:Gmach Rektoratu i Biblioteki,posągi Stanisław Staszica i Egeniusza Kwiat....jpg]]

• Kielce University of Technology (Politechnika Świętokrzyska) {{cite web|url=http://www.tu.kielce.pl|title=Politechnika Świętokrzyska|first=Politechnika|last=Świętokrzyska|access-date=20 November 2016}}
• Jan Kochanowski University (Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego) {{cite web|url=http://www.pu.kielce.pl|title=Uniwersytet Jana Kochanowskiego w Kielcach|access-date=20 November 2016}}
• Świętokrzyska Szkoła Wyższa
• Wszechnica Świętokrzyska
• Wyzsza Szkola Administracji Publicznej {{cite web|url=http://www.wsap-kielce.edu.pl/|title=Wyższa Szkoła Administracji Publicznej w Kielcach|access-date=20 November 2016}}
• Wyzsza Szkola Ekonomii i Prawa im. prof. Edwarda Lipinskiego {{cite web|url=http://www.wseip.edu.pl/|title=Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomii, Prawa i Nauk Medycznych im. prof. Edwarda Lipińskiego w Kielcach - Uczelnia|last=Administrator|access-date=20 November 2016}}
• Wyzsza Szkola Handlowa im. Boleslawa Markowskiego
• Wyzsza Szkola Umiejetnosci
• Wyzsza Szkola Technik Komputerowych i Telekomunikacji
• Wyzsza Szkola Zarzadzania Gospodarka Regionalna i Turystyka
• Wyzsza Szkola Telekomunikacji i Informatyki {{cite web|url=http://www.wsti.kielce.pl/|title=Wyzsza Szkola Telekomunikacji i Informatyki, WSTI. Homepage.|access-date=20 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060202053945/http://www.wsti.kielce.pl/|archive-date=2 February 2006|url-status=dead}}
• Towarzystwo Wiedzy Powszechnej OR, Kielce
• High schools, among others:
• Juliusz Słowacki High School No. 6{{cite web|url=http://www.6lo-kielce.edu.pl/|title=6 LO w Kielcach|access-date=20 November 2016}}
• Stefan Żeromski High School No. 1{{cite web|url=http://www.zeromski.pl/|title=Jacek Żeromski - Poradniki ze szczyptą dziennikarstwa|access-date=20 November 2016}}
• Jan Śniadecki High School No. 2{{cite web|url=http://www.sniadek.kie.pl/|title=sniadek online|last=sniadek|access-date=20 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140516085115/http://www.sniadek.kie.pl/|archive-date=16 May 2014|url-status=dead}}

{{Historical populations|1950|61332|1960|89500|1970|126950|1980|185307|1990|214202|2000|213469|2010|203804|2020|193415|footnote=source {{cite web | url=https://www.polskawliczbach.pl/Kielce | title=Kielce (świętokrzyskie) » mapy, nieruchomości, GUS, noclegi, szkoły, regon, atrakcje, kody pocztowe, wypadki drogowe, bezrobocie, wynagrodzenie, zarobki, tabele, edukacja, demografia }}}}

As of 31 December 2020 there were 193,415 people living in Kielce.{{Cite web |title=Urząd Statystyczny w Kielcach / Kielce |url=https://kielce.stat.gov.pl/kielce-ii/ |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=kielce.stat.gov.pl}}

At the end of June 2021, the unemployment rate was 5.0%.{{Cite web |title=Praca Kielce - oferty pracy |url=https://www.praca.pl/kielce |access-date=2022-08-03 |website=Portal Praca.pl |language=pl}}

As of the end of June 2021, the average per capita income was PLN 4798.67 gross.

• A graph of Kielce's population over the past 4 centuries:

ImageSize = width:680 height:300

PlotArea = left:50 right:20 top:25 bottom:30

TimeAxis = orientation:vertical

AlignBars = late

Colors =

id:linegrey2 value:gray(0.9)

id:linegrey value:gray(0.7)

id:cobar value:rgb(0.2,0.7,0.8)

id:cobar2 value:rgb(0.6,0.9,0.6)

DateFormat = yyyy

Period = from:0 till:225000

ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:25000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey

ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:5000 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey2

PlotData =

color:cobar width:19 align:left

bar:1645 from:0 till:1250

bar:1663 from:0 till:295

bar:1761 from:0 till:4000

bar:1789 from:0 till:1700

bar:1808 from:0 till:2324

bar:1827 from:0 till:4135

bar:1869 from:0 till:7689

bar:1883 from:0 till:10051

bar:1905 from:0 till:29306

bar:1921 from:0 till:41346

bar:1939 from:0 till:70000

bar:1940 from:0 till:80576

bar:1946 from:0 till:49960

bar:1960 from:0 till:89500

bar:1975 from:0 till:151185

bar:1991 color:cobar2 from:0 till:215005

bar:2005 from:0 till:208193

bar:2017 from:0 till:196804

bar:2020 from:0 till:194218

PlotData=

textcolor:black fontsize:S

bar:1645 at: 1250 text: 1.250 shift:(-11,5)

bar:1663 at: 295 text: 295 shift:(-8,5)

bar:1761 at: 4000 text: 4.000 shift:(-11,5)

bar:1789 at: 1700 text: 1.700 shift:(-11,5)

bar:1808 at: 2324 text: 2.324 shift:(-11,5)

bar:1827 at: 4135 text: 4.135 shift:(-11,5)

bar:1869 at: 7689 text: 7.689 shift:(-11,5)

bar:1883 at: 10051 text: 10.051 shift:(-14,5)

bar:1905 at: 29306 text: 29.306 shift:(-14,5)

bar:1921 at: 41346 text: 41.346 shift:(-14,5)

bar:1939 at: 80576 text: 70.000 shift:(-14,5)

bar:1940 at: 80576 text: 80.576 shift:(-14,5)

bar:1946 at: 49960 text: 49.960 shift:(-14,5)

bar:1960 at: 89500 text: 89.500 shift:(-14,5)

bar:1975 at: 151185 text: 151.185 shift:(-17,5)

bar:1991 at: 215005 text: 215.005 shift:(-17,5)

bar:2005 at: 208193 text: 208.193 shift:(-17,5)

bar:2017 at: 196804 text: 196.804 shift:(-17,5)

bar:2020 at: 194218 text: 194.218 shift:(-17,5)

File:PL Kielce Sienkiewicza 32 teatr3.jpg Theatre]]

File:Muzeum Historii Kielc.jpg

• National Museum in Kielce – a collection of fine arts{{Cite web|url=https://mnki.pl/eng/branches|title = National Museum in Kielce}}
• Kielce History Museum
• Museum of Toys and Play{{Cite web|url=http://muzeumzabawek.eu/english/|title = English}}
• Laurens Hammond Museum
• Stefan Żeromski's School Years museum

• Stefan Żeromski Theatre
• Kieleckie Centrum Kultury - KCK
• Teatr Lalki i Aktora "Kubuś" - Puppet and Actor Theatre "Kubuś"
• Kielecki Teatr Tańca - Kielce Dance Theatre

File:Hala sportowa w Kielcach 02 ssj 20060906.jpg

File:Korona Kielce Super Stadion 1.jpg

Other clubs:

• KKL Kielce (athletics) - [http://kkl.kielce.com.pl/ Official website of KKL Kielce]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070103065413/http://www.capoeira.kielce.pl/ Oficina da Capoeira Kielce] - Capoeira Club in Kielce
• Muay Thai Kielce
• Żak Kielce (judo club)
• Kielecki Klub Karate Kyokushin
• Rushh Kielce (boxing club)
• Gwardia Kielce (boxing club)
• Orlęta Kielce (football club, IV league)
• Jokers Kielce (American football)
• Tęcza Kielce
• Tor Kielce circuit in Miedziana Góra
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060518172328/http://www.mtb.kielce.pl/ Mountain biking in Kielce]
• Contact Kielce billiards club from Kielce, Champion of Poland and medalist of Polish League

Kielce is an important transport hub, and is on international and domestic routes:

• {{Jct|country=POL|DK|7}} {{Jct|country=POL|S|7}} Gdańsk – Elbląg – Warsaw – Radom – Kielce – Kraków – Chyżne
• {{Jct|country=POL|DK|73}} Wiśniówka – Kielce – Tarnów – Pilzno – Jasło
• {{Jct|country=POL|DK|74}} {{Jct|country=POL|S|74}} Sulejów – Kielce – Opatów – Szczebrzeszyn – Zamość – and from there to Ukraine

Provincial roads:

• {{Jct|country=POL|DW|745}} Dąbrowa – Masłów – Radlin
• {{Jct|country=POL|DW|761}} Kielce – Piekoszów
• {{Jct|country=POL|DW|762}} Kielce – Chęciny – Małogoszcz
• {{Jct|country=POL|DW|764}} Kielce – Suków – Raków – Staszów – Połaniec
• {{Jct|country=POL|DW|786}} Kielce – Ruda Strawczyńska – Łopuszno – Włoszczowa – Koniecpol – Święta Anna – Częstochowa

In addition, Kielce has a network of district roads, covering 109 streets with a total length of {{convert|114.9|km|1|abbr=on}} and a network of roads covering 446 streets with a total length of {{convert|220.9|km|1|abbr=on}}. 57.5% of roads in the city has an improved hard surface, 8.4% of hard surface is not improved, while 34.1% are dirt.

File:Obraz 2023-08-09 161502655.png

{{see also|Kielce railway station}}

Rail transport came to Kielce in 1885, when the construction of the line linking Iwanogród (Dęblin) and Dąbrowa Górnicza was completed. Currently, Kielce is an important intersection of railway lines, running to Częstochowa and Lubliniec, Warsaw, Kraków and Sandomierz. Within the administrative boundaries of the city there are the following railway stations: Kielce, Kielce Piaski, Kielce Białogon, Kielce Herbskie, Kielce Ślichowice.

At present, air services are only available to the residents of Kielce at Kielce-Masłów Airport, a civilian airport located in nearby Masłów. It is not able to accommodate large passenger planes, because its runway is only 1,200 m. Its reconstruction is seen as not viable and in June 2006 the decision was made about the location of a new airport near the village of the Obice Morawica, able to handle regular airlines. At present, land has been purchased for the investment. The nearest international airports are located in Kraków-Balice, Warsaw-Okecie and Rzeszów-Jasionka.

Official transport services were first established on 22 July 1951, when the local transport department was created.

After many changes today, the city operates 46 regular bus lines (1-53 without 3, 6, 15–17, 20, 22, 37, 39–40, 42, 46, 48–49, 52), 7 "EU" lines (102-114 without 105–106, 109–111, 113), 5 hybrid bus lines (34, 46, 50, 51, 54), two free circle lines (0W and 0Z) two lines of special constants (F, Z) and two night lines (N1, N2). Most of the regular lines are operated by the Municipal Transport Company (MPK Kielce) and Kielce Bus Company Workers (KASP), and the "EU", the free circle lines and some normal lines (13, 23, 24) are operated by BP Tour Regio under an agreement signed with the Management of Urban Transport (ZTM Kielce). In Kielce, there are two depots, one used by MPK and the other used by BP Tour Regio. The rolling stock is composed of about 165 buses.

In 2009/10 the Transport Authority in Kielce released the Polish Operational Programme Development of Eastern 2007 - 2013 project "Development of public transport system in Kielce Metropolitan Area." They bought 40 new buses -Solaris Urbino 12s, and another 20 were bought in 2010. These buses will support new lines. Part of the project, envisages installation of 24 electronic boards for bus departure times and 20 stationary ticket vending machines.

The history of communication dates back to coaches from Kielce in 1945, when the District was set up. Already in 1946, there were regular routes to Kraków, Warsaw, Jelenia Góra, Teplice and neighbouring towns.

After 1990, the Kielce Bus Station was renamed the PKS Station in Kielce, and has maintained regular passenger long-distance routes.

File:Kielce exbud.jpg

The current Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Kielce constituency in 2019 Polish parliamentary election are:{{Cite web|url=https://sejmsenat2019.pkw.gov.pl/sejmsenat2019/pl/wyniki/sejm/okr/33|title=PKW {{!}} Wybory do Sejmu RP i Senatu RP|website=sejmsenat2019.pkw.gov.pl|access-date=2020-01-10}}

• Krzysztof Bosak (Confederation Liberty and Independence)
• Michał Cieślak (Law and Justice)
• Adam Cyrański (Civic Coalition)
• Bartłomiej Dorywalski (Law and Justice)
• Anna Krupka (Law and Justice)
• Andrzej Kryj (Law and Justice)
• Marek Kwitek (Law and Justice)
• Krzysztof Lipiec (Law and Justice)
• Marzena Okła-Drewnowicz (Civic Coalition)
• Adam Siekierski (Polish People's Party)
• Bartłomiej Sienkiewicz (Civic Coalition)
• Andrzej Szejna (Democratic Left Alliance)
• Dominik Tarczyński (Law and Justice)
• Sylwester Wawrzyk (Law and Justice)
• Katarzyna Wojtyszek (Law and Justice)
• Zbigniew Ziobro (Law and Justice)

The current senator elected from Kielce constituency is Krzysztof Słoń (Law and Justice).{{Cite web|url=https://sejmsenat2019.pkw.gov.pl/sejmsenat2019/pl/wyniki/senat/okr/83|title=Wybory do Sejmu i Senatu Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej 2019 r.|website=sejmsenat2019.pkw.gov.pl|language=pl|access-date=2020-01-10}}

File:Pomnik Stanisław Staszic.jpg monument]]

• Stanisław Staszic (1755–1826), priest, philosopher, statesman, poet and writer, a leader of the Polish Enlightenment, one of principal authors of Constitution of 3 May 1791 – Europe's oldest written constitution
• Adolf Dygasiński (1839–1902), novelist
• Stefan Żeromski (1864–1925), novelist and dramatist, known as the "conscience of Polish literature"
• Czesław Bieżanko (1895–1986), entomologist
• Gustaw Herling-Grudziński (1919–2000), writer, journalist and essayist; World War II underground fighter, and political dissident abroad during the communist system in Poland
• Gershon Iskowitz (1921–1988), Canadian artist
• Edmund Niziurski (1925–2013), writer
• Wiesław Gołas (1930–2021), actor
• Thomas Buergenthal (1934–2023), American judge, lived in Kielce Ghetto, an author of A Lucky Child
• Rafał Olbiński (born 1943), graphic artist, stage designer and surrealist painter
• Włodzimierz Pawlik (born 1958), Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and composer
• Krzysztof Klicki (born 1962), president of Kolporter Holding, former owner of Korona Kielce
• Michał Sołowow (born 1962), businessman, billionaire and rally driver, shareholder of Cersanit S.A., Echo Investment, Barlinek, Życie Warszawy, one of the richest Poles
• Piotr Marzec better known as Liroy (born 1971), rapper
• Andrzej Piaseczny (born 1971), vocalist
• Mateusz Polit (born 1975), choreographer
• Dagmara Domińczyk (born 1976), Polish-American actress and author (Succession, The Lost Daughter, Priscilla)
• Marika Domińczyk (born 1980), Polish-American actress (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Grey's Anatomy)
• Rafał Zawierucha (born 1986), actor, grew up in Kielce
• Marcin Patrzałek (born 2000), musician, guitarist, arranger and composer

• Leszek Drogosz (1933–2012), boxer, three-time European Champion, Olympic medalist
• Zbigniew Piątek (born 1966), cyclist
• Piotr Stokowiec (born 1972), football manager
• Paweł Brożek (born 1983), footballer (Polonia Białogon, GKS Katowice, Wisła Kraków, Trabzonspor, Celtic F.C.)
• Piotr Brożek (born 1983), footballer (Górnik Zabrze, Wisła Kraków, Trabzonspor)

There are honorary consulates of Finland, Germany and Hungary in Kielce.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.pl/web/dyplomacja/misje-dyplomatyczne-urzedy-konsularne-i-organizacje-miedzynarodowe-w-polsce|title=Misje dyplomatyczne, urzędy konsularne i organizacje międzynarodowe w Polsce|website=Portal Gov.pl|language=pl|access-date=21 September 2024}}

Kielce is twinned with:{{cite web|title=Miasta partnerskie i zaprzyjaźnione|url=https://www.kielce.eu/pl/dla-mieszkanca/samorzad/wspolpraca-miedzynarodowa/miasta-partnerskie-i-zaprzyjaznione/|publisher=Kielce|language=pl|access-date=2025-04-01}}

• {{flagicon|HUN}} Csepel (Budapest), Hungary
• {{flagicon|GER}} Gotha, Germany
• {{flagicon|FRA}} Orange, France
• {{flagicon|ISR}} Ramla, Israel
• {{flagicon|UKR}} Vinnytsia, Ukraine

In addition to the twin towns, Kielce also has friendly relations with:

• {{flagicon|ROU}} Bacău, Romania
• {{flagicon|GER}} Flensburg, Germany
• {{flagicon|SWE}} Sandviken, Sweden
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Taizhou, China
• {{flagicon|CZE}} Třebíč, Czech Republic
• {{flagicon|CHN}} Yuyao, China

{{Reflist}}

{{commons|Kielce}}

{{Wikivoyage|Kielce}}

• [http://www.korona-kielce.pl Website of Korona Kielce]
• [http://www.um.kielce.pl Municipal website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919122033/http://www.um.kielce.pl/ |date=2020-09-19 }}
• [http://www.wici.info WICI Portal of Culture in Kielce - Polish language only]
• [http://www.inwestycje.kielce.pl Website about new constructions in Kielce - Polish language only]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20081109100223/http://kielce.vel.pl/en/index.htm Historic gallery of Kielce - Old Kielce on photos (Pl, En)]
• [http://www.targikielce.pl Trade Fair Kielce]
• [http://www.kielce-online.com Kielce Travel Guide]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070302185739/http://www.wolontarze.pl/ XVII century historical re-enactment group: Kompania Wolontarska]
• {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20111109214230/http://www.naszekielce.com/ Our Kielce - Information and Entertainment site]}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110902085349/http://www.kielcecity.pl/ Kielce City (Polish)]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20141014235237/http://www.polandexplorer.com/kielce-travel-and-tourist-guide/ English guide to Kielce]
• [https://cityon.pl/kielce Search interesting places in Kielce (Polish)]
• {{JewishGen-LocalityPage|507561|Kielce, Poland}}

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