Służew

Służew (Polish: [ˈswu.ʐɛf] ^ⓘ) is a neighbourhood in Warsaw, Poland, located at the boundary of the districts of Mokotów and Ursynów. It is a residential area with housing estates of apartment buildings, including Służew Fort, Służew nad Dolinką, and Służewiec-Prototypy, as well as single-family neighbourhoods of houses, including Służew-Parcele, and Stary Służew. The area also features several 19th-century historical buildings, such as St. Catherine Church, Krasiński Palace, and two decommissioned fortifications, designated as Fort IIA, and Fort III. Campuses of Warsaw University of Life Sciences and Łazarski University, as well as the Institute of Physics of the Polish Academy of Sciences are also present in the neighbourhood. The area is connected to the Warsaw Metro rapid transit underground system, with the Służew of the M1 line. The area is divided into two City Information System areas: Służew in the west, within the Mokotów district, and Stary Służew (Old Służew) in the east, within the Ursynów district.

Służew dates back to at least the 13th century, when it was a small farming community. In 1238 the St. Catherine Church was founded there, with its Catholic parish becoming the oldest within the current boundaries of Warsaw. It was later rebuilt in the 19th century. In 1245, the village became the property of the knight Gotard of Służew, whose descendants formed the Służewiecki family of the Radwan heraldic clan, who owned this land until the 17th century. In 1776, the Krasiński Palace was constructed there. In 1886, two forts, designated as VIIA and VIII, were built near Służew as part of the series of fortifications of the Warsaw Fortress. They were decommissioned in 1909, and partially demolished in 1913. In 1932, the neighbourhood of villas, known as Służew-Parcele, was developed to the northwest of the village. The entire area was incorporated into Warsaw in 1938. The Warsaw University of Life Sciences campus was established in 1956, and further expanded in the following decades. In the 1960s and 1970s, the housing estates of Służew Fort, Służew nad Dolinką, and Służewiec-Prototypy were developed in the area. In 1995, the Służew station of the Warsaw Metro was opened.