Factories define Targówek Fabryczny. The name itself tells a story. This district owes its existence to the factories that sprung up in the late 19th century.
Targówek Fabryczny sits in the southern part of the Targówek district. Radzymińska, Naczelnikowska, Księżnej Anny, Klementowicka and Rybieńska streets surround it. This area became a hub of industrial activity.
In the 1870s, Hirschmann and Kijewski built a chemical factory near Naczelnikowska Street. Later, it became Kijewski and Scholtze. To support it, the Targówek Glassworks opened in 1878. Between Księcia Ziemowita and Radzymińska streets, oil processing businesses appeared. Targówek Fabryczny became a mix of factories, worker settlements, and farms. Many railway workers also called it home.
In 1919, a wooden church named Zmartwychwstania Pańskiego was built on Księcia Ziemowita Street. Stefan Szyller designed it in the Zakopane style. During the interwar period, Targówek Fabryczny gained electricity and water systems.
Under communist rule, Targówek Fabryczny was planned for industrial use. Many houses were torn down. Residents were forced to move. Much of Księcia Ziemowita Street was demolished. In 1949, the Mechanical Wood Processing Plant opened near Siarcza and Zabraniecka streets.
In 1994, the American company Procter & Gamble opened a Pampers factory on Zabraniecka Street. Despite its industrial past, Targówek Fabryczny faced challenges. Its triangular shape between two railway lines made it one of Warsaw’s neglected areas.
The area has a low population density. Buildings are mainly pre-1939 brick houses. Some wooden buildings still stand on Ciemna, Dziewanna, Żmudzka and Władysławowska streets. Targówek Fabryczny also has green spaces and unused land.
Among the important sites here is the Kijewski Villa on Siarczana 6. Also, the Church of Zmartwychwstania Pańskiego. Targówek Fabryczny offers a glimpse into Warsaw’s industrial history and resilience. It shows how a district shaped by factories evolved over time.