The best running trails around Mordy

There were many outstanding graduates, but one should be particularly distinguished Bolesław Prus, real name Aleksander Głowacki of the Prus coat of arms – a high school student in 1862, a Polish writer, prose writer, short story writer and publicist of the positivism period, co-creator of Polish realism, chronicler of Warsaw, thinker and popularizer of knowledge. Stanisław Mieszkowski – a volunteer student of the 1920 war, high school graduate (1923); professional officer of the Polish Navy; commander of a group of gunboats and defender of Hel (1939); after the war, founder and commandant of the Naval Officers' School in Oksywie. As a commodore, fleet commander, terroristically arrested by the communist regime, convicted and brutally murdered in Mokotów prison (1952); buried anonymously, probably in the Powązki "Łączka."

in 1991, when the Żółkiewski High School was re-established.

The interwar period was the School's period of glory. Teachers, students and graduates were the intellectual elite of Siedlce. Thoroughly educated, they cultivated patriotic traditions. When World War II broke out in 1939, the School continued its clandestine teaching. After the end of the war, the Żółkiewski High School (under different names depending on the reform) operated continuously until 1961, when the education authorities closed the school, justifying this decision with the reorganization of education.

World War I brought Poland independence after 123 years of partitions. Polish institutions began to emerge anew. One of them was the Royal Polish Gymnasium named after Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski in Siedlce. The act of nationalization of the school and naming it was made by the Minister of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment - Antoni Ponikowski (an alumnus of the Siedlce gymnasium). Since 1920, the school had two faculties: mathematics and natural sciences and humanities. In 1923, the latter was transformed into a separate gymnasium named after Bolesław Prus.

The Hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski High School is the heir to the excellent tradition of Siedlce secondary education. Since 1844, the classicist building, designed by the outstanding architect Antonio Corrazi, housed the provincial high school, which was moved from Łuków. The second half of the 19th century was a difficult time for the School. The occupying authorities tried to lower the prestige of the institution at all costs, constantly reorganizing it. The Russification policy mobilized the professors and youth community even more to cultivate patriotic traditions. Therefore, when the January Uprising broke out in 1863, many students of this school took part in this independence uprising, including Aleksander Głowacki (Bolesław Prus). As a result of post-uprising repressions, the school was reorganized again, assuming that it would educate young people from Russian military and official families. In fact, however, Polish youth constituted 80% of the students and actively opposed Russification by establishing self-education circles, a secret "flying" library, etc.

Revalorization 2023. New plantings have appeared in the park, which blend in with numerous natural monuments such as the El Greco oak or the Jadwiga poplar. New paths have been marked out, including two educational paths. So we have a nature and historical route decorated with numerous information boards. There is also Mr. Moose, hidden right next to the lake with fountains, with whom everyone will probably want to take a picture. Importantly, the Siedlce authorities are trying, together with local cultural centers, to ensure that outdoor and cultural events appear in the Park. Such as concerts, exhibitions, or author meetings. A wooden gazebo will certainly facilitate this. On the other hand, a Jordan garden, i.e. a playground, has been prepared for the youngest. A small outdoor gym is adjacent to it, so parents will also be able to get some exercise.

Today's park differs significantly from the original sentimental park. Occupying a much smaller area and deprived of its former layout, it is now a typical city park. The park still has trees over two hundred years old. Some of them have been recognized as natural monuments.

The park was leased to private individuals in the 1840s, and a few years later it was transferred to the city. In the years 1869-1909, the City Park was surrounded by an iron fence on the south and west sides and a brick fence on the north side. The City Committee for the Promotion of Public Sobriety, established in 1900, ran a canteen and teahouse in the park, and also organized events in the park. World War II led to significant devastation of the park, the Nazi occupiers dismantled most of the existing buildings in the park, including the summer theater, restaurant and stage.