Odolion

Odolion
—  Village  —
Odolion
Coordinates: 52°52′N 18°45′E / 52.867°N 18.75°E / 52.867; 18.75
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Kuyavian-Pomeranian
County	Aleksandrów
Gmina	Gmina Aleksandrów Kujawski
Population	740

Odolion [ɔˈdɔljɔn] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Aleksandrów Kujawski, within Aleksandrów County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland.^[1] It lies 4 kilometres (2 mi) east of Aleksandrów Kujawski and 21 km (13 mi) south-east of Toruń.

The village had a populatation of 740 in 2005.

History and development

Odolion is located 3km away from the famous Polish spa town of Ciechocinek and 5km from Aleksandrów Kujawski, an important national railway interchange. A railway runs directly between these two towns, stopping only at Odolion in between. The main purpose of the railway line was to take visitors from all parts of the country to Ciechocinek, a small principality, via Aleksandrów Kujawski. It is however a major means of transport for the people of Odolion, taking them to school, work, and for leisure.

The village began to be built up in the 1970s and is now growing rapidly. In the early 1990s, the parish of Odolion-Stawki was created - before, the villagers had to travel either to Aleksandrów or Ciechocinek to go to church and belonged to these respective parishes. A chapel was built in Miła street, and a large, modern church was completed in 2006, adjacent to the chapel to cope with the increasing population. There is a cemetery just outside the village, in the Stawki area.

Amenities

Although Odolion is a relatively small settlement its number of amenities grows year on year, including a large parish church, fire station, petrol filling station and playing fields. There are also currently two shops in the village, both on the main street. One also serves as a railway station, selling train tickets as Odolion does not have a purpose built station. 2009 saw the opening of several new shops housed within large, purpose-built trading pavilions; these include a large supermarket, pharmacy and furniture store. Local businesses have expressed concern over the arrival of the supermarket chain Lewiatan which they believe will threaten their family run shops.

Currently there is no sewage system running through Odolion, although discussions about introduction of this amenity as well as piped gas are ongoing. The valley location of the village results in poor receipt of signals from electronic devices, resulting in poor satellite TV and mobile phone reception.

Environment and Climate

The majority of Odolion is on the forest side of the railway, with one street continuing approx. 500m further across the railway line and Lodz road. The streets on the forest side are arranged in a figure of 8 shape, fitting snugly into the horseshoe of the forest running closely around it. The current list of streets is as follows:

• Dworcowa
• Miła
• Młodzieżowa
• Zaułek
• Kwiatowa
• Krótka
• Piaskowa
• Okrężna
• Szosa Ciechocińska
• Relaksowa
• Lipowa
• Kolejowa

However, more houses are being built all the time - increasingly by wealthy city businessmen. Odolion's proximity to the spa town of Ciechocinek and historical city Torun are desirable factors.

Weather

Summers are roughly in line with Polish averages, with both sun and rain featuring. Temperatures have broken the 35C barrier on several occasions. Winters are bitter, with snow often several feet deep. The snow usually lasts from mid November through to February or March.

References

1. ^ "Central Statistical Office (GUS) – TERYT (National Register of Territorial Land Apportionment Journal)" (in Polish). 2008-06-01. http://www.stat.gov.pl/broker/access/prefile/listPreFiles.jspa. 

Coordinates: 52°52′N 18°45′E / 52.867°N 18.75°E / 52.867; 18.75