It can likely happen that the first impressions of Kielce (pronounced kyel-tseh) will not be positive. The town is ringed by postwar housing projects that on a rainy day can look a bit depressing. But dig just a little deeper and you will find a lively city, located in the heart of the oldest European mountains -Świętokrzyskie mountains, called also the Holy Cross Mountains.
The city is centered on the cathedral, the remarkable Palace of the Krakow Bishops and nowadays represents economic, academic, cultural, touristic and relaxational center of the South-Eastern part of Poland.
We know that you, as a #simplyfan, mainly came to the city to support your team and watch the match but just in case you have an hour or two of extra time, one thing you should see is Palace of the Krakow Bishops.
Palace of the Krakow Bishops
The Palace of the Kraków Bishops is a stunning 17th-century palace, which was once the summer residence for the Bishops of Kraków. It is a perfect place for every enthusiast of architecture with it’s unique mélange of Polish and Italian traditions and reflects perfectly the political ambitions of its founder.
You can go inside and admire the palace which houses the National Museum, including an elaborate and important collection of Polish paintings.
Let’s move forward to the topic that you are probably most interesting in – handball in Kielce …
SOMETHING ABOUT THE CLUB…
We bet, this polish professional team, has one of the longest names in the handball club scene. The club is called Klub Sportowy PGE Vive Kielce.
But it wasn’t always like that; club was for many years known by its historical name Iskra Kielce.
So called - Iskra Kielce club - was founded in December, 1965 and is as a winner of a Champions league finals in 2016 for sure the most successful Polish team.
All the matches are played in the arena called Hala Legionow with the capacity of welcoming 4200 spectators. Spectators can enjoy in the great handball spectacles from their local team, which includes the extravagant coach Talant Duyshebaev and talented players, among others Julen Aguinagalde, Luka Cindrić, Daniel Dujshebaev and Michal Jurecki.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE FANS…
As every other team, this most successful Polish handball team is not an exception with having it’s own Fan club, called Vive Kielce Fan Club, too.
If you by any chance want to join the fan club you can easily find the membership instructions on their official website, but what we are even more interested in, is their mascot …
In reference to one of the urban legends, the mascot of the Kielce team became the Boar. Internauts decided to name it “Kiełek” (meaning small tusk). As befits a handball guy, mascot is of adequate height. It is 195 cm tall. Kiełek appeared for the first time in the hall on May 16, 2009, during a play-off final match.
It immediately aroused great interest and won sympathy of the fans, especially the youngest ones.