Henryk Jordan

Henryk Jordan (born July 23, 1842 in Przemyśl, died May 16, 1907 in Kraków), was a Polish philanthropist, medical doctor, and a pioneer of physical education in Poland. A professor of obstetrics since 1895 at the Jagiellonian University of Kraków, Jordan became best known for organizing and setting up children’s playgrounds, named after him as Jordan’s Gardens.

Henryk Jordan was born into an impoverished noble family (Polish: szlachta) from the village of Zakliczyn. His father, Bonifacy Jordan, gave private lessons. His mother, Salomea Wędrychowska, was a homemaker.

Jordan received his high-school education in Tarnopol and in Tarnów, however, in 1861 he took part in pro-Polish demonstrations for which he was threatened with expulsion from school. He moved to Trieste in 1862 and a year later passed his high-school exams in Italian with honours.

Jordan began his university studies in Vienna, and starting in 1863, continued them at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He passed his science exams in 1867 but did not receive his masters due to pulmonary inflammation. He later left for Berlin and from there went to New York City. While there, Jordan encountered, for the first time, the so-called Swedish school of gymnastics for girls and young women, which became his area of interest.

While in the USA, Jordan began his medical practice, and also opened a school for midwives. Upon his return to Europe, he continued to work first in England and then in Germany. Back in Kraków, Jordan took on a number of social functions. From 1895 to 1901 he was an MP representing the city at the Polish Sejm. In addition, Jordan presided over the Gynecological Society of Kraków, as well as the Society of Medical Doctors, and the Polish Teachers of Higher Education Society. Thanks to his efforts, physical education classes were introduced as compulsory into all Polish schools.

Henryk Jordan's biggest achievement was to set up a public playground in 1889, with exercise fixtures modeled after playgrounds in the USA, the first in Kraków and perhaps the first in Europe. The Jordan’s Garden built on the grounds of Kraków’s Błonia included a swimming pool, 12 playing and soccer fields, as well as numerous running and exercise tracks. Facilities were added for indoor activities in 1906, in case of bad weather. The park was equipped with locker rooms and showers. On top of that, a free meal service was established for the children.

Jordan believed that: “Being serious, and working, all the time, is humanly impossible. A tired body requires rest similar to an overburdened spirit striving for joy.”

The concept of Jordan’s Gardens took off like wildfire. There were similar gardens opened in Warsaw, Płock, Kalisz and Lublin. In 1928 the Society of Jordan’s Gardens was established to oversee the building of all recreational facilities in interwar Poland.