University as a means of cities salvation on the example of Polish Grudziadz

The text presents social, economic and educational situation of Grudziadz - 100-thousand town located in northern Poland. The situation in the city is described in wider social and pedagogical context. The city proves to have turbulent history - from success and economic boom to spectacular, painful collapse. The authors put up the thesis that the cause of the disastrous situation in Grudziadz is the absence of higher education institutions. Relying on the ethnographic data collected in the region and on the statistical data of the Central Statistical Office in Poland, the authors prove that the lack of higher education is not only the cause of city's fall, but also the key way to its salvation.