Sovereign Poland thumb|upright=1.23|Józef Piłsudski with the Polish Legions in Kielce, in front of the Governor's Palace, 1914 After the outbreak of World War I, Kielce was the first Polish city to be liberated from Russian rule by the Polish Legions under Józef Piłsudski. After the war when Poland regained its independence after 123 years of Partitions, Kielce became the capital of Kielce Voivodeship. The plans to strengthen Polish heavy and war industries resulted in Kielce becoming one of the main nodes of the Central Industrial Area (Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy). The town housed several big factories, among them the munitions factory "Granat" and the food processing plant "Społem".
Sovereign Poland thumb|upright=1.23|Józef Piłsudski with the Polish Legions in Kielce, in front of the Governor's Palace, 1914 After the outbreak of World War I, Kielce was the first Polish city to be liberated from Russian rule by the Polish Legions under Józef Piłsudski. After the war when Poland regained its independence after 123 years of Partitions, Kielce became the capital of Kielce Voivodeship The plans to strengthen Polish heavy and war industries resulted in Kielce becoming one of the main nodes of the Central Industrial Area (Centralny Okręg Przemysłowy). The town housed several big factories, among them the munitions factory "Granat" and the food processing plant "Społem".