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series: THE BEAUTY OF POLAND
Plenty of photographs and a bunch of information about Warsaw
Lech J. Zdrojewski Tadeusz Jędrysiak
Wa rs aw –the capital of Poland Fundacja OKO-LICE KULTURY - 2017
Warsaw – the capital of Poland series: THE BEAUTY OF POLAND
Editor: Lech J. Zdrojewski, Tadeusz Jędrysiak Photographs: Lech J. Zdrojewski, Tadeusz Jędrysiak and the National Digital Archives - Warsaw DTP: Lech J. Zdrojewski, Katarzyna Stosik Translation: Małgorzata Dera ISBN 978-83-65365-96-5
Published by: Fundacja OKO-LICE KULTURY
Zblewo, ul. Modrzewiowa 5, www.oko-lice-kultury.pl
Zblewo 2017
4 46 66 102 138 198 216 262 276
Instead of a foreword – a few facts and dates and an invitation for a stroll around the Old Town The New Town Vistula Escarpment – up to the East-West Road and St. Anna’s Church Royal Route – part one from the Castle Square to Copernicus Monument Warsaw’s squares Royal Route – part two from Nowy Świat to Wilanów Praga on the right bank of the Vistula River Warsaw’s monuments In memory of those who fought for Poland Warsaw’s museums Warsaw’s cemeteries
Instead of a foreword This is not a typical „guidebook”. This is not a conventional volume on ... Our book is an invitation to explore the history and the beauty of Warsaw. It contains descriptions of different parts of the city and numerous photographs – authors hope that the images and information provided will entice Readers to discover the many facets of the Polish capital. Through the choice of photographs, we intend to give the Reader the impression of strolling around Warsaw. Images complement historical facts and descriptions contained in this volume, imparted by professional guides to Warsaw, experts in its history and culture.
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Meeting with Warsaw 006
Wiele spotkań radosnych Znamy w życiu człowieka Wiele spotkań na wiosnę Gdy na ciebie ktoś czeka Lecz ze spotkań najmilsze I piękniejsze niż wszystko To spotkanie, spotkanie z Warszawą W cieniu domów nad Wisłą To spotkanie, spotkanie z Warszawą W cieniu domów nad Wisłą
lyrics - Tadeusz Kubiak score- Alfred Gradstein a song from my childhood, sang by Mieczysław Fogg and local bands. I still catch myself humming it under my breath TJ Instead of a foreword
008 Instead of a foreword
Old Town’s Model Granite pillars measuring approx. 50x50x100 cm, featuring a bronze model of the Old Town’s rebuilt parts commemorate its inscription on the UNESCO’s List.
018 Warsaw – the capital of Poland
020 Warsaw – the capital of Poland
Royal Castle Castle Square
The origins of the castle can be traced back to the fourteenth century. In the sixteenth and seventeenth century, during the reign of King Sigismund III Vasa, the Castle was rebuilt into a pentagon-shaped structure. It served as a royal residence, a place were parliamentary sessions were held, as well as the country’s administrative and cultural centre. During the reign of the last Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, the refurbishment and reconstruction of the Castle’s interiors was commissioned to a group of artists. On 3 May 1791, the Polish Constitution - the first document of this type in Europe and the second in the world - was adopted by the Sejm in the Royal Castle. Following the nineteenthcentury partitions, a substantial part of the last king’s collection of artworks and artefacts was sent to Russia.
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Some were subsequently returned to the Castle after Poland regained independence in 1918. In 1926-1939, the Castle was the residence of the President of the Second Polish Republic, Ignacy Mościcki.
In September 1944, the Royal Castle was blown up by German troops. Its reconstruction began in 1971. The reconstructed interior was opened to the general public in 1984. Warsaw’s Royal Castle is the symbol of the state’s sovereignty. It is a venue of important events, it serves as an important education centre and a museum. Photo: the Ballroom. It is the Castle’s largest and most ornate room. It has been reconstructed on the basis of photographs taken before 1939.
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032 Warsaw – the capital of Poland
Piwna and Świętojańska streets link the Castle Square with the Old Town Market Place.
The Statue of Warsaw Mermaid (1855) The Mermaid is the symbol of Warsaw, featured in the city’s coat of arms. The statue stands in the centre of the Old Town Market Square and is surrounded by a fountain. It is one of Poland’s best-known monuments. The bronze sculpture, which is approximately 2.5 m high, represents a mermaid holding a shield and a sword. It was designed by Konstanty Hegel; it is a copy of the original sculpture, which forms part of the collection of the Historical Museum of Warsaw. Images of the Mermaid - half women, half fish - abound throughout the city. Warsaw
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044 Warsaw – the capital of Poland
The New Town The neighbourhood dates back to the beginning of the fifteenth century. It is connected to the Old Town via Freta Street, which begins at the Barbican. In the house at 16, Freta Street, Maria Sklodowska-Curie was born in 1867. Today, the first floor of the building is home to a museum. The New Town features several churches: - St. Spirit’s Church of the Pauline Fathers - St. Jack’s Church of the Dominican Fathers - St. Casimir’s Church - St. Benno’s Church - St. Francis Seraph Church of the Franciscan Fathers - The Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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Monument to Maria Sklodowska-Curie It is located next to the Gothic church of St. Mary on the Vistula Escarpment. The cast bronze statue represents the Nobel Prize winner wearing a large apron and holding a model of Polonium, a radioactive element that she discovered and named after Poland. Maria Sklodowska-Curie spent the first 19 years of her life in Warsaw, before she left for France to study. She is the only woman to receive the Nobel Prize twice, in two different scientific domains. In 2009, the „New Scientist” declared her to be the greatest scientist of all time.
055 Warsaw – the capital of Poland
056 Warsaw – the capital of Poland
The New Town Panorama The towers of three churches, St. Casimir, St. Benon and the Church of St. Mary, all stand proud and form one of the most beautiful views of the New Town. The Multimedia Fountain Park, the latest attraction of the New Town, is located right by the Vistula River. From May through September, 30-minute multimedia waterlight-sound shows with LED spotlights and lasers attract hundreds of viewers.
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Royal Route - part one
From the Castle Square to the Copernicus Monument
St. Anne’s Church It is one of Warsaw’s oldest and most beautiful churches, dating back to the 15th century. It has been repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt in different styles each time, as a result of which it contains elements representing four architectural styles. At the end of the 16th century, a freestanding brick bell tower was erected next to the church; today, it serves as a vantage point. Only the vault of the church suffered damage during the Warsaw Uprising (1944). A number of original 18th century elements, i.e. the main altar and three pairs of lateral altars, have been preserved. Currently, it is the main church of the academic community in Warsaw.
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Royal Route This historical route begins at the Castle Square and stretches to the south, through Łazienki Park to Wilanów (14 km). Numerous historical buildings, churches, parks and residences are located along the Royal Route, which encompasses the following streets: Krakowskie Przedmieście, Nowy Świat, Plac Trzech Krzyży, Aleje Ujazdowskie, Belwederska and Sobieskiego.
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Presidential Palace (formerly known as the Radziwill’s Place and the Governor’s Palace) It was built in the seventeenth century and served various public purposes throughout its history. In 1989, it was the venue of the Round Table Talks, which initiated political changes in Poland. Since 1994, it has been the residence of Polish presidents: Lech Wałęsa, Aleksander Kwaśniewski, Lech Kaczyński, Bronisław Komorowski and Andrzej Duda.
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Church of the Holy Cross The church was built in the seventeenth century and is currently administered by the Missionary Friars of Vincent De Paul. A statue of Jesus carrying a cross was installed above one of the entrances to the church in 1858. In 1880, an urn containing the heart of Fryderyk Chopin was immured in a pillar; the composer’s wish was for his heart to be brought back to his homeland. It is entombed here in a double box made of lead and wood. In January 1945, only a few days before leaving Warsaw, Nazi troops completed the destruction by blowing up its bell tower. The church was subsequently rebuilt. Warsaw
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Warsaw’s squares Bankowy, Teatralny and other squares
Bankowy Square It is one the city’s main squares, established in 1825 as an elegant area of the capital of the then Congress Kingdom. It was designed by a prominent Italian architect, Antonio Corazzi. Germans destroyed it completely during World War II.
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Teatralny Square In the mid-19th century, this was the very centre of Warsaw, mainly due to the presence of the Grand Theatre, designed by Antonio Corazzi, and Jabłonowski Palace that housed the City Hall. During the German siege of Warsaw in 1939, the Grand Theatre was bombed and nearly razed to the ground, with the exception of its Classical façade.
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Chopin Statue The monument represents the composer sitting under a Mazovian willow. It was created in 1926, destroyed by the Germans and rebuilt in 1956. In the summer (from May to September), every Sunday at 12:00 and 16:00, free open-air concerts of Chopin’s music are held at the memorial. This tradition dates back to 1959. Outstanding pianists from Poland and abroad perform by the statue and their concerts attract masses of music fans every week. Royal Route - part two
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150 Royal Route - part two
Belweder The Neoclassical building underwent a major transformation in the early nineteenth century. It was the residence of the Grand Duke Constantine, the tsar’s de facto viceroy in the Congress of Poland. Later, it was inhabited by Marshal Józef Piłsudski and, after the war, it served as the seat of the government. Monument to Józef Piłsudski was unveiled in 1998. Royal Route - part two
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Adjacent to the Palace is the Amphitheatre. To this day, open-air performances are held here. The building, made of stone, is reminiscent of the theatre in the Herculaneum. Other edifices located nearby are the Old Orangery, Myślewicki Palace, Kordegarda and the White House. Numerous activities await visitors to the park: a short tour in a gondola, horse-riding or watching peacocks. A charming element is a pond brimming with golden carp.
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White Hall It is the largest and most stately room in the palace. It was built between 1730-1733 by order of King Augustus II the Strong, the then owner of Wilanรณw. The sophisticated decor is an example of late Baroque Classicism. The White Hall served as a venue of balls, parties, concerts and other important events. An equestrian statue of King John III Sobieski stands next to the White Hall.
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Bedroom of Queen Maria Kazimiera It is one of the palace’s most beautiful rooms, adorned with an arresting painted ceiling, on which the queen is represented as a Roman goddess of flowers and the joy of spring.
In 1805, in the left wing of the palace, the then owner Stanislaw Kostka Potocki established Poland’s first art museum.
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Praga
on the right side of the Vistula River
Praga It is the name of the right-bank part of Warsaw. The name derives from the word “prażyć” and refers to the process of controlled burning of the dense forest that used to cover this area. The first historical mention of a settlement dates back to 1432.
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Praga In order to see traces of old Warsaw, you need to go to the right bank of the Vistula River. Historically, the district was the shopping destination of Varsovians, where they used to purchase food, records, clothes and even illegal documents (on the famous Różycki Market). Back in the day, Praga was famous for Warsaw’s best vodka and its local music bands. Currently, Praga is undergoing redevelopment.
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Prague - shrines The old Praga is home to numerous shrines scattered along its streets and in courtyards. The majority of them date back to 1943-1944. They attract the attention of passers-by with their unique structure. Many stand in the shadow of trees and buildings and have been painstakingly taken care of by local residents, even in the tough times following the partitions of Poland, during the Nazi occupation and under Communism. These small shrines are the remnants of Praga’s history. Praga
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Warsaw’s monuments
commemorating those who fought for Poland’s freedom
Historical events, national heroes, tragic episodes from the country’s history and victorious battles fought by Polish soldiers in their own country and abroad are commemorated with numerous monuments scattered around Warsaw. There are statues, obelisks, shrines, crosses and gravestones, as well as plaques that pay tribute to the executed, the tortured and those who perished in battles.
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220 Warsaw’s monuments
Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument It is a copy of the monument that stands in Washington, DC in Lafayette Park, across the street from the White House. In 1776-1784, Kościuszko fought for the independence of the United States and is sometimes referred to as the “father of American fortifications”. He was the chief commander of the Kościuszko Uprising (1794) and, after its defeat, he was captured and imprisoned in Russia. He died in Switzerland in 1817. His body was brought back to Poland and buried at Wawel. His heart is entombed in the chapel of the Royal Castle in Warsaw.
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Pawiak Monument Pawiak Prison Museum has been established where a former investigative prison used to be located. The prison walls witnessed mass crimes that shocked the occupied city. In the period of Nazi occupation during World War II, nearly 100,000 people were imprisoned and interrogated in Pawiak, mainly political prisoners, who were later sent to Gestapo headquarters (Aleja Szucha). Approximately 37,000 prisoners were executed in Pawiak. Warsaw
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Monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East was unveiled on 17 September 1995 as a tribute to Poles who were killed in the East, in particular those deported to labour camps in Siberia and victims of the Katyń massacre. The monument represents a railway flatcar set on tracks, with each of the 41 railway sleepers bearing the names of places in the Soviet Union where Polish citizens were tortured and murdered. The last one is empty and symbolizes unknown places of suffering. The statue also includes a pile of religious symbols: Catholic and Orthodox crosses, as well as Jewish and Muslim symbols. Together, they denote a great national tragedy. The inscription on the monument reads: “For those fallen in the East” and “For the victims of the Soviet aggression 17.IX.1939. The Polish Nation 17.IX.1995”. Warsaw
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Monument to the Ghetto Heroes commemorates thousands of victims of the Jewish Uprising, which was violently suppressed by the Nazis in 1943. It is 11-metre high and was unveiled in 1948. The western side of the monument, titled “The Fight�, features men, women, and children armed with grenades, bottles with gasoline and guns; it symbolizes the heroic uprising. The stone bas-relief on the eastern side shows the suffering and martyrdom
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234 Warsaw’s monuments
of women, children and the elderly. This part of the monument bears the inscription „The Holocaust�. The Monument is located opposite the modern POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
Warsaw Uprising Monument The Warsaw Uprising represents an exceptional chapter in the city’s history, one that is both heroic and tragic. The monument commemorates thousands of heroes who fought for 63 days against the German occupiers: 200,000 soldiers and civilian residents of the capital perished between 1 August Warsaw
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and 2Â October 1944. The monument was unveiled on the 45th anniversary of the Uprising and realistically depicts the valorous insurgents fighting against the invaders. The monument consists of three parts. Several fighters are represented as they crawl out from under a bridge support, while the second
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part shows them entering the canal system (reference to evacuations from the Old Town besieged by the Germans). An entryway into the canal system used by locals to escape was located on Plac Krasińskich (in the photo below); on the night of 31 August to 1 September 1944, it was through this entryway that insurgent units and numerous civilians were evacuated from the Old Town to the centre of Warsaw. Warsaw
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The Museum of the Military Ordinariate is located opposite the Warsaw Uprising Monument, in the underground of the Cathedral Church of the Polish Army. The interior of underground canals is represented in a multimedia exhibition. Warsaw
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Monument to the Glory to Sappers It commemorates sappers killed during mine clearance carried out after World War II. The central part features the figure of a kneeling soldier disarming a mine. It is surrounded by a total of six slender and soaring pylons (17-metre high) made of concrete, gently inclined to the outside and arranged in a circle. The pylons are decorated with bas-reliefs representing battle scenes and the work of sappers. Warsaw
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Battle of Monte Cassino Monument It was unveiled in 1999 to commemorate the soldiers of Poland’s 2nd Army Corps, which took the Italian monastery of Monte Cassino in 1944 and their commander, General Władyslaw Anders. The 12-metre monument is made of reinforced concrete and covered with white marble, graced by a battle-scarred figure of Nike. A two-metre plinth holds an urn containing the ashes of fallen soldiers, atop which the Cross of Monte Cassino and engraved emblems of the five Polish units that fought in the battle are placed. Warsaw
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266 Warsaw’s museums
Museum of the Polish Army It was established by virtue of a decree of Marshal Józef Piłsudski in 1920. Its collection consists of Polish and foreign military objects, from ancient times to World War II. It is the second largest in Warsaw and the most important Polish military museum. It is home to 89,000 objects: weapons, military equipment, ammunition and uniforms, flags, medals, decorations and badges.
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Fryderyk Chopin Museum This modern biographical museum is housed in the magnificent Ostrogski Palace. Multimedia exhibitions, touch screens, lights and the scent of violets (the composer’s favourite flowers) all combine to create its special atmosphere. Visitors have a unique opportunity to explore Chopin’s life as a composer and his music, but also learn about his youth, travels and friendships. Warsaw
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Warsaw Cemeteries
„When fighting for the nation’s future, we have to lean against its graves.” Jerzy Waldorff (1910-1999) - writer, journalist and music critic
From medieval times almost until the end of the eighteenth century, the dead were buried in church basements or in adjoining cemeteries. Only those „unworthy” of lying in the sacred ground suicides, criminals, prostitutes, beggars, and ... actors - were buried outside of city walls. At the end of the eighteenth century, the first graveyards were established outside of Warsaw. Back in the day, it was a multicultural city where Jews, Protestants, members of the Orthodox church, Armenians, and even Muslims lived alongside Catholics. They also had their own cemeteries that are now considered the capital’s valuable monuments. The most frequently visited cemeteries are Old Powazki and Powazki Military Cemetery.
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Warsaw’s cemeteries
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Powązki Cemetery (Old Powązki) It was built in the late eighteenth century as a small graveyard; today, it spreads over an area of 43 hectares. After the country’s partitions, it was forbidden to erect monuments to Polish national heroes, artists or writers in Warsaw; this rule did not apply to cemeteries. Therefore, from the early nineteenth century until recent times, this is where works of eminent sculptors were showcased. The cemetery is a true open-air sculpture museum. A great number of famous Poles are among approx. 1 million people interred in Old Powązki. In 1925, at the back of the catacombs, the Avenue of Notables was established; the first person to be entombed here was the Nobel Prize winner Władyslaw Reymont.
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PowÄ…zki Military Cemetery It is the burial ground of Polish soldiers killed in World War I and in the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1920), as well as the veterans of the 1863 Uprising and soldiers who perished in September 1939. Between 1945 and 1948, the remains of insurgents and Home Army troops exhumed throughout Warsaw were interred in PowÄ…zki.
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born in Sopot (1954) has lived in Kociewie since 1960, graduate of the University of Gdansk and the National School of Fine Arts (ASP) in Gdańsk,
Lech J. Zdrojewski
* artist, photographer, culture expert, educator, teacher, lecturer, author of numerous minor and major advertising campaigns, interior designer and museum exhibition designer, planner of Arboretum Wirty and trails in Lipusz Forests, publisher of catalogues and albums
* seeks beauty and harmony in everything that surrounds him, artist, passionate about portraits and seeking uniqueness in the face of his subjects, photographer, seizes fleeing moments with his camera lens, expert in cultural loves NATURE, FORM and LIGHT, studies
* Creator and one of the founders of OKO-LICE KULTURY Foundation.
Doctor of Technical Sciences (Warsaw University of Technology), scholar of the International Institute of Hydrology and Environmental Protection in Delft (the Netherlands). For over a dozen years, he has run English-speaking tours of Warsaw as a city guide. He is an instructor and guide to the Royal Castle museum and the Museum of the Palace of King John III in Wilanów. He was a co-founder and president of the independent Adam Jarzębski Warsaw Guides’ Association. As a guide, he has visited more than 100 countries on all continents. He writes about his travelling experiences for the online journal Tadeusz “Turystyka Kulturowa”. He is the author and co-author of several books Jędrysiak on tourism: “Turystyka kulturowa” (PWE, 2008), “Wiejska turystyka kulturowa” (PWE, 2010), “Militarna turystyka kulturowa” (PWE, 2011), expert in cultural “Turystyka kulinarna” (PWE 2015), “Turystyka muzealna” (PWE, 2017) studies, and English-language guidebooks to Warsaw, e.g. “Visiting Poland” (2015). guide
* Partner of the OKO-LICE KULTURY Foundation.
KO Z M I N S K I UN I V E R S I T Y i n WA R S AW