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WARSAW

Warsaw is the capital of Poland and also its largest city. Its complex history over the centuries, especially after the destruction of World War II, has left the city long lost and in search of its identity, which is why it is still trying to reinvent itself today.

PRAGA NORTH

A district of Praga-Północ for a long time was a separate town and was only incorporated into Warsaw in 1791. Prior to that, it had been a separate settlement. Separated from the city by a river, it created its own distinctive folklore with a strong productive spirit (it had many factories, craft workshops, famous markets, gardens and orchards). Unlike the rest of the city, Prague was not severely damaged during World War II and is therefore now considered the most authentic part of the city.

B.Bellotto View of Warsaw from Praga, 1770

Before Praga was granted municipal rights in 1648 by the king Władysław IV Vasa, more than a dozen villages were located here. For a log time the main occupation of its inhabitants was agriculture. In spite of progressive development, the landscape in this area was dominated by green meadows, orchards, gardens and forests.

Praga

Warsaw

Praga, as the less devastated part of the city after the war, for few months became the main political and administrative centre of the country, in a kind of substitute role of the capital. However, when the reconstruction of the city began, the development of this district left to itself was long forgotten. Praga was for a long time considered as an uninhabitable and unsafe district, a large part of the inhabitants of the left bank considered Praga to be the wrong part of Warsaw.

1794 Battle of Praga 1795 Third Partition of Poland

Poland disappeared from the map for 123 years, Warsaw first under Prussian (German) and then Russian occupation

1432

Praga first mentioned 1648

Praga was granted city rights by King Wladyslaw IV 1791

Praga was attached to Warsaw as a borough 1862 construction of the Petersburg Railway Station 1864

construction of the first permanent bridge - Kierbedzia bridge 1867 construction of Terespol railway station

1914-1918 World War I 1939-1945

World War II, Warsaw Uprising 1989 Solidarity movement, collapse of communism regime in Poland 1990-1995 Poland suffered temporary declines in social, economic, and living 2004 Poland is becoming a member of European Union

Poland disappeared from the map for 123 years, Warsaw first under Prussian (German) and then communist rule

1915 destruction of the Kierbedzia bridge and the Petersburg and Terespol Railway Station by evacuating Russian forces

1882 opening of Różycki Market 1944 administrative functions moved to Praga 1940-’s -1950’s development of large factories and construction of the National Stadium in Praga 2022

German order for total destruction of Warsaw. After the Warsaw Uprising failed for Poland on 9 October 1944, the Nazi Germans, in retaliation, ordered the complete destruction of Warsaw. By January 1945, valuable cultural monuments, religious buildings, residential and economic infrastructure had been destroyed. At the beginning of 1945, the only area of old Warsaw that resembles the early city is a district of Praga, located on the right bank of the Vistula.

Warsaw city center before WWII

Warsaw city center after WWII

The post-war reconstruction of Warsaw was the first attempt in the world’s history to recreate the entire historical core of the city, and not just its most valuable monuments. However, the reconstruction of the rest of the city was aimed at creating a new socialist capital, and thus destroying the old face of Warsaw, or rather what was left of it. The future capital city of Poland was to be seen as a model socialist city, and this meant nationalising the land and demolishing many of the buildings that had survived the war. This mainly involved tenements buildings from the turn of the 20th century, characteristic for pre-war Varsovian architecture.