Welcome to the page about the capital of Poland - Warsaw.
[on the photo: the sculpture of the symbol of the city Syrenka ( mermaid ) on the Old Market Square.]
A bit of History
Warsaw ( ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of June 2009 was estimated at 1,711,466, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,785,000 . The city area is , with an agglomeration of (Warsaw Metro Area Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy). Warsaw is the 9th largest city in the European Union by population.
Warszawianka (1831) () is widely considered the unofficial anthem of Warsaw. On 9 November 1940 the City of Warsaw was awarded the highest military decoration for courage in the face of the enemy - Order Virtuti Militari for the heroic defence in 1939.
Warsaw is also known as the "phoenix city", as it received extensive damage during World War II, and rebuilt with the effort of Polish citizens. Warsaw has given its name to the Warsaw Confederation, Warsaw Pact, Warsaw Convention, Treaty of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising.
Travel to Warsaw
Both regular and cheap airlines from all over the world land on the International Chopin Airport - Okecie on the suburbs, from which you can get the local bus or ( not so expensive) a taxi.
The official page of Warsaw Airport.
The fast train connects the Capital with other interesting cities Krakow, Gdansk and German Berlin ( via Poznan) all above featuring international airports as well.
Best Tourist Attractions
Buy a piece of Warsaw
or read a book to get some more knowledge
Royal Castle
In 1595 the fire destroyed the part of the Royal Castle in Krakow. Soon the king moved his residence to his summer residence - Warsaw that soon became the Capital City.At the year 1519 Italian architects had finished the Castle of Warsaw, that was changed to the permanent residence of Polish kings, until the last one Stanislaw August Poniatowski (1795).
The present building is the reconstruction after WWII damages, with many of preserved original architectonic details and artworks saved during the war evacuation.
The exhibition hosted in the late barocque chambers features the Throne Room , the Apartments of the King and the young Prince, Senators Meeting Room and many more rooms from the time of last kings of Poland. The paintings hanging on the walls are by Rembrandt, Canaletto and Jan Matejko.
Lazienki Palace
The park Lazienki ( Baths ) got his name from the baths build by Crown Marshall Lubomirski at the end of 17th century. The area became later the property of last king of Poland S.A. Poniatowski, who rebuild the baths into his summer residence - 'Palac na Wodzie' ( Palace on Water ) surrounded by the water of artificial lake.In the palace visitors can see two hundred years old bass-reliefs in the Bath Room, or listen to the concert performed often in the Ball Room. The Dining Room is the place, where the king every Thursday invited for the dinner popular artists, poets and scientists. Unfortunately, most of the valuable paintings from the Gallery Room vanished during the Partition of Poland.
The park itself is worth visiting, among old trees you can feed the squirrels or ducks, listen to the piano concert in the shade of big monument of Chopin, or walk through the old trees to visit Royal Orangerie ( Pomaranczarnia ).
Saint John's Cathedral
The parish church built on the turning of 14th century, has been promoted to the Cathedral in 1798. after WWII damages rebuilt in the style of Gothic from Mazovia.The church witnessed important moments in Polish history, such as royal coronations, weddings
or 3 May Constitution oath.
In the crypts below, there are the graves of famous people such as Polish president Gabriel Narutowicz or Warsaw Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, friend of the Pope John Paul II.
The detached photo shows the 'Millenium Stone' placed in front of the main entrance to commemorate 1000 years of Polish Nation in 1966. On the right outer cathedral wall you can see the part
from German Armoured Car 'Goliat' which (filled with explosives) destroyed the Cathedral during the Warsaw Uprising.
Wilanow
Wilanow was the private residence of King Jan III Sobieski, who, with his beloved wife Maria Kazimiera and children decided to stay outside of Warsaw, and bought the peaceful scenery of old park surrounding the property called at that time Villa Nova.The palace is open for the tourists, who can see the baroque interiors of private apartments of the King and the Queen, with eighteen century craftsman works from the whole Europe.
Palace of Culture and Science
The Emperor Stalin was glad that the new conquered country is grateful for victorous ending of the Second World War. He was quite impressed by the enormous effort the citizens of Poland put to bring the Capital City back to life. - 'Lets make a gift to Poland'- was his order.There were different ideas about the gift : the new railway, the still mill, the hospital complex, or the new district with the living quarters, and finally... the stupendous building has been built between 1952 and 1955 as a gift of Soviet Union nations to the Polish nation.
Designed by the Russian architect Rudniew the Palace of Culture and Science for a long time has been the tallest in Warsaw, and second at that time in Europe ( total height 230 meters).
Once the place of numerous Congresses and Communist Party Meetings, nowadays hosts temporary exhibitions, offices, theatres and cinemas.
The elevator takes the tourists to the cafe atop of the building, from where anyone can admire the panorama of the whole city.
Saint Ann Church
The Gothic church originally built for Bernardine monks has been heavily rebuild in the following centuries.Situated near main buildings of Warsaw University church became the 'Academic Temple' for students from neighboring universities. It is quite often chosen for wedding ceremony by young people, as according to the local tradition the wedding taken in St. Ann church has to be successful. Starowka - Old Market Square
Similar to London the capital of Poland lacks one focused centre, the point from whichwill outgo all the arteries of the city. Till the end of 18th century the most important place in Warsaw was its Old Market Square called 'Starowka'. Today surrounded by great number of cafes and restaurants 'Starowka' is the Cultural Centre of Warsaw, where one can sit and watch in peace rushing passers by. The WWII didn't miss the Market, almost all of the buildings were destroyed, but precisely reconstructed after the War using preserved architectonic detail, strictly according to remain plans and photos.The effort of scientists and ordinary people rebuilding the Old Market has been awarded by UNESCO who enrolled the Historic Centre of Warsaw on World Heritage List in 1980.
Monument of Heroes of the Ghetto
Before the War in Warsaw there were about 400 thousand of Jews ( almost half of the city ) and that was the second biggest in the World Jewish population ( after New York ).During WWII in the part of the city surrounded by the walls Nazis created the Ghetto in November 1040. The conditions in secluded area were already grave, almost 100 thousand people died here of hunger and starvation. Staring from March 1942 Jews were gathered on square Umschlagplatz, from which were taken to the concentration camp in Treblinka.
Finally, the people from the Ghetto decided to fight, even not for freedom, but for honorous death. The monument is located in the center of the former ghetto, surrounded by the new buildings build after the War.
Museum of Warsaw's Uprising
For decades after the end of WWII the scientists argue if the Uprising, was worth life of 200 000 mostly young people was really neccessary. In August 1944 the Soviet army was close to Warsaw, and Nazis wouldn't choose to fight in the city, but leave for better strategic position.
The Polish Goverment in exile, from London, decided however to start the Uprising, so the Capital of Poland was supposed to be liberated by Poles themselves with the help of incoming Soviets, so the fight was calculated for no mere than a week. Instead of help, the Red Cross army took the position within eye distance from Warsaw, and begun to wait. After almost a month of the fightings, during which almost the whole city had been destroyed, Soviets decided to enter the city.Soon they established the Communist goverment and didn't give back the power up to recent times.
National Gallery
Founded in 1862 hosts collection of works of most important polish painters.
The most popular is the painting 'Battle of Grunwald' by Jan Matejko, there are paintings by polish symbolists (Jacek Malczewski,Jozef Mehoffer ) impressionists (Leon Wyczolkowski ), polish modern art, but also medieval one (represented by the wooden Madonna from Wroclaw, late 15th century ).
In the Foreign Art Gallery exhibited are works of Sandro Botticelli and of Rembrandt's student - Carel Fabritius.
There is also the exhibition of Egiptian mummies Greek and Roman sarcophaguses and vases, and the unique collection from between seventh and thirteenth centuries AD brought from the ancient town of Faras (on the border between modern Egypt and Sudan) .
Famous people connected with Warsaw
first woman awarded Nobel Prize,( she got it twice)
Janusz Korczak - writer, scientists, and the doctor from orphanage, who where his children patients were taken to the Concentration Camp decided not to leave them, but go with them for death.
Frederic Chopin -
composer and pianist from the Romantic period
Pola Negri - the silent movies star
Helena Modrzejewska - actress, emigrated to the States
Czeslaw Milosz writer, Nobel in 1980
Ignacy Paderewski - composer
Tadeusz Kosciuszko - fighter for independence for the States, later on for Polish independence, hero of both nations
mount Kosciuszko in Australia
Joseph Conrad ( Korzeniowski ) - writer born and lived in Warsaw, later moved to Britain
When you decided to visit Warsaw
you can book a hotel here
by keym4k3r
Explore related pages
llama travel guide to melbourne- G'day and welcome to the Llama Guide to Melbourne. Find out everything you need...
The island vacation paradise: Crete, Greece- Here you can see Crete, Greece's largest island, nestled snugly in the blue Medi...
New Zealand Holiday- New Zealand is a country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two large...
Czeslaw Milosz- Czeslaw Milosz is widely considered one of the greatest poets of the 20th centur...
Krakow Travel Guide- Krakow has been chosen the second City in Guardian's and Observer's World Travel...
Top 10 Ski Resorts in Italy- Italy is a hot country of sun of Sicily, Venetian Carnival, Rome Coliseum, bottl...
