All photos taken last weekend
Muranow
Andersa street
monument to commemorate Poles who died on the east
New Town - Warsaw's New Town is a neighbourhood dating from the 15th century. It lies just north of the Old Town and is connected to it by ulica Freta (where Marie Curie was born), which begins at the Barbican. Like the Old Town, the New Town was systematically destroyed by the Nazis during World War II and rebuilt after the war.
gothic church of 'Nawiedzenia NMP' from 1411, destroyed in 1944, rebuilt 1947-1966
view taras
New Town square
'Sw. Kazimierza' church - built in 1692, destroyed 1944, rebuilt 1948-52
hause where Maria Sklodowska (known as Marie Curie-Sklodowska) was born
on the left - sw. Jacek church
Barbican - The barbican was erected in 1548 in place of an older gate to protect Nowomiejska Street. It was designed by Jan Baptist the Venetian (also known as Giovanni Battista the Venetian), an Italian Renaissance architect who lived and worked in the Mazowsze region of 16th century Poland and was instrumental in the redesign of the 14th century city walls.
During World War II, particularly the Siege of Warsaw (1939) and the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, the barbican was largely destroyed, as were most of the Old Town's buildings. It was rebuilt after the war, during 1952–1954, on the basis of 17th century etchings.
Old Town walls
Old Town - Warsaw's Old Town (Polish: Stare Miasto, colloquially: Starówka) is the oldest historic district of the city. It is bounded by Wybrzeże Gdańskie, along the bank of the Vistula, and by Grodzka, Mostowa and Podwale Streets. It is one of Warsaw's most prominent tourist attractions.
The heart of the area is the Old Town Market Place, with its restaurants, cafés and shops. Surrounding streets feature medieval architecture such as the city walls, barbican and St. John's Cathedral.
Warsaw's Old Town was established in the 13th century. Initially surrounded by an earthwork rampart, prior to 1339 it was fortified with brick city walls. The town originally grew up around the castle of the Dukes of Mazovia that later became the Royal Castle. The Market Square (Rynek Starego Miasta) was laid out sometime in the late 13th or early 14th century, along the main road linking the castle with the New Town to the north.
During the Invasion of Poland (1939), much of the district was badly damaged by the German Luftwaffe, which targeted the city's residential areas and historic landmarks in a campaign of terror bombing. Following the Siege of Warsaw, parts of the Old Town were rebuilt, but immediately after the Warsaw Uprising (August-October 1944) what had been left standing was systematically blown up by the German Army. A statue commemorating the Uprising, "the Little Insurgent," now stands on the Old Town's medieval city wall.
After World War II, the Old Town was meticulously rebuilt. As many of the original bricks were reused as possible. The rubble was sifted for reusable decorative elements, which were reinserted into their original places. Bernardo Bellotto's 18th-century vedute, as well as Interbellum architecture students' drawings, were used as essential guides in the reconstruction effort.
Warsaw's Old Town has been placed on the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites as "an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century."
we are entering the Old Town square
Mermaid - The mermaid was also used as a symbol of city ownership as well as a popular Warsaw motif. The origin of the legendary figure is not fully known.
view taras
Old Town in 1944
The Cathedral - Katedra św. Jana (St. John's Cathedral) is one of two cathedrals in the city of Warsaw, capital of Poland, and one of the oldest churches of that city. Located in Warsaw's Old Town it is one of the Polish national mausolea and the main church of the arch-diocese of Warsaw.
Originally built in 14th century as a Brick Gothic church, it served as a coronation and burial site for numerous Dukes of Masovia. Rebuilt several times, most notably in 19th century, it was preserved until World War II as an example of English Gothic Revival. Levelled by the Germans during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, it was rebuilt after the war. It is notable that the reconstruction of the exterior was based on assumptions on how the 14th century church may have looked like and not on how it actually looked before the war.
In the crypts below the main aisle there are graves of several notable people, among them numerous Dukes of Masovia, president of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz, Ignacy Jan Paderewski, primates August Hlond and Stefan Wyszyński, writer Henryk Sienkiewicz and the last of Polish monarchs, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who was also crowned in the cathedral.
Dukes of Masovia
most narrow hause in Poland - it has it's own adress
Jan Kilinski monument
Pl. Zamkowy - castle square
The Royal Castle (Polish Zamek Królewski) in Warsaw is the royal palace and official residence of the Polish monarchs. The personal offices of the king, as well as the administrative offices of the Royal Court of Poland were located there until the Partitions of Poland. Between 1926 and World War II the palace was the seat of the Polish president. It is located at the Plac Zamkowy, at the entrance to the Old Town.
Partially destroyed by German bombers during the Invasion of Poland, it was heavily damaged by German bombardment and artillery fire during the Warsaw Uprising. The remnants were blown up by German engineers in September 1944 and were not removed until 1971. Reconstructions were started in the early 1970s and in July 1974 the clock on the tower began working again, on the exact same time at which it was stopped by the Luftwaffe bombardment. Nowadays it is used as a branch of the National Museum and for ceremonial purposes. During the Siege of Warsaw in 1939 many of the works of art from the castle were transferred to several basements around Warsaw and hidden thus from German authorities they survived the war and were put on exhibition in their original place.
Zygmunt's Column or Sigismund's Column (Polish: Kolumna Zygmunta), erected in 1644, is one of Warsaw's most famous landmarks and one of the oldest secular monuments in northern Europe. The column and statue commemorate King Zygmunt III Waza, who in 1596 had moved Poland's capital from Kraków to Warsaw.
Erected between 1643 and 1644, the column was constructed on the orders of Zygmunt's son and successor, King Władysław IV. It was designed by the Italian-born architect Konstanty Tencalli and the sculptor Clemente Molli, and cast by Daniel Tym.
On September 1, 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising, the monument was demolished by the Germans, and its bronze statue was badly damaged. After the war the statue was repaired, and in 1949 it was set up on a new column, a couple of meters from the original site. The original broken pieces of the column can still be seen lying next to the Royal Castle.
Notwithstanding the large cross that Zygmunt III's statue carries, the statue is regarded as the first secular figure to be placed atop a column in northern Europe.
Threaded Mode