Sobieskiego 100

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Sobieskiego 100
"Spyville" (Polish: "Szpiegowo")
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
TypeResidential
Architectural styleModernist
LocationWarsaw, Poland
Address100 Sobieskiego Street
Construction started1977
Completed1978
OwnerWarsaw City Council
Technical details
MaterialConcrete
Floor count11
Design and construction
Architect(s)Janusz Nowak
Piotr Sembrat
Other information
Number of suitesc. 100

Sobieskiego 100, nicknamed "Spyville" (Polish: "Szpiegowo"), is a housing complex located at 100

Soviet diplomats. The complex was widely rumoured to be inhabited by spies
, giving rise to its nickname.

Following the

collapse of the Soviet Union, its ownership (along with that of several other buildings used by the Russian Embassy) was the subject of a longstanding dispute.[1]

In 2022, in the context of the ongoing

Ukrainian refugees
in Warsaw.

History

In 1974, the

notarised and so the property formally remained the property of the Polish Treasury.[2]

Sobieskiego 100 is located on Warsaw's

modernist concrete tower blocks (linked by an aerial bridge) that provided approximately 100 "spacious" apartments along with ancillary uses such as a kindergarten, telephone exchange, barber, sauna, basketball court, and movie theater. The taller block is 11 storeys.[2][3][4][5] The complex is surrounded by a steel fence along with a "moat-like" pond to the east. It has been described as "a daring example of avant-garde modernism".[3]

Sobieskiego 100 provided accommodation for employees of the Embassy of Russia in Poland and their families, as well as businesspeople visiting from the Soviet Union. The residents of the complex departed in the mid-1990s, although it continued to be fenced and guarded.[3] In 1998, the property was briefly leased to the firm "Fart".[6] From the mid-2000s until 2017, a nightclub catering to Russian passport holders, "Club 100", operated in the complex.[3]

Sobieskiego 100 gave rise to various

urban explorers.[3]

In 2012, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Warsaw City Council terminated the agreement and demanded the return of the property.[7] The Government of Russia asserted ownership of the property and declined to pay rent. In October 2016, a Warsaw court issued a default judgment ordering the Government of Russia to hand the property back to Poland.[2] In April 2017, the same court ordered the Government of Russia to pay 7.8 million złoty of back rent.[3]

In April 2022, a

Ambassador of Ukraine to Poland, stated that Ukraine would request to lease Sobieskiego 100 and suggested it could be used for a school or Ukrainian cultural center.[9]

Due to the disrepair of the buildings, engineers assessed the condition of the buildings to determine whether they could be refurbished or whether they needed to be demolished.[4] In February 2023, deputy mayor Tomasz Bratek announced that the building was not expected to require to be demolished.[10]

References

  1. ^ Tilles, Daniel (March 1, 2022). "Warsaw to seize Russian-claimed building and house Ukrainian refugees there". NotesFromPoland.com. Retrieved May 13, 2022.
  2. ^
    Forbes.com. Archived from the original
    on 6 March 2022.
  3. ^ on 1 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Higgins, Andrew (4 May 2022). "A Crumbling Russian 'Spyville' returns to Polish hands". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b Waldie, Paul (3 May 2022). "Poland seizes housing from former Russian diplomats, plans to hand them to Ukrainian refugees". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022.
  6. ^ "City reclaims Szpiegowo!". Warsaw Insider. 11 April 2022. Archived from the original on 10 May 2022.
  7. ^ AFP (11 April 2022). "Warsaw seizes abandoned Russian 'spy nest' for Ukraine". The Moscow Times. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022.
  8. Reuters.com. 11 April 2022. Archived from the original
    on 11 April 2022.
  9. ^ Associated Press (11 April 2022). "A crumbling Russian 'Spyville' returns to Polish hands". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 April 2022.
  10. ^ "Spy building saved?". Warsaw Insider. 9 February 2023. Archived from the original on 16 May 2023.