Sigismund III decided to move the Polish capital and his royal court from Kraków. Warsaw served as the de facto capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, and subsequently as the seat of Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. The 19th century and its Industrial Revolution brought a demographic boom which made it one of the largest and most densely populated cities in Europe. Known then for its elegant architecture and boulevards, Warsaw was bombed and besieged at the start of World War II in 1939.[9][10][11] Much of the historic city was destroyed and its diverse population decimated by the Ghetto Uprising in 1943, the general Warsaw Uprising in 1944 and systematic razing
.
Warsaw is served by two international airports, the busiest being
Warsaw's name in the Polish language is Warszawa. Other previous spellings of the name may have included Warszewa, Warszowa, Worszewa or Werszewa.[18][19] The exact origin of the name is uncertain and has not been fully determined.[20][21] Originally, Warszawa was the name of a small fishing settlement on the banks of the Vistula river. One theory states that Warszawa means "belonging to Warsz", Warsz being a shortened form of the masculine Old Polish name Warcisław, which etymologically is linked with Wrocław.[22] However the ending -awa is unusual for a large city; the names of Polish cities derived from personal names usually end in -ów/owo/ew/ewo (e.g. Piotrków, Adamów).
Folk etymology attributes the city name to Wars and Sawa. There are several versions of the legend with their appearance. According to one version, Sawa was a mermaid living in the Vistula with whom fisherman Wars fell in love.[23][24] The official city name in full is miasto stołeczne Warszawa ("The Capital City of Warsaw").[25]
A native or resident of Warsaw is known as a Varsovian – in Polish warszawiak, warszawianin (male), warszawianka (female), warszawiacy, and warszawianie (plural).
For the name of Warsaw in various languages, see wikt:Warsaw.
In 1529, Warsaw for the first time became the seat of a
Italian architects were brought to Warsaw to reshape the Royal Castle, the streets and the marketplace, resulting in the Old Town's early Italianate appearance. In 1573, the city gave its name to the Warsaw Confederation which formally established religious freedom in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Due to its central location between the capitals of the Commonwealth's two component parts, Poland and Lithuania, which were Kraków and Vilnius respectively, Warsaw became the capital of the Commonwealth and the Polish Crown when Sigismund III Vasa transferred his royal court in 1596.[26] In the subsequent years the town significantly expanded to the south and westwards. Several private independent districts (jurydyka) were the property of aristocrats and the gentry, which they ruled by their own laws. Between 1655 and 1658 the city was besieged and pillaged by the Swedish, Brandenburgian and Transylvanian forces.[26][31] The conduct of the Great Northern War (1700–1721) also forced Warsaw to pay heavy tributes to the invading armies.[32]
The reign of
tenements. This earned Warsaw the nickname Paris of the North.[37]
Warsaw remained the capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, when it was annexed by the
Louis XVIII of France spent his exile in Warsaw under the pseudonym Comte de Lille.[39]
The Royal University of Warsaw was established in 1816.
With the violation of the Polish constitution, the 1830 November Uprising broke out against foreign influence. The Polish-Russian war of 1831 ended in the uprising's defeat and in the curtailment of Congress Poland's autonomy.[26] On 27 February 1861, a Warsaw crowd protesting against Russian control over Congress Poland was fired upon by Russian troops.[40][41] Five people were killed. The Underground Polish National Government resided in Warsaw during the January Uprising in 1863–64.[41]
Warsaw flourished throughout the 19th century under Mayor
windmills (mills being the namesake of Wola's central neighborhood Młynów) to an industrial and manufacturing centre.[42]Metallurgical, textile and glassware factories were commonplace, with chimneys dominating the westernmost skyline.[43]
Treblinka.[51] The city would become the centre of urban resistance to Nazi rule in occupied Europe.[52] When the order came to annihilate the ghetto as part of Hitler's "Final Solution" on 19 April 1943, Jewish fighters launched the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.[53] Despite being heavily outgunned and outnumbered, the ghetto held out for almost a month.[53] When the fighting ended, almost all survivors were massacred, with only a few managing to escape or hide.[53][54]
Polish Home Army attempted to liberate Warsaw from the Germans before the arrival of the Red Army.[55]
By July 1944, the
Warsaw uprising began.[56] The armed struggle, planned to last 48 hours, was partially successful, however, it went on for 63 days. Eventually, the Home Army fighters and civilians assisting them were forced to capitulate.[56] They were transported to PoW camps in Germany, while the entire civilian population was expelled.[56] Polish civilian deaths are estimated at between 150,000 and 200,000.[57]
Hitler, ignoring the agreed terms of the capitulation, ordered the entire city to be razed to the ground and the library and museum collections taken to Germany or burned.[56] Monuments and government buildings were blown up by special German troops known as Verbrennungs- und Vernichtungskommando ("Burning and Destruction Detachments").[56] About 85% of the city was destroyed, including the historic Old Town and the Royal Castle.[58]
On 17 January 1945 – after the beginning of the
First Polish Army entered the ruins of Warsaw, and liberated Warsaw's suburbs from German occupation.[59] The city was swiftly taken by the Soviet Army, which rapidly advanced towards Łódź
, as German forces regrouped at a more westward position.
In 1945, after the bombings, revolts, fighting, and demolition had ended, most of Warsaw lay in ruins. The area of the former ghetto was razed to the ground, with only a sea of rubble remaining. The immense destruction prompted a temporary transfer of the new government and its officials to Łódź, which became the transitional seat of power. Nevertheless, Warsaw officially resumed its role as the capital of Poland and the country's centre of political and economic life.
After World War II, the "Bricks for Warsaw" campaign was initiated and large prefabricatedhousing projects were erected in Warsaw to address the major housing shortage. Plattenbau-styled apartment buildings were seen as a solution to avoid Warsaw's former density problem and to create more green spaces. Some of the buildings from the 19th century that have survived in a reasonably reconstructible form were nonetheless demolished in the 1950s and 1960s, like the Kronenberg Palace.[60][61] The Śródmieście (central) region's urban system was completely reshaped; former cobblestone streets were asphalted and significantly widened for traffic use. Many notable streets such as Gęsia, Nalewki and Wielka disappeared as a result of these changes and some were split in half due to the construction of Plac Defilad (Parade Square), one of the largest of its kind in Europe.[62]
On 14 April 1966, a millennial military parade was held in Warsaw to commemorate the 1000th anniversary of Poland's statehood. It involved a number of troops in the parade from different eras of Poland's history.
Much of the central district was also designated for future skyscrapers. The 237-metre
Palace of Culture and Science resembling New York's Empire State Building was built as a gift from the Soviet Union.[63] Warsaw's urban landscape is one of modern and contemporary architecture.[64]
Despite wartime destruction and post-war remodelling, many of the historic streets, buildings, and churches were restored to their original form.
John Paul II's visits to his native country in 1979 and 1983 brought support to the budding "Solidarity" movement and encouraged the growing anti-communist fervor there.[65] In 1979, less than a year after becoming pope, John Paul celebrated Mass in Victory Square in Warsaw and ended his sermon with a call to "renew the face" of Poland.[65] These words were meaningful for Varsovians and Poles who understood them as the incentive for liberal-democratic reforms.[65]
Warsaw lies in east-central Poland about 300 km (190 mi) from the
Masovian Plain
, and its average elevation is 100 m (330 ft) above sea level. The highest point on the left side of the city lies at a height of 115.7 m (380 ft) ("Redutowa" bus depot, district of Wola), on the right side – 122.1 m (401 ft) ("Groszówka" estate, district of Wesoła, by the eastern border). The lowest point lies at a height 75.6 m (248 ft) (at the right bank of the Vistula, by the eastern border of Warsaw). There are some hills (mostly artificial) located within the confines of the city – e.g. Warsaw Uprising Hill (121 m (397 ft)) and Szczęśliwice hill (138 m (453 ft) – the highest point of Warsaw in general).
Masovian Plain
, but the city centre is at a higher elevation than the suburbs.
Warsaw is located on two main geomorphologic formations: the plain moraine plateau and the Vistula Valley with its asymmetrical pattern of different terraces. The Vistula River is the specific axis of Warsaw, which divides the city into two parts, left and right. The left one is situated both on the moraine plateau (10 to 25 m (33 to 82 ft) above Vistula level) and on the Vistula terraces (max. 6.5 m (21 ft) above Vistula level). The significant element of the relief, in this part of Warsaw, is the edge of moraine plateau called Warsaw Escarpment. It is 20 to 25 m (66 to 82 ft) high in the Old Town and Central district and about 10 m (33 ft) in the north and south of Warsaw. It goes through the city and plays an important role as a landmark.
The plain moraine plateau has only a few natural and artificial ponds and also groups of clay pits. The pattern of the Vistula terraces is asymmetrical. The left side consists mainly of two levels: the highest one contains former flooded terraces and the lowest one the flood plain terrace. The contemporary flooded terrace still has visible valleys and ground depressions with water systems coming from the old Vistula – riverbed. They consist of still quite natural streams and lakes as well as the pattern of drainage ditches. The right side of Warsaw has a different pattern of geomorphological forms. There are several levels of the Vistula plain terraces (flooded as well as formerly flooded), and only a small part is a not so visible moraine escarpment. Aeolian sand with a number of dunes parted by peat swamps or small ponds cover the highest terrace. These are mainly forested areas (pine forest).
The city has cold, sometimes snowy, cloudy winters, and warm, relatively sunny but frequently stormy summers. Spring and autumn can be unpredictable, highly prone to sudden weather changes; however, temperatures are usually mild, especially around May and September.[72] The daily average temperature ranges between −1.5 °C (29 °F) in January and 19.7 °C (67.5 °F) in July and the mean year temperature is 9.0 °C (48.2 °F). Temperatures may reach 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer, although the effects of hot weather are usually offset by relatively low dew points and large diurnal temperature differences. Warsaw is Europe's sixth driest major city (driest in Central Europe), with yearly rainfall averaging 482 mm (19.0 in), the wettest month being July.[77]
Climate data for Warsaw (WAW), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present
Warsaw's long and eclectic history left a noticeable mark on its architecture and urban form. Unlike most Polish cities, Warsaw's cityscape is mostly
metro, bus or tram.[93]Tenements and apartments in the central neighbourhoods are often reserved for commercial activity or temporary (tourist, student) accommodation. The nearest residential zones are predominantly located on the outskirts of the inner borough, in Ochota, Mokotów and Żoliborz or along the Vistula in Powiśle.[93]
Polish monarchs since the end of the 16th century, Warsaw remained a small city with only privately owned palaces, mansions, villas and several streets of townhouses. These displayed a richness of color and architectonic details. The finest German, Italian and Dutch architects were employed, among them Tylman van Gameren, Andreas Schlüter, Jakub Fontana and Enrico Marconi.[94] The buildings situated in the vicinity of the Warsaw Old Town represent nearly every European architectural style and historical period. Warsaw has excellent examples of architecture from the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical
periods, all of which are located within walking distance of the centre.
Gothic architecture is represented in the majestic churches but also at the
St John's Cathedral (1390), a typical example of the so-called Masovian Brick Gothic style; St Mary's Church (1411); the Burbach townhouse (14th century);[95] Gunpowder Tower (after 1379); and Royal Castle's Curia Maior (1407–1410). The most notable examples of Renaissance architecture in the city are the house of the Baryczko merchant family (1562), a building called "The Negro" (early 17th century), and Salwator tenement (1632), all situated on the Old Market Place. The most interesting examples of Mannerist architecture are the Royal Castle (1596–1619) and the Jesuit Church (1609–1626). Among the first structures of the early Baroque, the most important are St. Hyacinth's Church (1603–1639) and Sigismund's Column (1644), the first secular monument in the form of a column in modern history.[96]
Neo-Renaissance
designs.
Some of the best examples of palatial
Bank Square
(1825–1828).
Exceptional examples of the
Warsaw Philharmonic edifice originally inspired by Palais Garnier in Paris). Despite that, the Warsaw University of Technology (Polytechnic) building (1899–1902)[97] is the most interesting of the late 19th-century architecture. Some 19th-century industrial and brick workhouse buildings in the Praga district were restored, though many have been poorly maintained or demolished. Some of the important landmarks lost are the Saxon Palace and the Brühl Palace, the most distinctive buildings in prewar Warsaw.[98]
Notable examples of post-war architecture include the
Museum of the History of Polish Jews by Rainer Mahlamäki and Golden Terraces, consisting of seven overlapping domes retail and business centre. Jointly with Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rotterdam, Warsaw is one of the cities with the highest number of skyscrapers in Europe.[102][103]
Although contemporary Warsaw is a fairly young city compared to other European capitals, it has numerous tourist attractions and architectural monuments dating back centuries. Apart from the Warsaw Old Town area, reconstructed after World War II, each borough has something to offer. Among the most notable landmarks of the Old Town are the Royal Castle, Sigismund's Column, Market Square, and the Barbican.
Many places commemorate the heroic history of Warsaw such as
Pawiak, a German Gestapo prison now occupied by a Mausoleum of Memory of Martyrdom and a museum. The Warsaw Citadel, a 19th-century fortification built after the defeat of the November Uprising, was a place of martyrdom for the Poles. Another important monument, the statue of Little Insurrectionist located at the ramparts of the Old Town, commemorates the children who served as messengers and frontline troops in the Warsaw Uprising, while the Warsaw Uprising Monument by Wincenty Kućma was erected in memory of the largest insurrection of World War II.[107][108]
In Warsaw there are many places connected with the life and work of
Chopin Statue in Łazienki Park is a place where pianists give concerts to the park audience.[110]
Also many references to
Radium Institute at Wawelska Street for the research and the treatment of which she founded in 1925.[112]
Barbican, a remaining relic of historic fortifications.
Flora and fauna
Green space covers almost a quarter of Warsaw's total area.[113] These range from small neighborhood parks and green spaces along streets or in courtyards, to tree-lined avenues, large historic parks, nature conservation areas and urban forests at the fringe of the city. There are as many as 82 parks in the city;[114] the oldest ones were once part of representative palaces and include the Saxon and Krasiński Gardens, Łazienki Park (Royal Baths Park) and Wilanów Palace Parkland.
Łazienki Palace
, also referred to as the Palace on the Isle
The Saxon Garden, covering an area of 15.5 ha, formally served as a royal garden to the now nonexistent
French-styled alleys
corresponds to the ancient, Baroque forms of the palace.
Skaryszewski Park are also located within the city borders. The oldest park in the Praga borough was established between 1865 and 1871.[116]
The flora of Warsaw may be considered very rich in species on city standards. This is mainly due to the location of Warsaw within the border region of several big floral regions comprising substantial proportions of close-to-wilderness areas (natural forests, wetlands along the Vistula) as well as
The Warsaw Zoo covers an area of 40 hectares (99 acres).[119] There are about 5,000 animals representing nearly 500 species.[119] Although officially created in 1928,[119] it traces back its roots to 17th century private menageries, often open to the public.[120][121]
Demographics
German community.[125] The ethnic composition of contemporary Warsaw is incomparable to the diversity that existed for nearly 300 years.[51]
Most of the modern-day population growth is based on internal migration and urbanisation.
In 1939, approximately 1,300,000 people resided in Warsaw;[128] by 1945 the population had dropped to 420,000. During the first years after the war, the population growth rate was high and the city soon began to suffer from the lack of flats and dwellings to house new incomers. The first remedial measure was the enlargement of Warsaw's total area (1951) – however the city authorities were still forced to introduce limitations; only the spouses and children of permanent residents as well as some persons of public importance (renowned specialists, artists, engineers) were permitted to stay. This negatively affected the image of an average Warsaw citizen, who was perceived as more privileged than those migrating from rural areas, towns or other cities. While all restrictions on residency registration were scrapped in 1990, the negative opinion of Varsovians in some form continues to this day.[129][130]
Immigrant population
Much like most capital cities in Europe, Warsaw boasts a foreign-born population that is significantly larger than in other cities, although not coming close to the figures representing the likes of Madrid or Rome. In 2019, it was estimated that 40,000 people living in Warsaw were foreign-born. Of those, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, Belarusians, and Russians were the most prominent groups.[131]
Throughout its existence, Warsaw had been a multi-cultural and multi-religious city.[132] According to the 1901 census, out of 711,988 inhabitants 56.2% were Catholics, 35.7% Jews, 5% Greek Orthodox Christians and 2.8% Protestants.[133] Eight years later, in 1909, there were 281,754 Jews (36.9%), 18,189 Protestants (2.4%) and 2,818 Mariavites (0.4%).[134] This led to construction of hundreds of places of religious worship in all parts of the town. Most of them were destroyed in the aftermath of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. After the war, the new communist authorities of Poland discouraged church construction and only a small number were rebuilt.[135]
Commission Palace, the house of the city's government
Embassy of the Netherlands
The first city mayor of Warsaw was Jan Andrzej Menich (1695–1696).
city council.[139] Subsequently, a controversial reform was introduced, transforming the city in the years of 1994–1999 into a loose municipal union of several gminas, dominated by one of them, the gmina Centrum encompassing the entire inner city. During this period, the mayor of gmina Centrum who was elected by its council was automatically designated as the city mayor of Warsaw, in spite of representing only a fraction of the population of the city. The city was becoming increasingly unmanageable, especially after the administrative reform of Poland in 1999 which further complicated the local government structure of Warsaw. In 2002, the new Warsaw Act of the Polish parliament restored Warsaw as a single urban gmina with the status of a city with powiat rights, led by a unified local government. At the same time, a significant reform was implemented in all Polish municipal governments, introducing direct elections of the wójt/town mayor/city mayor in all Polish gminas.[139] The first city mayor of Warsaw elected according to these rules was Lech Kaczyński, who however resigned ahead of term when he was elected President of Polish Republic
in 2005.
Warsaw has thereafter remained an
urban gmina with the status of a city with powiat rights.[138]Legislative power in Warsaw is vested in a unicameralWarsaw City Council (Rada Miasta), which comprises 60 members.[138] Council members are elected directly every five years (since 2018 election). Like most legislative bodies, the city council divides itself into committees which have the oversight of various functions of the city government.[138] The city mayor exercises the executive power in the city, being the superior of all unelected municipal- or county-level officials and other employees and supervising all subsidiary entities of the city. The incumbent city mayor of Warsaw is Rafał Trzaskowski
.
The Warsaw Act imposes a mandatory division into 18 auxiliary units called dzielnica (district) on the city. In spite of remaining an integral part of the city as an entity, the districts have a degree of autonomy legally guaranteed through a form of an own local self-government exercising some powers devolved by law from the city. They have the duty to assist the city mayor and the City Council in their tasks, such as supervising some municipal companies, city-owned property or schools. Each of the 18 city districts has an own council (rada dzielnicy)[138] which elects an executive board (zarząd dzielnicy) headed by a district mayor (burmistrz dzielnicy), the latter elected by the council among several candidates nominated by the city mayor of Warsaw among the council's members.
Headquarters of Polish government agencies in Warsaw
As a result, Warsaw has thereafter continued as an
urban gmina holding status of a city with powiat rights, divided into 18 districts (dzielnica),[141] auxiliary municipal units established within the city as an entity as its integral parts, though with some limited powers devolved from the city to their own local self-governments.[142] Each of the districts is customarily subdivided into several neighbourhoods lacking any meaningful legal or administrative powers. The central district of Śródmieście includes the two founding neighbourhoods of the city, called the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and the New Town (Nowe Miasto).[143]
Warsaw is the leading economic and financial hub of Central Europe, the Visegrád Group and the Three Seas Initiative. In 2019, the city's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at €94 billion (US$105 billion), which places Warsaw among the wealthiest regions in the European Union;[144] it generates approximately 1/6 of the total GDP of Poland and the country's national income.[145] In 2020, Warsaw was classified as an alpha world city (also known as a "major global city that links economic regions into the world economy") by the Globalization and World Cities study group from Loughborough University, placing it on a par with cities such as Sydney, Istanbul, Amsterdam or Seoul.[146]
Warsaw's city centre (Śródmieście) and commercial Wola district are home not only to many national institutions and government agencies, but also to many domestic and international companies. In 2017, 423,000 enterprises were registered in the city.[147] Warsaw's ever-growing business community has been noticed globally, regionally, and nationally; in 2019 Warsaw was one of the top destinations for foreign investors in Europe.[148] In October 2019, Warsaw's unemployment rate was 1.3%, the lowest in the country.[149]
Shopping and
Galeria Mokotów and Westfield Arkadia – one of the biggest shopping complexes in Europe.[150]Luxury or upmarket goods as well as designer labels can be found in the Vitkac Department Store and around Frascati.[151]
Warsaw's first stock exchange was established in 1817 and continued trading until World War II. It was re-established in April 1991, following the end of a communist planned economy and the reintroduction of a free-market economy.[152] Today, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) is, according to many indicators,[153] the largest market in the region, with 433 companies listed and total capitalisation of 1 trillion PLN as of 26 November 2020.[154] From 1991 until 2000, the stock exchange was, ironically, located in the building previously used as the headquarters of the communist Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR).[155]
The most prominent industries and industrial sectors include high-tech, electrotechnical, chemical, cosmetic, construction, food processing, printing, metallurgy, machinery and clothing. The majority of production plants and facilities are concentrated within the WOP Warsaw Industrial Precinct (Warszawski Okręg Przemysłowy) which is situated around the city's peripheral localities such as Praga, Pruszków, Sochaczew, Piaseczno, Marki and Żyrardów.[156] Warsaw has developed a particularly strong retail market/sector, representing around 13% of the total retail stock in the country.[157]
Following World War II, the authorities decided that the city will be transformed into a major industrial (
steel works (now arcelor), the FSO Car Factory and Ursus SA. The now-defunct FSO, established in 1951, was once Warsaw's most successful corporation. Notable vehicles assembled there over the decades include the Warszawa, Syrena, Fiat 125p and the Polonez. In 1995, the factory was purchased by the South Korean car manufacturer Daewoo
, which assembled its models in Warsaw for the European market.
Since May 1661 the first Polish newspaper, the Polish Ordinary Mercury, was printed in Warsaw. The city is also the printing capital of Poland with a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing diverse views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive. Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Wyborcza and Dziennik Polska-Europa-Świat, Poland's large nationwide daily newspapers,[159] have their headquarters in Warsaw.
Warsaw also has a sizable movie and television industry. The city houses several movie companies and
studios. Among the movie companies are TOR, Czołówka, Zebra and Kadr which is behind several international movie productions.[160]
Since World War II, Warsaw has been the most important centre of film production in Poland. It has also been featured in numerous movies, both Polish and foreign, for example:
Warsaw holds some of the finest institutions of higher education in Poland. It is home to four major universities and over 62 smaller schools of higher education.[163] The overall number of students of all grades of education in Warsaw is almost 500,000 (29.2% of the city population; 2002). The number of university students is over 280,000.[164] Most of the reputable universities are public, but in recent years there has also been an upsurge in the number of private universities.
, the first private secular university in the country.
Warsaw University Library
Warsaw has numerous libraries, many of which contain vast collections of historic documents. The most important library in terms of historic document collections is the National Library of Poland. The library holds 8.2 million volumes in its collection.[170] Formed in 1928,[171] it sees itself as a successor to the Załuski Library, the biggest in Poland and one of the first and biggest libraries in the world.[171][172]
Another important library – the University Library, founded in 1816,[173] is home to over two million items.[174] The building was designed by architects Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski and opened on 15 December 1999.[175] It is surrounded by green. The University Library garden, designed by Irena Bajerska, was opened on 12 June 2002. It is one of the largest roof gardens in Europe with an area of more than 10,000 m2 (110,000 sq ft), and plants covering 5,111 m2 (55,010 sq ft).[176] As the university garden it is open to the public every day.[176]
metro running north to south and east to west. The tram system is one of the biggest in Europe, with a total length of 132 km (82 mi).[177] As a result of increased foreign investment, economic growth and EU funding, the city has undertaken the construction of new roads, flyovers and bridges.[178]
The supervising body is the City Roads Authority (ZDM – Zarząd Dróg Miejskich).
Warsaw lacks a complete
express roads: S2 (south), S8 (north-west) and S17
(east). S8 and S2 are open.
The A2 motorway opened in June 2012, stretches west from Warsaw and is a direct motorway connection with Łódź, Poznań and ultimately with Berlin.
Warsaw-Modlin Airport, located 35 kilometres (22 mi) to the north, opened in July 2012. With around 100 international and domestic flights a day and with 15,500,000 passengers served in 2017, Warsaw Frédéric Chopin Airport is by far the biggest airport in Poland and in Central-Eastern Europe.[180][unreliable source?] and it has also been called "the most important and largest airport in Central Europe".[181]
Public transport also extends to
Warszawski Transport Publiczny
(WTP, Warsaw Public Transpoert).
The regional rail and light rail is operated by Polish State Railways (PKP). There are also some suburban bus lines run by private operators.[183]Bus service covers the entire city, with approximately 256 routes totalling above 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi), and with some 1,700 vehicles.
The first section of the Warsaw Metro was opened in 1995 initially with a total of 11 stations.[184] As of 2020, it has 34 stations running a distance of approximately 32 km (20 mi).[185]
The main railway station is Warszawa Centralna serving both domestic traffic to almost every major city in Poland, and international connections. There are also five other major railway stations and a number of smaller suburban stations.
in Warsaw. It is one of the largest theatres in Europe, featuring one of the biggest stages in the world.
Thanks to numerous musical venues, including the
International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, the International Contemporary Music Festival Warsaw Autumn, the Jazz Jamboree, Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, the International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition, the Mozart Festival, and the Festival of Old Music.[186]
Warsaw is also considered one of the European hubs of underground electronic music with a very attractive house and techno music scene.[187]
Warsaw is home to over 30 major theatres spread throughout the city, including the National Theatre (founded in 1765) and the Grand Theatre (established 1778).[188]
Warsaw also attracts many young and off-stream directors and performers who add to the city's theatrical culture. Their productions may be viewed mostly in smaller theatres and Houses of Culture (Domy Kultury), mostly outside Śródmieście (Central Warsaw). Warsaw hosts the International Theatrical Meetings.
From 1833 to the outbreak of World War II, Plac Teatralny (Theatre Square) was the country's cultural hub and home to the various theatres.[189] Plac Teatralny and its environs was the venue for numerous parades, celebrations of state holidays, carnival balls and concerts.
The main building housed the
Great Theatre from 1833 to 1834, the Rozmaitości Theatre from 1836 to 1924 and then the National Theatre, the Reduta Theatre from 1919 to 1924, and from 1928 to 1939 – the Nowy Theatre, which staged productions of contemporary poetical drama, including those directed by Leon Schiller.[189]
Nearby, in Ogród Saski (the Saxon Garden), the Summer Theatre was in operation from 1870 to 1939,[190] and in the inter-war period, the theatre complex also included Momus, Warsaw's first literary cabaret, and Leon Schiller's musical theatre Melodram. The Wojciech Bogusławski Theatre (1922–26) was the best example of "Polish monumental theatre". From the mid-1930s, the Great Theatre building housed the Upati Institute of Dramatic Arts – the first state-run academy of dramatic art, with an acting department and a stage directing department.[189]
There are over 60 museums and galleries in Warsaw which are accessible to the public.
Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Among the most prestigious ones are the National Museum with a collection of works whose origin ranges in time from antiquity until the present epoch as well as one of the best collections of paintings in the country including some paintings from Adolf Hitler's private collection,[193] and the Museum of the Polish Army
whose set portrays the history of arms.
The collections of
Czartoryski
, is another venue with its interiors and park accessible to tourists.
along with some copies of masterpieces of European painting.
A fine tribute to the fall of Warsaw and
Warsaw Uprising Museum and in the Katyń Museum which preserves the memory of that crime.[197] The Warsaw Uprising Museum also operates a rare preserved and operating historic stereoscopic theatre, the Warsaw Fotoplastikon. The Museum of Independence preserves patriotic and political objects connected with Poland's struggles for independence. Dating back to 1936 the Warsaw Historical Museum
contains 60 rooms which host a permanent exhibition of the history of Warsaw from its origins until today.
The 17th century Royal Ujazdów Castle houses the Centre for Contemporary Art, with some permanent and temporary exhibitions, concerts, shows and creative workshops. The Centre realizes about 500 projects a year. The Zachęta National Gallery of Art, the oldest exhibition site in Warsaw, with a tradition stretching back to the mid-19th century organises exhibitions of modern art by Polish and International Artists and promotes art in many other ways. Since 2011, Warsaw Gallery Weekend is held on the last weekend of September.
chocolate cake originated in Warsaw and is an icon of the city
Warsaw's culinary tradition was shaped by its once multicultural population; its cuisine is distinct from that of other cities and towns in Poland.
bagels, aspic and French meringue-based pastries or cakes.[202] Traditional Varsovian food is hearty and includes a tripe soup for entrée, a pyza dumpling for main and the iconic wuzetka (voo-zetka) chocolate cream pie for dessert.[202][203]Crayfish and fish in gelatin were the classical dishes in Warsaw's restaurants throughout the 1920s and the 1930s.[201]
Much like
New World Street. Thousands of Warsaw's residents also flock annually to the pastry workshops (pączkarnia) to buy pączki doughnuts on Fat Thursday.[205]
Restaurants offering authentic Polish cuisine are concentrated around the Old Town district. Various spit cakes of Czech or Hungarian origin (kürtőskalács and trdelník) are also sold primarily in the Old Town.[206] Hala Koszyki is a popular meeting place in Warsaw noted for its food hall.[207]
Gourmet and haute cuisine establishments are situated in the vicinity of the downtown area or in the Frascati neighbourhood. Thirteen Varsovian restaurants were appreciated by the Michelin Guide, with two receiving a michelin star in 2019.[209][210]
In 2021, National Geographic named Warsaw one of the top cities for vegans in Europe. Śródmieście Południowe (Southern Downtown) and its "hipster food culture" was singled out as the epicenter.[211]
Several commemorative events take place every year, notably the
Three Wise Men (in Polish known as the Three Kings) on Epiphany, shortly after the New Year. Paper crowns are usually worn by spectators throughout the day. The event, which runs along the Royal Route, is attended by Warsaw's highest officials and by the Polish president who resides nearby.[212][213]
Gatherings of thousands of people on the banks of the Vistula on Midsummer's Night for a festival called Wianki (Polish for Wreaths) have also become a tradition and a yearly event in the programme of cultural events in Warsaw.[214][215] The festival traces its roots to a peaceful pagan ritual where maidens would float their wreaths of herbs on the water to predict when they would be married, and to whom.[214] By the 19th century this tradition had become a festive event, and it continues today.[214] The city council organize concerts and other events.[215] Each Midsummer's Eve, apart from the official floating of wreaths, jumping over fires, and looking for the fern flower, there are musical performances, dignitaries' speeches, fairs and fireworks by the river bank.[215]
Warsaw Multimedia Fountain Park is located in an enchanting place, near the Old Town and the Vistula. The ‘Water – Light – Sound’ multimedia shows take place each Friday and Saturday from May until September at 9.30 pm (May and – 9 October pm). On other weekdays, the shows do not include lasers and sound.
The Warsaw Film festival, an annual festival that takes place every October.[216] Films are usually screened in their original language with Polish subtitles and participating cinemas include Kinoteka (Palace of Science and Culture), Multikino at Golden Terraces and Kultura. Over 100 films are shown throughout the festival, and awards are given to the best and most popular films.[216]
The mermaid (syrenka) is Warsaw's symbol[217] and can be found on statues throughout the city and on the city's coat of arms. This imagery has been in use since at least the mid-14th century.[218] The oldest existing armed seal of Warsaw is from the year 1390, consisting of a round seal bordered with the Latin inscription Sigilium Civitatis Varsoviensis (Seal of the city of Warsaw).[219] City records as far back as 1609 document the use of a crude form of a sea monster with a female upper body and holding a sword in its claws.[220] In 1653 the poet Zygmunt Laukowski asks the question:
Warsaw of strong walls; why was the emblem Mermaid with sharp sword, given you by the kings?
The Mermaid Statue stands in the very centre of Old Town Square, surrounded by a fountain. Due to vandalism, the original statue had been moved to the grounds of the Museum of Warsaw – the statue in the square is a copy.
This is not the only mermaid in Warsaw. Another is located on the bank of the Vistula River near Świętokrzyski Bridge and another on Karowa Street.
The origin of the legendary figure is not fully known. The best-known legend, by Artur Oppman, is that long ago two of Triton's daughters set out on a journey through the depths of the oceans and seas. One of them decided to stay on the coast of Denmark and can be seen sitting at the entrance to the port of Copenhagen. The second mermaid reached the mouth of the Vistula River and plunged into its waters. She stopped to rest on a sandy beach by the village of Warszowa, where fishermen came to admire her beauty and listen to her beautiful voice. A greedy merchant also heard her songs; he followed the fishermen and captured the mermaid.[222]
Another legend says that a mermaid once swam to Warsaw from the Baltic Sea for the love of the Griffin, the ancient defender of the city, who was killed in a struggle against the Swedish invasions of the 17th century. The mermaid, wishing to avenge his death, took the position of defender of Warsaw, becoming the symbol of the city.[222]
Every member of the
651 Squadron Army Air Corps of the United Kingdom also wear the Maid of Warsaw on the left sleeve of their No. 2 (Service) Dress.[224]
10th-Anniversary Stadium.[226] The Stadion Narodowy hosted the opening match, two group matches, a quarter-final, and a semi-final of UEFA Euro 2012.[227]
There are many sports centres in the city as well. Most of these facilities are swimming pools and sports halls, many of them built by the municipality in the past several years. The main indoor venue is
The best of the city's swimming centres is at Wodny Park Warszawianka, 4 km (2 mi) south of the centre at Merliniego Street, where there's an Olympic-sized pool as well as water slides and children's areas.[229]
From the Warsovian football teams, the most famous is
Their local rivals, Polonia Warsaw, have significantly fewer supporters, yet they managed to win the country's championship two times (in 1946 and 2000) and won the cup twice as well. Polonia's home venue is located at Konwiktorska Street, a ten-minute walk north from the Old Town. Polonia was relegated from the country's top flight in 2013 because of their disastrous financial situation. They are now playing in the second league (3rd tier in Poland).
Legia Warsaw's basketball team was one of the country's best teams in 50s and 60s. They are now participating in PLK
, the highest-tier level of the Polish basketball.
One of the most famous people born in Warsaw was Maria Skłodowska-Curie, who achieved international recognition for her research on radioactivity and was the first female recipient of the Nobel Prize.[230] Famous musicians include Władysław Szpilman and Frédéric Chopin. Though Chopin was born in the village of Żelazowa Wola, about 60 km (37 mi) from Warsaw, he moved to the city with his family when he was seven months old.[231]Casimir Pulaski, a Polish general and hero of the American Revolutionary War, was born here in 1745.[232]
^Czerkawski, Andrzej; Jurga, Tadeusz (1969). Dla ciebie ojczyzno. Sport i Turystyka. p. 435. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2020. ORDER OF VALOUR "VIRTUTI MILITARI", FIFTH CLASS Capital City of Warsaw 1940 To the inhabitants of the Capital City of Warsaw – in recognition of their heroism and unshakable bravery in the struggle with the Nazi aggressor.
^Charly Wilder (23 December 2015). "36 Hours in Warsaw, Poland". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 December 2015. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
^Samuel Bogumił Linde, Slownik jẹzyka polskiego (1808)
^Julian Weinberg, Polacy w Rodzinie Sławian (1878)
^"Warsaw Uprising". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 16 December 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009. Hoping to gain control of Warsaw before the Red Army could "liberate" it, the Home Army followed the Soviet suggestion to revolt.
from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 17 September 2020. The Soviet troops, ordered by Stalin to wait until the Germans had destroyed the remnants of Polish resistance, then moved into what was left of Warsaw, flushed out the remaining Germans, and proclaimed themselves liberators of the city.
^"Średnia dobowa temperatura powietrza". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
^"Średnia minimalna temperatura powietrza". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
^"Średnia maksymalna temperatura powietrza". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
^"Miesięczna suma opadu". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
^"Liczba dni z opadem >= 0,1 mm". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
^"Średnia grubość pokrywy śnieżnej". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
^"Liczba dni z pokrywą śnieżna > 0 cm". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
^"Średnia suma usłonecznienia (h)". Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
^James Newman, ed. (2015). "Europes Top Skyscraper Cities". The Top 500. SkyscraperNews.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
^James Ramsay Montagu Butler; Norman Henry Gibbs; J. M. A. Gwyer; John Patrick William Ehrman; Michael Eliot Howard (1976). "History of the Second World War; United Kingdom military series 5". In James Ramsay Montagu Butler (ed.). Grand strategy. H. M. Stationery Office. p. 369.
^Warsaw Tourist Office. "Parks & Gardens". warsawtour.pl. Archived from the original on 12 January 2010. Retrieved 23 February 2009. "Warsaw is a green city. Almost a quarter of its area is comprisedof fields, parks, green squares and lush gardens, making Warsaw a European metropolis that truly offers its visitors a breath of fresh air."
^"Nowa Pomarańczarnia". ePrzewodnik / Perełki Warszawy on-line (in Polish). Archived from the original on 8 February 2006. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
^"Park Praski". zielona.um.warszawa.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 13 March 2010. Retrieved 19 April 2011. Powstał w latach 1865–1871, według projektu Jana Dobrowolskiego, na prawym brzegu Wisły.
^ abc"Warsaw Zoo". zoo.waw.pl. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2009.
^Warsaw Zoo opened 11 March 1928, on Ratuszowa Street. It was not the first zoological garden in Warsaw; King Jan Sobieski III kept a court menagerie in Wilanów. Several private zoos were also established in Warsaw in the 19th century. "New Zoo Revue". warsawvoice.pl. 24 April 2003. Archived from the original on 18 January 2005. Retrieved 9 May 2009.
^Dānishgāh-i Tihrān. Faculty of Fine Arts (1990). International Conference on Reconstruction of War-Damaged Areas: 6–16 March 1986 : Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran, Iran. University of Tehran Press. p. 148.
^Joanna Blewąska (28 November 2008). "Warszawa da się lubić?". Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
. Today Warsaw is a monocultural city, which is some people's ideal. But before 1939 it was a typically multicultural society. Those were the city's most productive years. We lost that multicultural character during the war.
^Hermann Julius Meyer (1909). Meyers Konversations-Lexikon (in German). Vol. 20 (6th ed.). Leipzig and Vienna. p. 388.
^Erich Zechlin (1916). Die Bevölkerungs- und Grundbesitzverteilung im Zartum Polen [The distribution of population and property in tsaristic Poland] (in German). Berlin: Reimer. pp. 82–83.
^"History". gpw.pl. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
^"Big Chance for the Capital". Warsaw – CEE Financial Hub Conference. warsawvoice.pl. 11 June 2008. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
^Chris Dziadul (5 October 2007). "A decade of progress". broadbandtvnews.com. Archived from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
^"Press release"(PDF). instytut.com.pl. 6 October 2008. Archived from the original(PDF) on 24 February 2009. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
^"Warsaw University of Technology (WUT)". onelab.eu. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2009. With over 30,000 students served by over 2,000 professors and instructors, WUT is the largest and the highest-ranking engineering university in Poland.
^"Warsaw University of Life Sciences". sggw.pl. Archived from the original on 27 November 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2009. Warsaw University of Life Sciences – SGGW (WULS – SGGW) is the oldest agricultural academic school in Poland, its history dates back to 1816.
^"Historia zbiorów". bn.org.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 1 February 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
^ abMaria Witt (15 September – 15 October 2005). "The Zaluski Collection in Warsaw". The Strange Life of One of the Greatest European Libraries of the Eighteenth Century. FYI France. Archived from the original on 8 February 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
. Mehrere Gemälde aus dem Berghof befinden sich heute im Nationalmuseum in Warschau. Bordones Venus und Amor etwa (Abb. 100) ebenso wie der Madonnen-Tondo Bugiardinis (Abb. 62) oder ein großes Ruinenbild von Pannini, das in der verglasten Veranda gehangen hatte (Abb. 113).
The list includes the 107 urban municipalities governed by a city mayor (prezydent miasta) instead of a town mayor (burmistrz) · Cities with powiat rights are in italics · Voivodeship cities are in bold
listen)), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,[5][b] is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 6th most-populous city in the European Union.[6] The city area measures 517 km2 (200 sq mi) and comprises 18 districts, while the metropolitan area covers 6,100 km2 (2,355 sq mi).[7] Warsaw is an Alpha global city,[8] a major cultural, political and economic hub, and the country's seat of government.
and finished in 1886
.jpg){kind=link}
