What's it like in Warsaw?
Let me show you...
Here's me, sitting on the old, double city wall in the heart of Warsaw
I went to Warsaw, the capital city of Poland, on a weekend trip in August
1996. Warsaw has some 1,7 million inhabitants and lies by the Wisla river
in the heart of Poland. The city was completely destroyed during the Second
World War and a new city has grown up from the "ashes". A lot
of old buildings have, however, been restored. So has also the old city,
called Stare Miastro, from the early 1600-1700, with its narrow streets
and medieval looks, which was systematically burnt to its ground by the
German annihilation troops in 1944. The restoration here is very exactly
done.
There are also remnants from the double, old city wall from the 1300’s.
The old town has a large market square called Rynek Starego Miasta,
surrounded by picturesque buildings with baroque and renaissance facing.
The square is invaded by inhabitants and tourists during the summer when
the square is filled with different cafés where you can stop for coffee
or a drink. There are also lots of artist having exhibitions on the square
as well as arranged concerts. Make sure to be seated at one of cafés well
in time! In the cellars of the surrounding buildings are lovely restaurants
where they serve very cheap and wonderful food. I went into a supermarket
to compare prices a bit and discovered everything was about half the price
as back home, but then I suppose they do not earn as much in Poland as
we do in Sweden.
Warsaw has lots of really large parks and I do not think I ever saw so many statues as in Warsaw! One of the most famous statues is of course the one of Frederic Chopin, pictured to the right.
In the more new-built areas of Warsaw the "must" sight is the
monumental Palace for Culture and Science, pictured below.
This was built in 1952-1955 in Russian 
Classicism style. It
contains lots of institutions, three theaters, a technical museum, a congress
hall with 3,000 seats and a tower from which’s top you can view the
entire city. Here is also a photo exhibition where you can actually see
what the city looked like after the bombing. Looking at the pictures,
it's near enough unbelievable they could rebuild the city. It really was
all ruins!
South of Warsaw is the beautiful, baroque summer castle of John II Sobierski, called Wilanów. One thing I noted was that when visiting these castles, open to the public, they contained not the original furniture and art of that specific castle, like we are used to, but collections of art from the entire country shoveled together without any specific connection to the actual place. Lots of art has of course been removed from Poland through the years, as the country has a sad history of being plundered.
A weekend in Warsaw went quickly as there was lots to see and experience. Poland is a country in strong development, but they still have a long way to go. It wasn't until in recent years that it became possible for tourists to travel to Poland easily. A lot is done today to attract tourists to visit.
Go see Warsaw - it is well worth a visit!
King John II Sobierskis Summer Palace - Wilanów
This page was last updated 1998-03-11
© Sonja Wakefield
http://hem1.passagen.se/nightwin/nondoggy/ warsaw/warsaw.htm