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September 2923 Warsaw Landmarks
Today we continued our three-day exploration of Warsaw. As I have written before, much of Poland was
destroyed during WWII and has been meticulously rebuilt. The walking gods were not with us today. It was a cold, rainy day and also the day of
a large marathon. As a result, trams
through the Old Town were not running and bus schedules were rerouted. We took a bus that would get us about 2
blocks from the Old Town and set off to see as much as we could.
The bus left us off opposite the the Krasinski Palace or the
Palace of the Republic. This is the
biggest, and one of the most beautiful, Baroque palaces in Warsaw. It was built
between 1677 and 1683. The palace was
exclusively designed for the recorder of the Crown Jan Dobrogost Krasinski and
many noted artists worked together to construct the palace. It is a two-story building with a risalit (a
protruding portion of a façade that covers the whole area from top to bottom) in
the middle and two corner annexes. Inside
the palace is an exquisite collection of paintings by eminent painters such as
Rembrandt, Coregia, D’Azrer and Rubens.
In 1766, the palace was bought by the State Treasury and
ever since, it belongs to the Republic of Poland. Over the years, this palace has housed the
treasury and other administrative offices.
Parts of the palace were damaged and burnt during World War II. After the war, it was reconstructed and today
houses the National Library Special Collection that includes antique books and
manuscripts. Unfortunately, it is
currently undergoing renovation and not open to the public.
Many civilians were
executed as a punishment by the Germans and the Old Town was completely
destroyed. Poland paid a huge price in
terms of dead and wounded. The battle
scar remains to this day even as Poles are proud of their courageous uprising
and resistance. Ironically, this
monument commemorating the revolt heroes was only revealed to the world in
1989.
Just across the street from the Monument is the Field
Cathedral of the Polish Army (or the Church of Our Lady Queen of the Polish
Crown). It is the main garrison church
of Warsaw and the representative cathedral of the Polish Army. There was some sort of ceremony taking place
so we could not enter.
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| Krasinski Palace |
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| Monument to the Warsaw Uprising Fighters |
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| Fighters retreating back to the sewers |
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| Field Cathedral of the Polish Army |
Walking down the street we came to the Warsaw Barbican, one of the few remaining pieces of the fortifications that once encircled Warsaw. The 4-tower Barbican was built during the 16th century as part of a redesign and restoration of the deteriorating 14th century city walls. Its purpose was to defend the Nowomiejska Gate, the northernmost entrance to the city. However, the rapid advancement in artillery power, made it obsolete almost as soon as it was built. The only time it was used in defense of the city was during the Swedish invasion of Poland in June 1656, when the Polish army of John II Casimir had to recapture it from the Swedes.
Largely destroyed during WWII, the Barbican was restored to
its present form in 1954, using 17th-century etchings as the basis for
restoration, as the new government decided it would be cheaper to rebuild the
barbican and the nearby city walls as a tourist attraction than to rebuild the
tenements homes that had been destroyed.
Also in the area around the Barbican are the remaining 14th
century double rows of protective city walls. The city walls were fortified by
several towers, including Krakowska (Cracow) Gate on the south and Nowomiejska
on the north. Along the path on the
outside of the walls are two memorials. The most poignant is the Little Insurgent, a
bronze figure of a young 12-year-old boy
named Antek, who was killed in action on 8 August 1944. He is shown wearing a large helmet and
carrying a rifle. The statue commemorates
all the children who fought and died in the Warsaw Uprising. There is also a monument to Jan Kilinski, a
shoemaker who led the Polish people in the 1794 uprising against Tsarist Russia. An interesting aside to this story – during
the German occupation of Warsaw, the Germans found the statue of the man hidden
in the basement of the National Museum.
They then arrested the statue.
When the citizens of Warsaw found out where the statue was being held,
they sent a letter to the Germans, supposedly from Copernicus (who had died 400
years before) telling the Germans that if they did not release the statue, that
he, Copernicus, would have his revenge by declaring that the upcoming winter
would be six-weeks longer than normal.
According to meteorological records, that winter was indeed longer and
colder than normal. So, who needs the
groundhog when you have Copernicus!
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| Warsaw Barbican |
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| Warsaw Barbican and City Walls |
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| Little Insurgent |
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| Warsaw Barbican |
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| Building with a Beautiful Mosaic Facade |
From here it was an easy walk into the Old Town Market Place (Rynek Starego Miasta), the center section of Warsaw. Built during the 13th century, it was the site of the Town Hall where merchants and guilds conducted their businesses. Surrounding the square were Gothic-style homes inhabited by rich merchant families, but they were destroyed in a 1607 fire. They were then rebuilt in the Baroque style in 1701. The four sides are named after 18th century Polish parliamentarians – Dekert, Barss, Kollatai, and Kazrzewski. The square was totally destroyed by the Germans after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising in WWII. After the war the buildings in this square were again reconstructed to their beautiful 17th century facades.
In the center of the square is the statue “The Mermaid
Syrenna.” According to the legend, the
Baltic Sea was home to two mermaids once upon a time. These half-women,
half-fish sisters eventually got bored of their aquatic life. Their decision to come to the shore led the
first sister to the Danish Straits. She
settled at the Port of Copenhagen entrance. The other sister reached the port of Gdansk
and then swam across the river Vistula right to the end. She finally rested on a sandy bank at the foot
of Old Town in Warsaw.
When the fishermen here found that someone was letting their
hard caught fishes go, they were furious and decided to punish the culprit. When they found that it was none other than
the mermaid, they decided to let her stay. For their generosity, the villagers were
entertained by the mermaid every evening with lilting songs.
When a rich merchant decided to make money showcasing her at
a fair, he captured her and kept her in a wooden shed. A village lad heard her cries and set her free
with the help of his friends. In
gratitude, the mermaid promised to defend the village which later grew into the
city of Warsaw.
Today, the mermaid stands in defense wielding a sword and
carrying a shield. She is a symbol of Warsaw and continues to protect the city.
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| Old Town Market Place |
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| The Mermaid Syrenna |
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| Buildings Around the Square |
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| Buildings Around the Square |
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| St. John's Archcathedral |
Our next stop was at St. John’s Archcathedral, Warsaw’s oldest church. It is also one of three cathedrals in Warsaw, but the only one that is also an archcathedral (the principal church of a bishop's diocese). Originally built in the 14th century in Masovian Gothic style, the Cathedral served as a coronation and burial site for numerous Dukes of Masovia. The Archcathedral was connected to the Royal Castle by an elevated 80-meter-long corridor that had been built by Queen Anna Jagiellonka in the late 16th century and extended in the 1620s. It was here that some of the most bitter fighting of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising took place. Although heavily damaged during WWII, it has been rebuilt in its 14th century Gothic style, but you can still see sections of tracks where the Germans drove their tanks into the church. They were getting ready for a Mozart Concert that evening and they were closed to visitors.
By now we were hungry and eager to get out of the rain. We found a very small little restaurant
across from the cathedral for some lunch.
We had a delicious hot soup that was perfect for a cold, rainy day. I really did not want to leave. But we had to press on.
From here we walked to the Royal Castle and Castle Square,
located at the entrance to the Old Town.
From 1596, when the capital of Poland was moved from Krakow to Warsaw,
until the Partitions of Poland (in the late 1700s), this was the official
residence of the Polish monarchs. As
early as the 13th century, there was a castle on this site which
served as the residence of the Mazovian dukes.
In its long history, the Royal Castle was repeatedly damaged
and plundered by Swedish, Brandenburgian, German, and Russian armies. In the
19th century, after the collapse of the November Uprising, it was used as an
administrative center by the Tsar of Russia. Between 1926 and World War II, the palace was
the seat of the Polish president, Ignacy Mościcki. After the devastation of World War II, it was
rebuilt and reconstructed. Fortunately,
the Polish people were able to save some of the interior decorations and
furniture by sending the items to Canada before the outbreak of WWII. Found in the Royal Chapel was an urn
containing the heart of Tadeusz Kosciuszko who was not only a hero in the 1794
uprising but was also a hero in our own War of Independence. As a colonel during our war, he oversaw the
construction of fortifications, including those at West Point.
Today the palace is an historic and national monument and
houses a national museum, archives, and gardens. It was the meticulous cityscapes done by 19th
century artists that were of invaluable assistance to the architects that were
responsible for rebuilding Warsaw after WWII.
Near the Royal Castle is another palace – Lubomirski Palace – that is
also known as the Tin-roofed palace (from the copper-plated tin tiles that
cover its roof). Today it houses a
unique permanent exhibit of Oriental textiles that includes over 600 oriental
carpets. In front of the palace is a
statue of Prince Jozef Poniatowski, a Polish military leader during the
Polish-Russian War of 1782 and the nephew of King Stanislaw II Augustus. As the weather was beginning to take its toll
on us, we decided not enter the castle.
Located in front of the Royal Castle is Warsaw's historic Castle
Square. The Square (although more a triangle than a square) features the
landmark Sigismund's Column and is surrounded by historic townhouses. It marks the beginning of the Royal Route,
which connected three former residences of Polish rulers – Royal Castle, Royal Lazienki, and Wilanow
Palace.
Located in Castle Square, King Sigismund’s Column is the
oldest secular monument in Northern Europe.
Built in 1644, this statue and column commemorates King Sigismund III
Vasa, the king who moved Poland’s capital from Krakow to Warsaw in 1596. The sculpture of the king, located on the 21’
high Corinthian column adorned by four eagles, stands 9 feet high and is
dressed in armor, wielding a sword in one hand and a cross in the other. The bronze statue was demolished during the
Warsaw Uprising by the Germans and was reconstructed. In 1949 a new granite column was set up just a
few feet from the original site.
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| Royal Castle |
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| Royal Castle Square |
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| Royal Castle |
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| King Sigismund’s Column |
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| King Sigismund’s Column |
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| Royal Castle Square |
Leaving Castle Square we tried to find a bus that would take
us back to our apartment but there were no buses in the Old Town. We walked down several streets where we saw
buses running, but none were stopping at any of the bus stops. We finally resigned ourselves to walking
about 2 miles back to our apartment. We
did make a stop at a Starbucks to warm up with some coffee and then found the
little restaurant we had eaten at on the first night, and went in to enjoy
another pierogi dinner. When we finally
made it back to our apartment, it was time for a hot shower and a good night’s
rest.
We had planned to visit the major Jewish sites and Lazienki
Park the next day (1 October) but the day was a complete bust. Our timing for this weekend in Warsaw was not
good. Saturday’s rain was followed by
Sunday’s “Million Hearts March,” which shut down all the buses and trams. This was a march against the policies of the
nationalist ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS). From our apartment we could see charter buses
dropping off marchers all day long. They
estimated that 1 million people took part throughout the day. With no place to walk to, we just rested and
then went down to a little Irish Pub in our building for dinner. Hopefully we will have better luck in Krakow!
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