Warsaw

I

Introduction

Warsaw, (Polish Warszawa), capital of Mazowieckie Province, capital and largest city of Poland, administrative center of the Mazovia region, located in central Poland on the Wisła (Vistula) River. More than 90 percent of the city was destroyed during World War II (1939-1945), but the historic Old Town section was painstakingly reconstructed. The monumental Palace of Culture and Science in downtown is Warsaw’s leading landmark. With the fall of Communism in 1989 and an economic boom in the 1990s, new office blocks and hotels have transformed the city's skyline. The climate is temperate, with warm summers (July temperatures average a high of 24°C/75°F and a low of 14°C/57°F) and cold winters (January temperatures average a high of 0°C/32°F and a low of -6°C/22°F). Snow is common in the winter and tends to linger.

II

Warsaw and Its Metropolitan Area

Warsaw covers an area of 495 sq km (191 sq mi). The city is subdivided into 11 local districts (gminy). The Wisła bisects the city; major commercial and historic districts are concentrated on the west bank, and residential neighborhoods occupy the sprawling Praga districts on the east bank. Downtown Warsaw encompasses the Śródmieście district on the west bank. North of this is the famous Old Town, which lies at the end of Warsaw's best-known thoroughfare, known as the Royal Way (Trakt Królewski). Along this boulevard, called Krakowskie Przedmieście in Old Town, Nowy Świat in downtown, and Aleje Ujazdowskie to the south, are some of Warsaw's most famous landmarks: the Polish president’s residence, the restored 19th-century Europejski and Bristol hotels, the rebuilt Royal Castle, the mid-17th-century Zygmunt column (a bronze statue of King Zygmunt III atop a tall column), and the Old Town Square. Numerous neoclassical and baroque palaces and churches line the Royal Way, which terminates at the Wilanów Palace on the southern edge of the city.

The Holy Cross Church and an early-19th-century statue of Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus are both located on Krakowskie Przedmieście. Shops and cafes dominate Nowy Świat in downtown, while Aleje Ujazdowskie, the southernmost section of the Royal Way, is lined with foreign embassies. The Sejm building, where Poland’s parliament meets, is located a block east of Ujazdowskie, just north of Ujazdowski Park. Łazienki, on Ujazdowskie, is one of the city's best-known parks. It features a neoclassical palace constructed for King Stanisław II Augustus and a statue of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin built in 1926. In summer, open-air Chopin recitals have been a regular event at the park on Sundays.

Central Warsaw is dominated by the Palace of Culture and Science, which occupies an entire city block two blocks west of Nowy Świat. At 230 m (750 ft), it was the second tallest building in Europe when it was completed in the 1950s. Nearby on Aleje Jerozolimskie is the Central Station, built in the early 1970s. Other postwar landmarks in downtown include the Marriott-LIM tower and the Hotel Forum. Marszałkowska, running north-south across the city center, is second only to Nowy Świat as a shopping street in Warsaw.

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Although downtown Warsaw contains some apartment blocks, such buildings are much more noticeable away from the city center. The Old Town was reconstructed to replicate what existed before World War II, but most of the rest of the city was built in a modern, postwar style. Most of Warsaw’s residents live in high-rise apartment blocks around the city center. The few parts of the city that escaped wartime destruction—for example the popular east bank (Praga) area known as Saska Kępa—offer less-dense, prewar-type housing. Although the city expanded outward from the 1950s to 1970s, in the 1990s a major wave of reconstruction took place in the city center, with new hotel, office, and condominium blocks erected on cleared sites.

Automobile ownership has grown tremendously since Communism fell in 1989, and traffic jams are frequent in Warsaw's underdeveloped road system. There is no beltway around the city; Europe's main east-west highway cuts through the heart of Warsaw, contributing to enormous road wear, air pollution, and traffic problems. There are only a few bridges over the Wisła, but the inadequate Syrena Bridge was to be replaced by a wider bridge in 2000. In 1995 Warsaw’s subway opened. Although it has relieved some congestion, the subway runs only north-south, so it has not eliminated any of the heavy east-west traffic.

III

Population

In 2005 Warsaw had a population of 1,687,600. Warsaw’s population declined during World War II, when as many as 670,000 residents died, including the city’s 375,000 Jews who were systematically exterminated by the Nazis. Warsaw’s population is now ethnically and religiously homogeneous. Most residents are ethnic Poles, and the population is predominantly Roman Catholic, though there is a small minority of Protestants. In the early postwar period, many Poles moved to Warsaw from the countryside. Migration from rural areas has slowed, however, in part because of a lack of housing in Warsaw.

IV

Education and Culture

Warsaw has made important contributions to European culture. Chopin studied at the musical academy. Chemist and physicist Marie Curie was born Maria Skłodowska in Warsaw in 1867. Famous writers associated with Warsaw include Bolesław Prus, whose novel Lalka (1890; The Doll, 1972) is set largely in the city; his contemporary Władysław Reymont, who won the Nobel Prize in 1916; and 20th-century novelists Jerzy Andrzejewski, Marek Hłasko, Andrzej Szczypiorski, and Tadeusz Konwicki. Ludwik Zamenhof, who in 1887 invented Esperanto (an artificial international language), was also a Warsaw resident.

As the capital of the Russian-controlled Congress Kingdom of Poland (also called the Kingdom of Poland) from 1815 to 1831, Warsaw flourished culturally. The principal institutions of higher education—the University of Warsaw, the Warsaw Agricultural University, and the Warsaw Polytechnic University—were founded during this time. Eventually about 40 other educational institutions and research institutes opened in Warsaw, including the Warsaw School of Economics. Major libraries include the National Library, the Library of Warsaw University, and the Library of Parliament. There are about 30 museums and art galleries. The National Museum has a collection of Polish art from the 14th to the 20th centuries. Wilanów Palace, built in the late 17th century, houses the Poster Museum, and the Center for Contemporary Art is housed in the Ujazdowski Castle.

The 19th-century Great Theater stages major ballet and opera performances. Since 1927 Warsaw has hosted the Chopin Piano Competition, which is held every five years. Major annual events include the Henri Wieniawski violin competition (started in 1935); the Warsaw Autumn, a contemporary music festival; and the Jazz Jamboree. The International Book Fair takes place each May in the Palace of Culture and Science.

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