Warsaw (Poland)

====INTRODUCTION ====

Warsaw is the capital of Poland, in Central Europe. Poland has suffered from its neighbours throughout its history, and Warsaw is the classic symbol of this, having been reduced to a heap of rubble by the vengeful Nazis in 1944. Today it is the thriving capital of a member state of the European Union (Poland joined on 1 May 2004), a city of around 2m people on the banks of the Vistula river, benefiting from the ...
...I had twice been to Warsaw in 1993 for work, being ferried around different government buildings and seeing a lot of a city, that was unremittingly drab, the buildings shabby and exuding a down-at-heel air. The ebullience of the overthrow of Communism 4 years previously has dissipated and inflation was rampant, and I was a Złoty millionaire.

The contrast to the Warsaw of today is so stark that I have been trying to convince myself ... more

=INTRODUCTION

=

Warsaw is the capital of Poland, in Central Europe. Poland has suffered from its neighbours throughout its history, and Warsaw is the classic symbol of this, having been reduced to a heap of rubble by the vengeful Nazis in 1944. Today it is the thriving capital of a member state of the European Union (Poland joined on 1 May 2004), a city of around 2m people on the banks of the Vistula river, benefiting from the transition from Communism to a market economy to such an extent that its GDP is 137% of the EU average (the average figure for the UK is 123% to give a benchmark).

= MY VISIT IN SEPTEMBER 2007

=

I must confess that my heart sank when I was told that the conference I was to attend would be moved from Krakow to Warsaw, owing to lack of sufficient suitable hotel space. I had twice been to Warsaw in 1993 for work, being ferried around different government buildings and seeing a lot of a city, that was unremittingly drab, the buildings shabby and exuding a down-at-heel air. The ebullience of the overthrow of Communism 4 years previously has dissipated and inflation was rampant, and I was a Złoty millionaire.

The contrast to the Warsaw of today is so stark that I have been trying to convince myself that I have come back to the same city. This is a city that has moved back into the heart of Europe. The streets are clean, there are many shiny new, modern buildings, both offices and shops, and there is an unmistakeable buzz to the place. Granted I was fortunate in that the weather when I was there was unbroken Autumn sunshine, which is guaranteed to show the place off in its best light, but the first impression it gives a visitor is bustling, light and welcoming.

= HISTORY

=

Warsaw is relatively young compared to other European capitals, having first been properly established as the seat of the dukes of Mazowia in 1413. It came under the crown of Poland a century later, and with owing to its position between Vilnius and Krakow, the capitals of the Polish-Lithuanian Confederation, King Sigismund III Vasa moved his court here in 1596. Warsaw remained the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, when Poland disappeared as it was partitioned between Prussia, Russia and Hapsburg Austria. The passing of the Commonwealth is one of history's great what ifs, since Europe's first modern liberal constitution had been adopted on 3 May 1791. The 1815 Congress of Vienna was meant to guarantee the autonomy to the Duchy of Warsaw within Russia, but the Russians repeated clamped down on Polish national aspirations, the most bloody episodes being to put down uprisings in 1831 and 1863-64.

Poland became independent again after the end of the First World War, but this was a prelude to the worst episode of all. After the Nazis invaded in 1939, Warsaw suffered the full venom of the regime. Over 450,000 Jews (30% of the population) were herded in a small ghetto in the city, and when orders came to annihilate them as part of Hitler's Final Solution, fighting resisted in the Ghetto Uprising, which lasted nearly a month, before the end came. A year later, with the Red Army on the opposite bank of the Vistula, the underground Home Army rose up, with the help of the civilian population, hopeful that the Soviets would assist in fighting the Nazis. Not for the last time, the Poles were let down by the Communists, who did not intervene as the Poles fought for 63 days. At the end of the uprising, the civilians were expelled, the fighters killed and Hitler gave orders for the entire city to be wiped off the map after all its treasures were plundered back to Germany. As a result, over 85% of the city was destroyed, and there was discussion after the war whether to rebuild it or move the capital to a different city.

In the end, the city was rebuilt, although much was financed by private donations, raised mainly through the Catholic church, and from donations from Poles overseas, particularly in the US, as the Communist authorities preferred to erect prefabricated buildings with their characteristic soullessness. So successful was the reconstruction of the Old Town that UNESCO agreed to add it to its list of World Heritage Monuments in 1980, which is marked by a large plaque on the street.

=WHAT CAN YOU SEE?

=

Although you would struggle to believe it looking at the Old Town and the misnamed New Town, that everything had to be rebuilt after the war. Several of the wonderful buildings that, in other central European cities would date from the 17th or 18th centuries, have dates on them from the 1950s. Reconstruction was a national imperative, and you can see the pride, passion and patriotism of the Poles in the amazing achievement of bringing the city back to life after the horrors of the Nazi occupation.

The main sites I managed to visit in my brief stay were:

Old Town Square - this is the main tourist venue in the city. There are restaurants and bars a plenty here, and not too extortionate given the location. A shot of the local vodka cost us between 6 and 8 P Zł, depending on the particular brand. In the centre is a statue of a mermaid with a sword. Legend has it that this mermaid is the sister of the little mermaid in Copenhagen, who was captured by a merchant on the banks of the Vistula and whose cries for help were heard. Out of gratitude for being freed by local citizens, the mermaid promised to come to the rescue of the town in direst need, hence her depiction armed.

The Old Town - many of the most striking buildings are churches. The Cathedral dates from the 14th century and was rebuilt in the Gothic style. Inside are tombs of various archbishops of Warsaw, dukes of Mazowia and other famous dignitaries. The Jesuit Church if Our Lady of Grace has a magnificent white renaissance style facade. There is a plaque on the street commemorating the listing of the Old Town on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1980, and many magnificent old buildings have dates from the 1950s sitting incongruously on their facades.

Royal Castle and King Zygmunt's Column - the Royal Castle was not only the royal residence pre-1795, but also where the Polish Sejm declared the 1791 Constitution. Completely destroyed in the war, it was rebuilt in the 1970s and 80s in the Baroque style, overwhelmingly by private donations from inside Poland and overseas, as the Communist authorities refused to fund the work. Nowadays it hosts state ceremonies, important functions as well as housing various galleries and permanent exhibitions. The square outside the Royal Castle is overlooked by the Column of King Zygmunt III Vasa, which was originally put up inj 1644 by King Wladislaw IV in memory of his father. It was destroyed in 1945 and rebuilt in 1949.

The Barbican and New Town - this marks the boundary between the Old Town and New Town, which was outside the jurisdiction of the mayor of the Old Town. In former times, houses in the New Town were built right up until the Barbican wall, in some cases using it as the bearing wall of the tenement building. Again completely rebuilt after the war, the bright orange brick structure seems to be a popular point for buskers, including a rather shifty looking group in medieval costumes like a lost cast of extras from a production of Robin Hood, one of whom had a menacing looking axe. In the New Town, there are more impressive churches, but my most vivid recollection is of an area towards the Vistula River which reminded me of parts of Westminster or Mayfair. There were beautiful houses in a style that in the UK would be termed Georgian Town Houses, with quiet streets and beautiful trees with leaves starting to turn golden.

Memorial to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 - on Krasinski Square, there is a huge monument to commemorate the 63 day uprising. No monument to Home Army was permitted until the fall of communism, but in 1989 the memorial was unveiled. Consisting of two separate groups of figures, the first depicting an insurgent unit of fighters, the second showing entitled "Exodus", represents withdrawal of soldiers and civilians by the canal. The sheer scale of the monument makes you stop and think, and there is a description of the events of 1944 in 5 languages on a wall on the square. Opposite is the Field-Cathedral of the Polish Army, which has a cast iron anchor and airplane propeller on either side of the entrance. It also has a bronze door with images of battles where Poles have fought and died, the last two being Monte Cassino (in Italy in 1944) and the Warsaw Uprising. In the streets around there, there are frequent memorial plaques indicating what happened in those buildings during the uprising.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Saxon Palace - the Saxon palace was bought by Poland's Saxon King August II in the late 17th century, and after World War I served as the seat of the Polish Army's General Staff. In 1925, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was set up under the colonnade-topped arch that ran between the two wings, when remains of an unknown soldier were brought from Lwow. It was also here that Polish experts deciphered the German enigma code, which lay the groundwork for the Bletchley Park operation in World War II. In the war, the Palace was completely destroyed except for the span over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After the war, the Tomb was restored, and urns containing earth in which Poles fought and died were added. The Communist authorities removed references to the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1918-20. However, this was redressed in 1990, as well as additional references to all the battles where Poles fought in World War II were added, including Monte Cassino and Arnhem. The solemn and dignified memorial is lent added poignancy by the visible traces of the destruction in the broken columns and arches. The memorial is situated on Piłsudski Square, on the north side of which is the Metropolitan Building designed by Norman Foster, which was voted the best new office building in the world at the Cannes MIPIM architecture fair in 2003.

Royal Route - Krakowskie Przedmiescie and Nowy Swiat. The Royal Route runs south from the Old Town, eventually passing the Sejm (Polish parliament) and government area, and finally some 10km later ending up at Wilanow, which is Warsaw's answer to Sweden's Drottningholm or France's Versailles. Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street is a broad tree-lined boulevard, with many of the buildings restored in neo-classical style. It is what Swedes would term "the parade street", which is a term that I can't find an exact equivalent for in English. In Paris, the equivalent is the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, in London it would probably be The Mall. Here in Warsaw, there are many former palaces and aristocrats, fine churches, the Polish Academy of Sciences and the premier hotel, le Meridien Bristol. Nowy Swiat and than further towards Al. Ujazdowskie is a main shopping area, and is always pedestrianised on weekends. When I was there was a street market given over to all things to do with motor-cycles, and part of the road was cordoned off for a display by bikers with spiked helmets!

Had I had more time, I would also have tried to see Jewish Warsaw and the few memorials of the Warsaw Ghetto (a new museum of Jewish history will open in 2009), the campus of Warsaw University, especially the library and its roof garden, and the Palace of Culture, the Stalin era, 231 metre high Communist folly, which is a cross between a Chinese pagoda and a gargantuan concrete block in imitation of the Empire State Building. There is a viewing tower on the 30th floor, which costs 15 PZł for adults, and 10 PZł for children.

= FOOD AND DRINK

=

Fukier - a traditional restaurant on the Old Town Square, the Fukier has a range of well cooked dishes, in both Polish and French styles. Roast duck was about 60PZł. This restaurant is very popular and reservation is advisable.

Fret @ Porter - on Freta Street in the New Town, this restaurant has a Bohemian feel. The onion soup has been voted the best in Poland, and was magnificent. Main courses were mainly meat, cooked beautifully and with fresh seasonal vegetables, in ample quantities, but not overly large. 2 of us had starters, main course and wine for 160 PZł (£15 each), which was excellent value.

Pozegnanie z Afrika (Out of Africa) - this is a coffee shop on the corner of Freta and Długa streets in the New Town. While it serves only coffee, the shop is laid out in the style of an 18th century coffee store, with traditional scales, jars etc.

There are many sorts of Polish vodka, which uses a wider range of ingredients than in the Nordic countries. Labelling of vodka was the subject of protracted and very contentious debates in the European Parliament recently. One that I tried was Zubrowka, also known as Bison Grass vodka, which is a flavoured vodka, recommended to drink with apple juice. Other traditional potato-based brands tasted and approved by colleagues were Chopin, Belvedere and Wyborowa.

Other places which come highly recommended by the Pole who suggested these places from different parts of town, but which we did not have time to visit are Foksal 19, Bierhalle, Living Room, Melodia (formerly a favourite haunt of Communist party officials from Party HQ across the road), and the Belwedere Restaurant, regarded as one of the finest of all Warsaw's restaurants.

= OVERALL ASSESSMENT

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My visit to Warsaw was a real eye-opener in the most positive sense. I would previously never have considered coming here for a city break before, but now I would recommend it as it offers so much in terms of history, culture, food and drink, and seemingly nightlife. It is clean, vibrant and conveys a real sense of its place as one of the great capitals of Europe, proud of its history and moving unapologetically into the future. It is also still not too expensive compared to other central European cities. The only real downside is the number of drunks who come up to you, which I didn't experience in say Budapest or Ljubljana.

I appreciate this is longer than my other reviews, and thank you for bearing with me to the end. It just a pity I can only post 7 pictures, as I found making the selection very difficult.

= POSTSCRIPT: PERSONAL NOTE

=

As part of our conference, we were privileged (and I use the word advisedly) to have a talk from Lech Walesa, former leader of Solidarnosc, the unofficial trade union, President of Poland and Nobel Prize Winner. It is not an exaggeration to say that the two people most directly responsible for bringing about the fall of the Iron Curtain, notwithstanding the efforts of Reagan, Thatcher and Gorbachev and others, were a Polish electrician from Gdansk (Lech Walesa) and a Polish priest from Krakow (Pope John Paul II). This is the contribution of Poland to Europe, and if some of my colleagues thought that there was too much reference to the Second World War in Warsaw, I prefer instead to admire the strength of character of a city that has risen from the rubble in spite of Communist dictatorship, and through the peaceful resistance of Solidarnosc and the Catholic church, has shaped events for the better for all of Europe. Listening to Walesa (64 next week, but still an amazingly charismatic presence), in the old Archbishop's Palace which had been rebuilt after the war, it brought home to me how large our debt to the Polish people is. Think of this when you read about the half a million Poles now boosting our local economies, doing jobs that too few people in the south of England are willing to do.

= PRACTICAL INFORMATION

=

Time zone: Central European Time (UK time +1 hour)
Direct flights to Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (c 10km to the south-west of the city centre) go from a variety of UK airports (London, Birmingham, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol, Durham Tees Valley), flight time just over 2 hours, wiih regular carriers such as British Airways and low cost operators.
Currency: Polish Złoty - £1 = approx 5.3 PZł
A useful portal website is www.warsawtour.pl
There is an extensive network of public transport with trams, buses and one metro (tube) line 

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