Warsaw: Poland's Reconstructed Heart

This UNESCO World Heritage-listed old town was rebuilt between 1947-57, after the whole town was wiped off of the face of the planet by the Nazis in 1944. It's quite picturesque, especially the Royal Castle (rebuilt between 1971-81), but the effect has been somewhat diluted by the erection of giant advertising billboards on some of these monuments!

The rest of the city is just a collection of Soviet-style tower blocks; a couple of curious sights, though, are the Ethnographic Museum with its collection of weird knick-knacks from Poland and the rest of the world, and the hideous Palace of Culture and Science, a 3.3 hectare, 234m high, grey concrete building that was a gift from the Soviets - they really shouldn’t have!

Quick Tips:

A good introduction to the history of the city is the 25 minute film "Warsaw Will Not Forget," shown daily (except Monday) at midday. The attached exhibition on the rebuilding of the old town, at the History Museum on Rynek Starego Miasta, is also interesting.

Money can be easily exchanged for reasonable rates at the Kantors (private exchange offices); they can be found in practically every other building in the old town, and almost as common are the Bamnkomaty (ATM) most of which are connected to the main international networks.

Best Way To Get Around:

There is little reason to leave the Old Town area which is a joy to wander on foot. Should your accommodation be someway, out the Warsaw boasts over 100 bus routes, 30 tram routes, and 1 metro route (although the latter is practically useless)! All of these take tickets, purchased in advance from kiosks and punched on board.

When the time comes to move on, Orbis, on plac Zbawiciela, can arrange plane, bus, and train tickets to destinations all over Poland and beyond.

The Old Town was lovingly rebuilt by the people of Warsaw, from the rubble left by the Nazis in 1944, after their return in 1947. The work took 10 years and authentically recreated the look and feel of the old town.

The Old Town dates back to around 1300 and the first documented account of the city walls is dated 1339, although the oldest surviving part of the wall is the imposing Barbican on ul Podwale which only dates back to the 15th century. Also mentioned in the 1339 document is the Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, now St John’s Cathedral this 14th century Gothic building has an uninspiring crypt, home to the Moravian Dukes can, that be viewed for 1 zloty.

The main approach to the Old Town is up the Krakowskie Przedmieocie where, after passing through the gap in the city wall, you will find yourself in Plac Zamkowy. The Plac is dominated by the 1644 King Sigismund III’s Column honoring the 16th century monarch who moved the country’s capital to Warsaw in 1596, and on the eastern side is his Royal Castle, reconstructed 1971-81, that is home to a museum.

The highlight of the Old Town is the Rynek Starego Miasta (Old Town Market Square), centered on the 1855 Old Town Mermaid Monument the square consists of a collection of market stalls, open air cafes and buskers surrounded by some of the city’s most impressively restored buildings. The effect is somewhat marred by the giant advertising billboard that hangs on the front of the Historical Museum on the northeast side of the square.

The delicate reconstruction work of the Polish artisans was honored in 1980 when the old town was included on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage sites and is an essential stop off on any visit to Poland.

The Royal Palace was originally constructed for King Sigismund III. After he moved the Polish capital to Warsaw from Krakow in 1596, he wanted to be close to his native Sweden. The castle was destroyed along with the rest of the city by the Nazis in 1944 and was faithfully reconstructed between 1971-81. It is open to the public daily from around 11am to 6pm and admission costs 14 zloty.

Route I will take you around the Parliamentary Chambers, the Apartments of Prince Stanislaus, the Matejko Rooms and the Courtier’s Lodgings. Highlights include the Former Deputies Chamber decorated with the arms of the 32 regions of the Polish Commonwealth, the cramped room in the Great Tower, the Gallery of the Four Seasons with its fine paintings in the apartment of Prince Stanislaus (King Sigismund Augustus’ nephew), and Jan Matejko’s History of Poland paintings.

Route II will take you around the Great Apartments and the King’s Apartments. In contrast to the relatively Spartan decorations of the predominantly 16th- and 17th-century rooms of Route I, these second floor apartments are decorated in the far more ostentatious style of the 18th century King Sigismund Augustus. Highlights include the fabulous Great Assembly room with its gold inlaid decorations, and the Canaletto Room, which is home to the great artist's 23 views of the Warsaw suburbs.

There are also a number of temporary exhibitions, a café and a shop. If you have never seen an eastern European stately home then this is well worth a visit, but there is little extraordinary here.

The Old Warsaw Museum was established in 1936, in a tenement house on the old town square, and was destroyed by the Nazis in 1944. Following reconstruction work in the late '40s, the museum reopened with artifacts recovered from the rubble and loaned from other museums.

The museum (open at sporadic times Tuesday through Sunday, admission 8 zloty) is an old-fashioned history museum. The exhibits in its "Seven Centuries of Warsaw" exhibition are laid out in display cases in a series of rooms, through which one must progress in strict chronological order, from early archaeological finds through to pictures of the Nazi destruction. Attempts to deviate from this path will be met with confusion and mistrust from the Soviet-trained attendants. Highlights include a couple of reconstructed medieval rooms and a superb collection of 16th-century armaments.

In the entrance hall, you will find a superb display on the reconstruction work of the '40s and '50s, with some astonishing before-and-after pictures. Also on the ground floor is the cinema that, every day (except Monday) at midday, shows the English language film "Warsaw Will Not Forget", with footage of the horrendous destruction of the city at the hands of the Nazis. The film-showing is a brilliant introduction for visitors to the history of the city. The rest of the museum is uninspired, and you won't really miss anything if you decide to skip it.

Founded in 1888, the State Ethnographical Museum has assembled a collection of 74,000 artifacts from all over Poland, central Europe, and the rest of the world. These are displayed across seven permanent exhibits in its Warsaw museum.

The first floor contains the museum’s African, Australian and Oceanian, and Latin American Galleries; these three relatively small rooms are packed with exciting artifacts from all over the world. Highlights include an impressive collection of African ceremonial masks, a wide array of Australian Aboriginal boomerangs, and a vast collection of children’s toys from across Latin America.

Across the four galleries on the second floor, the museum delves deep into the cultural legacy of the Polish people. The Folk Arts and Crafts Gallery examines the tools and techniques of everything from wood carving to amber work, while next door in the Gallery of Polish Folk Art, some of the artisans' output is on display. The Polish Folk Costumes Gallery contains case after case of authentic Polish garb, and if you think that some of these costumes are weird, wait until you get next door where the Polish people dress up as devils and donkeys and perform arcane rites for the surreal Polish Seasonal Rituals Gallery.

The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from around 10am until 5pm, entrance is 8 zloty, and, although all the exhibits are in Polish, wandering around looking at the weird and wonderful artifact creates a magical experience that needs no translation.