Exactly a year ago, I attended one training course in Warsaw, and I can confess today - I didn't like it at all. I was ashamed to admit it then because the course cost a lot, and I had great expectations. I did, however, learn one important thing - what I don't want to do in my life. I don't think this was the course organizer's intention ;)
The undoubted benefit was I could stay longer to walk around the city, which I adore. Krakow is my beloved hometown, but Warsaw has a special place in my heart. Maybe it's about history. Warsaw is like a Phoenix, whose symbolism we can relate both to an entire nation and human fate. Here you can feel the unbreakable human spirit.
On the last day of my stay, I went to the city at dawn. I walked mainly in the Old Town, the historic part once razed to the ground. It was a weekday, and most locals were rushing off to work at that hour, so this part of the city was unusually calm. It made the walk very intimate.
Castle Square. King Sigismund, who moved the capital from Krakow to Warsaw at the end of the 16th century (no hard feelings 😉), stands on its column.
As the son of a Swedish king and a Polish royal, Sigismund was also (for a time) king of Sweden. It was a stormy relationship; the 17th century was marked by conflicts. In brief, Sweden sought to dominate the Baltic Sea area, which hit Polish interests, while Polish kings of the Vasa dynasty claimed to the Swedish throne. The worst episode was the so-called Swedish Deluge in the middle of the 17th century, which ravaged our country. For five years, part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was under occupation, the effects of which are compared to the Nazi occupation. It is widely believed that this was the beginning of the collapse of the state and - ultimately - the partitions at the end of the 18th century.
But fortunately, this is now history.
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From Castle Square, you can see the National Stadium, built ahead of the 2012 European Football Championship, jointly organized by Poland and Ukraine.
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Warsaw's streets in the Old Town... On the day of liberation, 90% of what you see was complete ruin. Reconstruction was not an obvious choice; immediately after the war, there were various ideas, such as leaving the ruins as a historical monument or building new apartment blocks. The reconstruction of the city in its original form was a worldwide rarity, and there were many doubts in the conservation community. However, just eight years later, the first stage of reconstruction was completed, and we can admire the final result today. I am happy that we chose this more difficult path. If it had not been for this, we would be able only to view the Old Town with nostalgia in pre-war photographs.
The reconstructionists struggled not just with the difficulties of post-war reality but with the mentality of the new communist government too. For example, the then president Bierut (btw a communist criminal and Stalin's faithful dog) opposed the reconstruction of the city walls. Professor Zachwatowicz, who was in charge of the reconstruction, argued that the lack of walls exposed numerous churches - the ruse worked. Such absurdities were an everyday occurrence.
And so, thanks to the professor's quick thinking, we can admire the defensive walls today 😀
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Let's have a short visit to the Mermaid od Warsaw yet. Where is she?
Hello. Be careful with the sword, brave one ❤️
Finish our walk here, next to Little Insurgent, a heartbreaking memorial statue to children who fought in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. The youngest "soldier" was nine years old.
But the city is not just about history and its monuments. We remember, but we do not stand still. Such is Warsaw; such is mankind.
Peace 💚
What beautiful photographs, especially the sculptures!
Best regards @astinmin !
Thank you, all the best for you!
❤️❤️❤️
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Beautiful place!
Yes 😍
It's so empty and reminds me my walk in the city center of Wrocław in 2020... city of ghosts during covid time.
Yes, such emptiness is particularly striking in popular areas.
The city is beautiful ... but where are all the people?
!BEER