HISTORY
Warsaw was founded in the 13th century. By the 15th century, Warsaw had grown enough to be called a city.
Kraków was the headquarters and the place of coronation of Polish kings and the nation's capital from 1038 until the move to Warsaw in 1596.
Warsaw fell without resistance to a small force under the command of Charles X Gustav of Sweden during The Deluge in 1655, making it the first time the city was captured by a foreign army.
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| Warsaw New Town in 1778. Painted by Bernardo Bellotto |
After the failed Napoleonic Wars, Poland ceased to exist as a political entity, and was divided between the victorious powers Russia, Prussia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the Congress of Vienna of 1815. Warsaw became the centre of Congress Poland, a constitutional monarchy under a personal union with Imperial Russia.
The University of Warsaw was established on November 19, 1816, by a decree issued by Tsar Alexander I of Russia. The university was founded in response to the partitions of Poland, which had left the country without a university in its capital city. The university was initially named the Royal University of Warsaw, and it was the first university in Poland to offer instruction in the Polish language. The university has played a major role in the development of Polish culture and science, and it continues to be one of the leading universities in Central and Eastern Europe today.
The University of Warsaw, the largest university in Poland, was established on November 19, 1816 when Congress Poland found itself a territory without a university. The university soon grew to 800 students and 50 professors.
The Russian Empire Census of 1897 recorded 626,000 people living in Warsaw, making it the third-largest city of the Empire after St. Petersburg and Moscow.
When Poland was revived as an independent republic in 1918, under the leadership of Józef Piłsudski, Warsaw was made its capital.
Warsaw was taken by Nazi Germany on September 27, 1939 and deportations of the Jewish population to concentration camps led to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 and the destruction of the Ghetto after a month of combat.
There was a heroic but abortive rising against the German occupation on August 1, 1944. Nazi Germany destroyed the city of Warsaw virtually completely following the uprising that resulted in the 500,000 citizens being taken captive. Germany had plans to turn the city into a manmade lake to erase it completely from history. Warsaw was the most devastated city in the world during World War II.
During the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, the Hungarian Army, officially fighting on the German side, secretly assisted the Polish resistance, launching "ambushes" on the Poles and then "retreating" immediately, leaving behind massive amounts of weapons and supplies for the Poles to "capture."
Soviet forces captured the almost completely destroyed Polish city of Warsaw on January 17, 1945.
Irena Sendler (February 15, 1910 – May 12, 2008), the Polish Catholic nurse known as the ‘female Schindler’ helped smuggle 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II in everything from suitcases to sewer pipes. She was caught by the Gestapo, but escaped and lived to the age of 98 — cared for by a woman who, as a baby, she had smuggled out in a carpenter’s toolbox.
In his 2002 book Secret City: The Hidden Jews of Warsaw 1940–1945, Gunnar S. Paulsson estimated that nearly a tenth of Warsaw's population were helping Jews during the Holocaust.
More than 85% of Warsaw's historic centre was reduced to ruins during World War II; the city was then reconstructed from the detailed 18th century landscape of Warsaw painted by the Italian artists Bernardo Bellotto Marcello Bacciarelli. The work pair had been commissioned by the government before the late 18th century Partitions of Poland.
Police were forced to use tear gas to break up mobs when the Rolling Stones appeared at the Palace of Culture in Warsaw in April 1967, the British pop group’s first appearance behind the Iron Curtain.
Completed on May 19, 1974, the 2,120 ft (646 metre) Warsaw radio mast was the tallest structure in the world. It was located in Konstantynów, which is a small town near Warsaw.
The most famous monument of Warsaw is Palace of Culture and Science. Constructed in 1955, at 237 metres (778 ft) it is the tallest building in Poland.
In 1995, the Warsaw Metro opened with a single line with a total of 11 stations. A second line was opened in March 2015.
Warsaw's population is officially estimated at 1.770 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents,
People from Warsaw are called "Varsovians".
The mermaid, or syrenka, is the symbol of Warsaw. Images of a mermaid have symbolized the Polish capital on its crest since the middle of the 14th century.
The world's thinnest house, Keret House, is located in Warsaw. It measures 92 centimetres (3.02 ft) at its thinnest point and 152 centimetres (4.99 ft) at its widest.
The University of Warsaw, the largest university in Poland, was established on November 19, 1816 when Congress Poland found itself a territory without a university. The university soon grew to 800 students and 50 professors.
The Russian Empire Census of 1897 recorded 626,000 people living in Warsaw, making it the third-largest city of the Empire after St. Petersburg and Moscow.
When Poland was revived as an independent republic in 1918, under the leadership of Józef Piłsudski, Warsaw was made its capital.
Warsaw was taken by Nazi Germany on September 27, 1939 and deportations of the Jewish population to concentration camps led to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 and the destruction of the Ghetto after a month of combat.
There was a heroic but abortive rising against the German occupation on August 1, 1944. Nazi Germany destroyed the city of Warsaw virtually completely following the uprising that resulted in the 500,000 citizens being taken captive. Germany had plans to turn the city into a manmade lake to erase it completely from history. Warsaw was the most devastated city in the world during World War II.
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| Devastation of Warsaw during World War 2 |
Soviet forces captured the almost completely destroyed Polish city of Warsaw on January 17, 1945.
Irena Sendler (February 15, 1910 – May 12, 2008), the Polish Catholic nurse known as the ‘female Schindler’ helped smuggle 2,500 Jewish children out of the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II in everything from suitcases to sewer pipes. She was caught by the Gestapo, but escaped and lived to the age of 98 — cared for by a woman who, as a baby, she had smuggled out in a carpenter’s toolbox.
In his 2002 book Secret City: The Hidden Jews of Warsaw 1940–1945, Gunnar S. Paulsson estimated that nearly a tenth of Warsaw's population were helping Jews during the Holocaust.
More than 85% of Warsaw's historic centre was reduced to ruins during World War II; the city was then reconstructed from the detailed 18th century landscape of Warsaw painted by the Italian artists Bernardo Bellotto Marcello Bacciarelli. The work pair had been commissioned by the government before the late 18th century Partitions of Poland.
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| View of Grzybowski Square in the central district of Warsaw By Lukaszmalkiewicz.pl |
Police were forced to use tear gas to break up mobs when the Rolling Stones appeared at the Palace of Culture in Warsaw in April 1967, the British pop group’s first appearance behind the Iron Curtain.
Completed on May 19, 1974, the 2,120 ft (646 metre) Warsaw radio mast was the tallest structure in the world. It was located in Konstantynów, which is a small town near Warsaw.
Tragically, the Warsaw Radio Mast collapsed on August 8, 1991. The cause of the collapse was attributed to a structural failure due to guy wire corrosion. Guy wires are the cables that provide support and stability to tall structures like radio masts. In this case, the corrosion weakened the wires, causing the mast to collapse.
FUN WARSAW FACTS
The most famous monument of Warsaw is Palace of Culture and Science. Constructed in 1955, at 237 metres (778 ft) it is the tallest building in Poland.
In 1995, the Warsaw Metro opened with a single line with a total of 11 stations. A second line was opened in March 2015.
Warsaw's population is officially estimated at 1.770 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.1 million residents,
People from Warsaw are called "Varsovians".
The mermaid, or syrenka, is the symbol of Warsaw. Images of a mermaid have symbolized the Polish capital on its crest since the middle of the 14th century.
The world's thinnest house, Keret House, is located in Warsaw. It measures 92 centimetres (3.02 ft) at its thinnest point and 152 centimetres (4.99 ft) at its widest.
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