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Warsaw

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: European Geography

   Warszawa
   Flag of Warszawa Coat of arms of Warszawa
   ( Flag) ( Coat of arms)
   Motto: Contemnit procellas (It defies the storms)
   Semper invicta (Always invincible)
   Location of Warszawa
   Country Poland
   Voivodeship Masovian
   Municipal government Rada miasta st. Warszawy
   Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz
   Population
    - city
    - urban
    - density
   1,692,900 (2004)
   2,879,000
   3258/km²
   Founded 13th century
   City rights turn of the 13th century
   Latitude
   Longitude 52°15' N
   21°00' E
   Area code +48 22
   Car plates WA, WB, WD, WE, WF, WH, WI, WJ, WK, WN, WT, WU, WW, WX, WY
   Twin towns Astana, Berlin, Budapest, Chicago, Düsseldorf, Grozny,
   Hague, Hamamatsu, Hanoi, Harbin, Île-de-France, Istanbul, Kyiv, Moscow,
   Rio de Janeiro, Riga, Saint-Étienne, Seoul,
   St. Petersburg, Taipei, Tel Aviv, Toronto, Vienna, Vilnius
   Municipal Website

   Warsaw ( Polish: Warszawa, [varˈʂava] , in full The Capital City of
   Warsaw, Polish: Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa) is the capital of Poland and
   its largest city. It is located on the Vistula river roughly 370 km
   from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its
   population as of 2005 was estimated at 1,697,596, with a metropolitan
   area of approximately 2,879,000. The city area amounts to 516.9 km²,
   with an agglomeration of 6100.43 km² (Warsaw Metro Area - Obszar
   Metropolitalny Warszawy).

   The city, also the capital of the Masovian Voivodeship, is home to many
   industries, including manufacturing, steel, electrical engineering, and
   automotive; it features 66 institutions of higher learning, including
   Warsaw University, Stefan Wyszyński University, Warsaw University of
   Technology, Warsaw School of Economics, and a Medical Academy. Warsaw
   is home to over 30 theatres, including the National Theatre and Opera
   and the National Philharmonic Orchestra.

   Warsaw is internationally notable for giving its name to the Warsaw
   Pact, Warsaw Convention and the Treaty of Warsaw.

Geography

Location

   Warsaw straddles the Vistula river, approximately 370 kilometres from
   both the Carpathian mountains and Baltic Sea. It is located in the
   heartland of the Masovian Plain, and its average altitude is 100 m
   above sea level, although there are some hills (mostly artificial)
   located within the confines of the city.

Climate

   Warsaw's climate is continental humid. The average yearly temperature
   is 8 degrees Celsius (-2 °C in January and 18 °C in July). Temperatures
   may often reach 30°C in the summer. Yearly rainfall averages at 680 mm,
   the most rainy month being July.

Districts

   Warsaw is a powiat (county), and is further divided into 18 boroughs,
   each one known as a dzielnica ( map), each one with its own
   administrative body. Each of the boroughs is divided into neighborhoods
   which are not officially recognized by the city but known by most
   Varsovians. The best known neighborhoods are the Old Town (Stare
   Miasto) and New Town (Nowe Miasto) in the borough of Śródmieście.

   Districts of Warsaw (since 2002)
   Enlarge
   Districts of Warsaw (since 2002)
      District    Population    Area
   Mokotów           217 651 35,4 km²
   Praga Południe    187 845 22,4 km²
   Wola              143 996 19,26 km²
   Ursynów           137 716 44,6 km²
   Bielany           136 485 32,3 km²
   Śródmieście       135 000 15,6 km²
   Targówek          124 316 24,37 km²
   Bemowo            100 588 24,95 km²
   Ochota             93 192 9,7 km²
   Praga Północ       74 304 11,4 km²
   Białołęka          64 000 74 km²
   Wawer              62 656 79,71 km²
   Żoliborz           50 934 8,5 km²
   Ursus              44 312 9,35 km²
   Włochy             36 276 28,63 km²
   Rembertów          21 893 19,30 km²
   Wesoła             18 482 22,6 km²
   Wilanów            14 032 36,73 km²
   Total           1 690 821 517,90 km²

Notable suburbs include

   Notable suburbs include (number of inhabitants given in brackets):

   Notable suburbs include Population    Area
   Pruszków                    53 803 19,15 km²
   Legionowo                   50 600 13,56 km²
   Otwock                      42 736 47 km²
   Wołomin                     37 000 59,52 km²
   Piaseczno                   32 978 16,3 km²
   Piastów                     25 170 5,8 km²
   Ząbki                       23 277 11,13 km²
   Marki                       21 150 26,03 km²
   Łomianki                    19 463 38,06 km²
   Ożarów Mazowiecki           19 137 71,34 km²
   Sulejówek                   18 414 19,51 km²
   Kobyłka                     17 586 20,05 km²
   Józefów                     17 117 24 km²
   Zielonka                    17 075 79,23 km²
   Konstancin-Jeziorna         23 694 78 km²
   Karczew                     10 600 81 km²
   Total                      422 541 721,38 km²

History

   Warsaw in 1770 by Canaletto
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   Warsaw in 1770 by Canaletto
   Royal Castle Square
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   Royal Castle Square
   Royal Castle as seen from the bank of Vistula
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   Royal Castle as seen from the bank of Vistula
   Old Town
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   Old Town
   Łazienki (Baths) Palace
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   Łazienki (Baths) Palace
   Map of Warsaw from the 1888 edition of the Meyers Konversations-Lexikon
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   Map of Warsaw from the 1888 edition of the Meyers Konversations-Lexikon

   The first fortified settlements on the site of today's Warsaw were
   Bródno (9th/10th century) and Jazdów (12th/13th century). After Jazdów
   was raided in 1281 by Boleslaus II, the Duke of Płock, a new similar
   settlement was lodged on the grounds of a small fishing village called
   Warszowa. In the beginning of the 14th century it became one of the
   seats of the Dukes of Masovia, in 1413 becoming the capital of Masovia.
   Upon the extinction of the local ducal line, the duchy was
   reincorporated into the Polish Crown in 1526. In 1529 Warsaw for the
   first time became the seat of the General Sejm, permanent since 1569.
   In 1573 Warsaw gave its name to the Warsaw Confederation, an agreement
   by the Polish gentry to tolerate different religious faiths in the
   Kingdom of Poland.

   Due to its central location between the Polish-Lithuanian
   Commonwealth's capitals of Vilna and Cracow, Warsaw became the capital
   of the Commonwealth and at the same time of the Polish Crown in 1596,
   when King Sigismund III Vasa moved the capital from Cracow. Warsaw
   remained the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795,
   when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia to become the capital of
   the province of New East Prussia. Liberated by Napoleon's army in 1807,
   Warsaw was made the capital of the newly created Duchy of Warsaw.
   Following the decisions of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, Warsaw
   became the centre of the Polish Kingdom, a constitutional monarchy
   under a personal union with Imperial Russia. Following the repeated
   violations of the Polish constitution by the Russians, the 1830
   November Uprising broke out. However, the Polish-Russian war of 1831
   ended in the uprising's defeat and in the curtailment of the Kingdom's
   autonomy. On 27 February 1861 a Warsaw crowd protesting the Russian
   rule over Poland was fired upon by the Russian troops. Five people were
   killed. Underground Polish National Government resided in Warsaw during
   January Uprising in 1863-1864.

   Warsaw became the capital of the newly independent Poland again in
   1918.

   Warsaw flourished in the late nineteenth century under Mayor Sokrates
   Starynkiewicz ( 1875– 1892), a Russian-born general appointed by Tsar
   Alexander III. Under Starynkiewicz Warsaw saw its first water and sewer
   systems designed and built by the English engineer William Lindley and
   his son, William Heerlein Lindley, as well as the expansion and
   modernization of trams, street lighting and gas works.

   In the course of the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, the huge Battle of
   Warsaw was fought on the Eastern outskirts of the city in which the
   capital of Poland was successfully defended and the Red Army defeated.

   Warsaw is notable among Europe's capital cities not for its size, age,
   or beauty, but for its indestructibility. It is a phoenix that has
   risen repeatedly from the ashes. Having suffered dreadful damage during
   the Swedish and Prussian wars of 1655– 1656, it was again assaulted in
   1794, when the Russian army massacred the population of the right-bank
   suburb of Praga. Its most remarkable act of survival, though, was its
   rebirth following its almost complete destruction during the Second
   World War.

   The Second World War began when Germany invaded western Poland on 1
   September 1939. On 17 September eastern Poland was invaded by the USSR.
   Poland capitulated after 6 weeks of fighting. Western Poland was
   incorporated into the German Reich, eastern Poland into the USSR, while
   central Poland, including Warsaw, came under the rule of the General
   Government, a Nazi colonial administration. In the course of the
   Invasion of Poland, Warsaw was severely bombed, and in the course of
   the Siege of Warsaw approximately 10 to 15% of its buildings were
   destroyed.

   Warsaw became an occupied city under the control of the Nazi SS. All
   higher education institutions were immediately closed and Warsaw's
   entire Jewish population — several hundred thousand, some 30% of the
   city — herded into the Warsaw Ghetto. When the order came to liquidate
   the Ghetto as part of Hitler's " final solution", Jewish fighters
   launched the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Despite being heavily outgunned
   and outnumbered, the Ghetto held out for almost a month. When the
   fighting ended, the survivors were massacred.

   During 1943 and 1944 the tide of the war turned, as the USSR, which had
   been at war with Germany since 1941, inflicted a number of severe
   defeats on the German army. By July 1944 the Soviets were deep into the
   Polish territory, pursuing the Germans toward Warsaw. Knowing that
   Stalin was hostile to the idea of an independent Poland, the Polish
   government-in-exile based in London gave orders to the underground Home
   Army (AK) to try to seize the control of Warsaw from the Nazis just
   before the Soviets arrive. Thus, on 1 August 1944, as the Soviet army
   was nearing the city very fast, the Home Army and the general
   population started the Warsaw Uprising.

   Despite Stalin's hostility towards Poland, the Poles had expected that
   the Soviet troops would assist them against their common German enemy.
   However, after the Red Army captured the right-bank Warsaw, the Soviet
   offensive was abruptly stopped, while the Germans went on to ruthlessly
   suppress the uprising. Although the insurgency, planned to last 48
   hours, held out for 63 days, eventually the Home Army fighters were
   forced to capitulate. They were transported to the POW camps in
   Germany, while the entire civilian population was expelled. Hitler,
   ignoring the negotiated terms of the capitulation, ordered the entire
   city to be razed to the ground, and the library and museum collections
   robbed or burned. When on 17 January 1945 the Soviets crossed the
   Vistula and entered through the left-bank, they found a Warsaw that had
   almost ceased to exist; 85% of the city had been destroyed, including
   the historic Old Town and the Royal Castle. The surviving Home Army
   fighters were rounded up by the NKVD and either murdered or deported to
   Siberia.

   The city was once considered a shining metropolis, but due to total
   destruction, it has lost its baroque tinge. Although many of the
   destroyed significant historical buildings were restored, little
   remains of the resplendence of Warsaw baroque.

   After the war, Boleslaw Bierut's puppet regime set up by Stalin made
   Warsaw the capital of the communist People's Republic of Poland, and
   the city was resettled and rebuilt. Large prefabricated housing
   projects were erected in Warsaw to address the housing shortage. Few of
   the inhabitants of the pre-war Poland returned: Hundreds of thousands
   were dead, thousands more in exile from the new regime. Nonetheless,
   the city resumed its role as the capital of Poland and the country's
   centre of political and economic life. Many of the historic streets,
   buildings, and churches were restored to their original form. In 1980,
   Warsaw's historic Old Town was inscribed onto UNESCO's World Heritage
   list.

   In 1995 the Warsaw Metro finally opened, and with the entry of Poland
   into the European Union in 2004, Warsaw is currently experiencing the
   biggest economic boom of its history.

Population

   Presidential Palace, Warsaw, with equestrian statue of Prince Józef
   Poniatowski by Bertel Thorvaldsen.
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   Presidential Palace, Warsaw, with equestrian statue of Prince Józef
   Poniatowski by Bertel Thorvaldsen.
     * 1700: 30,000 (estimated)
     * 1792: 120,000
     * 1800: 63,400
     * 1830: 139,700
     * 1850: 163,600
     * 1882: 383,000
     * 1900: 686,000
     * 1925: 1,003,000
     * 1939: 1,300,000
     * 1945: 422,000 (in September)
     * 1956: 1,000,000
     * 1960: 1,139,200
     * 1970: 1,315,600
     * 1975: 1,436,100
     * 1980: 1,596,100
     * 1990: 1,611,800
     * 2002: 1,707,100 (after incorporating Wesoła)
     * 2004: 1,676,600 (urban agglomeration 2,760,000)
     * 2005: 1,694,825 (urban agglomeration 2,880,000)

   There are approximately 30,000-35,000 Vietnamese people living in the
   Warsaw Municipal area.

Municipal government

   Belweder in Łazienki Park
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   Belweder in Łazienki Park
   Łazienki Palace
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   Łazienki Palace
   Chopin Monument
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   Chopin Monument
   Commission Palace
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   Commission Palace
   Statue of Adam Mickiewicz
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   Statue of Adam Mickiewicz
   Ujazdowski Castle
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   Ujazdowski Castle
   Krasiński Palace
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   Krasiński Palace

The mayor (the President of Warsaw)

   Following the Warsaw Act (Ustawa warszawska) of October 27, 2002, the
   President of Warsaw carries out the executive duties in the city. His
   prerogative is, among others, governing the city-owned property that
   constitutes a major part of the city. The current acting President of
   Warsaw is Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz. Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz was elected
   in the local elections on November 26, 2005.

Municipal government

   The Warsaw Act abolished all the former counties around Warsaw and
   formed one city powiat with a unified municipal government.

   Legislative power in Warsaw is vested in a unicameral City Council
   (Rada Miasta), which comprises 60 members. Council members are elected
   directly every four years. Like most legislative bodies, the City
   Council divides itself into committees which have the oversight of
   various functions of the city government. Bills passed by a simple
   majority are sent to the mayor (the President of Warsaw), who may sign
   them into law. If the mayor vetoes a bill, the Council has 30 days to
   override the veto by a two-thirds majority vote.

   Each of the 18 separate city districts has its own council (Rada
   dzielnicy). Their duties are focused on aiding the President and the
   City Council, as well as supervising various municipal companies,
   city-owned property and schools. The head of each of the District
   Councils is named the Mayor (Burmistrz) and is elected by the local
   council from the candidates proposed by the President of Warsaw.

Politics

   Sejm building.
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   Sejm building.

   As the capital of Poland, Warsaw is the political centre of the
   country. All state agencies are located there, including the Polish
   Parliament, the Presidential Office and the Supreme Court. In the
   Polish parliament both the city and the area are represented by 31 MPs
   (out of 460). Additionally, two politicians were recently elected MEPs.

Transport

   Although Warsaw was heavily damaged during World War II and
   reconstruction in the fifties widened many streets, the city is
   currently plagued with traffic problems. Public transportation in
   Warsaw is as efficient as it is ubiquitous, serving the city with
   buses, tramways, and metro.

Roads and highways

   Warsaw lacks a good circular road system and most of the East-West
   traffic goes directly through the city centre. Currently two circular
   roads are under construction. The first (called OEW, or Obwodnica
   Etapowa Warszawy) is to lead the traffic approximately 10 kilometres
   from the city centre through the city streets and two newly-built
   bridges. The other is to become a part of both the A-2 motorway (itself
   a part of the European route E30 from Berlin to Moscow) and the S-7 (
   Gdańsk– Kraków) express road, and will run through a tunnel under the
   southern area of Ursynów. It is to become available between 2008 and
   2010. A lot of streets are named after famous Polish people or places.

Airports

   Warsaw has one international airport, Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport,
   located just 10 km away from the city centre. With over 60
   international and domestic flights a day and with over 7,070,000
   passengers served in 2005, it is by far the biggest airport in Poland.
   Immediately adjacent to the main Frederic Chopin Airport terminal
   complex, Terminal 1, is the Etiuda terminal, serving both the domestic
   and the international routes flown by low-cost carriers. A new
   terminal, Terminal 2 is now under construction in order to alleviate
   current overcrowding, and to extend the airport's capacity by another 6
   million passengers.

   Also, an ex-military airfield in the town of Modlin, 20 km north of
   Warsaw, is currently being redeveloped into an airport for low-cost
   carriers, cargo and charter traffic. It will not be ready for use
   before September 2007.

   There are also plans to build an entirely new international airport,
   mostly for service to other European Union countries. Its location has
   not yet been determined.

Mass transit

   Mass transit in Warsaw consists of four branches ( buses, streetcars,
   metro and regional rail) united in the ZTM (Zarząd Transportu
   Miejskiego or the Warsaw Transport Authority). Additional lines are
   operated by private companies and the state-owned railways.

   There are three tourist routes: "T" which is operated by a historic
   tram in July and August, "100" which runs on weekends and is operated
   by the only double-decker bus owned by the city, and "180" which
   follows the Royal Route from the War Cemetery in the North, via The
   Royal Way to Wilanów, near the palace.

Buses

   Bus service covers the entire city, with 176 routes totalling 2,603
   kilometres in length, and with 1,659 vehicles in service. The central
   bus stop is located next to Warszawa Centralna railway station and the
   Centrum Metro station. Between midnight and 5 am the city is served by
   14 night lines. The first digit of the line's number indicates its
   type:
     * 1** - normal line (operates all day, seven days a week, stops at
       each bus stop on the route)
     * 2** - special line (only on special occasions, e.g. the cemetery
       lines on November 1, or as a replacement for tram service)
     * 3** - period line - normal (operates only at selected hours and on
       certain days, usually during peak hours, stops at each stop on the
       route)
     * 4** - period line - fast (operates only at selected hours and on
       certain days, usually during peak hours, stops only at selected
       stops)
     * 5** - fast line (operates all day, seven days a week, stops only at
       selected stops)
     * 6** - night line (operates at night only, all stops are on-demand)
     * 7** - suburb line (operates all day, seven days a week, goes
       outside the borders of Warsaw)
     * 8** - suburb period line (operates only at selected hours and on
       certain days, usually during peak hours, goes outside the borders
       of Warsaw)
     * E-* - express line (stops only at major stops)
     * Z* - substitute line during breakdowns and temporary suspensions of
       tram or metro service (buses running instead of metro are also
       marked with logo of Metro Warszawskie)

Streetcars

   Sapieha Palace
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   Sapieha Palace

   The first tramway in Warsaw was opened on 11 December 1866. On 26 March
   1908, all the lines, previously horse-powered, were electrified. In the
   period between the world wars, the tramway was nationalized and the net
   was extended significantly. After the Defence War of 1939 the service
   was halted for approximately three months due to war losses. Heavy
   aerial bombardment during the siege of Warsaw and requisition of all
   modern streetcars by the new German authorities postponed the
   reintroduction of service. However, by 1940 the trams were back on
   track. In 1941 the present colours of the cars were introduced (yellow
   and red, in the Flag of Warsaw colours. This was done to demoralize the
   Poles in the city by attempting to wipe out all traces of the white and
   red colours of Poland. Up until this point, the trams were painted
   either in a white and red mixture, or entirely red).

   Following the Warsaw Uprising the tramway was destroyed by the Germans
   until the liberation of the ruins in January 1945. The streets were
   filled with rubble, the tram stations destroyed, and the cars either
   burnt or transported to Germany. However, the first streetcar line was
   opened again for the public on 20 June 1945.

   Following the Second World War the tramway in Warsaw underwent fast
   development. The tracks reached all the principal parts of the city.
   However, in the sixties the official policy of both Polish and Soviet
   authorities promoted the use of Soviet oil and the concomitant exportat
   of the Polish coal. The availability of coal on the home market
   decreased, and the tramway net was shortened, while more buses were
   bought. Until 1989 only 28 lines were preserved.

   Currently the Tramwaje Warszawskie company runs 863 cars on almost 470
   kilometres of track. Twenty-nine lines run across the city with
   additional lines opened on special occasions (such as public holidays
   or All-Saints Day).

Trolleybuses

   Ostrogski Palace
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   Ostrogski Palace
   Jabłonowski Palace
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   Jabłonowski Palace
   Czapski Palace
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   Czapski Palace

   After World War II most of the communication network in Warsaw was
   destroyed. The streets were filled with rubble, and the streetcar
   infrastructure was either transported to Germany by the Wehrmacht or
   destroyed.

   However, the city entered the path of quick reconstruction and was in
   need of a transport network both cheap and efficient. In 1946 several
   dozens of trolleybuses were brought in from the Soviet Union and first
   two lines were soon opened. The trolleybuses were using ex-tramway
   lines and the lines ran from Union of Lublin square (Plac Unii
   Lubelskiej) to Warszawa Gdańska train station, and from Łazienkowska
   depot to the city centre (Piękna street area).

   In March 1946 a second line was opened (Plac Saski–Bonifraterska), but
   was closed and replaced by streetcars in December. However, the
   reconstruction of the tramway was halted, mostly for political reasons,
   and until 1955 5 new trolleybus lines were opened, covering most of the
   city centre.

   See: trolleybus network map of this period

   1967 started a period of fast decline in both the number of
   trolleybuses and the trolleybus lines in Warsaw. PZPR policies under
   Edward Gierek assumed that as much Polish coal as possible be exported
   while the oil be imported at very low prices from the USSR. It was
   decided that production of electricity should be lowered in order to
   spare resources and by 7 July 1973 all trolleybus lines in Warsaw were
   closed.

   The last period of Warsaw trolleybus transportation started in 1977,
   when it was decided that the existing cars could be used as a means of
   mass transit between Warsaw and the southern suburb of Piaseczno. An
   additional line was planned through Wilanów (now part of the city),
   Powsin and Konstancin-Jeziorna. However, economic crisis made
   construction of the latter line impossible, and only the Piaseczno line
   was opened on 1 July 1983.

   After the system transformation of 1989 it became apparent that the
   trolleybuses were in dire need of replacement (those used were built in
   early 1950s), and that the maintenance costs of running a single line
   were very high. On 1 September 1995 the Warsaw City Council decided
   that all services on the 51 and 651 lines be halted. In July 2000 the
   trolleybus depot in Piaseczno was closed and the remaining cars sold to
   Minsk, Lublin (where most of them languish in a field behind the main
   area of a trolleybus depot awaiting refurbishment and return to
   service; a lack of funds prevents this from going ahead) and to various
   museums.

   See: trolleybus line map of this period

Metro

Railway

   St. Anna's Church
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   St. Anna's Church

   The first railroad reached Warsaw in 1845 (the Warsaw-Vienna Railway).
   Nowadays Warsaw is one of the main railway nodes and exchange points in
   Poland. Cheap and fairly efficient, the PKP (Polskie Koleje Państwowe,
   or Polish State-owned Railways) are one of the principal means of
   transport in Poland.

   The main train station is Warszawa Centralna. Both the domestic and the
   international connections run from there to almost every major city in
   Poland and Europe. There are also 5 additional major train stations and
   a number of smaller stations for suburban lines.

   The railway crosses under the city through a tunnel (tunel średnicowy).
   It is approximately 2.2 km long and runs directly under the city
   centre. It is part of an east-west line connecting the Warszawa
   Zachodnia, Warszawa Centralna and Warszawa Wschodnia train stations
   through the tunnel and a railway bridge over the Vistula River.

   The principal train stations are:
     * Warszawa Centralna
     * Warszawa Gdańska
     * Warszawa Wileńska
     * Warszawa Zachodnia
     * Warszawa Wschodnia

Sports

   Polonia Warszawa
   Legia Warszawa
     * Legia Warszawa - men's football team (est. 1916), (Polish Champion:
       1955, 1956, 1969, 1970, 1994, 1995, 2002, 2006; Polish Cup winner:
       1955, 1956, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1995,
       1997; Polish SuperCup winner: 1989, 1994, 1997; 1st league in
       2006/2007 season)
     * Polonia Warszawa - men's football team (est. 1911), (Polish
       Champion: 1948, 2000; Polish Cup winner: 1952, 2001; Polish
       SuperCup winner: 2000; 2nd league in 2006/2007 season)

Culture

   Panorama of the city.
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   Panorama of the city.
   Teatr Wielki
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   Teatr Wielki
   Old Philharmonic Hall
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   Old Philharmonic Hall
   Zachęta Art Gallery
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   Zachęta Art Gallery

   From 1833 to the outbreak of World War II, Teatralny Square (Theatre
   Square) was the country's theatrical and cultural hub and home to the
   following theatres from 1833.

   The main building housed the Teatr Wielki from 1833-1834, the
   Rozmaitości Theatre from 1836 to 1924 and then the National Theatre,
   the Reduta Theatre from 1919 to 1924, and from 1928 to 1939 - the Nowy
   Theatre, which staged productions of contemporary poetical drama,
   including those directed by Leon Schiller.

   Nearby, in the Saski (Saxon) Garden, the Summer Theatre was in
   operation from 1870 to September 1939, and in the inter-war period, the
   theatre complex also included Momus, Warsaw's first artistic literary
   cabaret at 29 Senatorska St., and Leon Schiller's musical theatre
   Melodram at 29 Senatorska St. The Wojciech Bogusławski Theatre
   (1922-1926) at 5 Hipoteczna St., in the former Nowości Theatre
   building, was the best materialization of "Polish monumental theatre".
   From the mid-1930's, a Teatr Wielki building at 10 Trębacka St. housed
   the State Institute of Dramatic Arts - the first state-run academy of
   dramatic art, with an Acting Department and a Stage Directing
   Department.

   Teatralny Square and its environs was the venue for numerous parades,
   celebrations of state holidays, carnival balls, and concerts. In 1881,
   the Warsaw Guide wrote:


   Warsaw

    Teatralny Square unquestionably can be called the soul of Warsaw. It
      equals the Saski Garden in its liveliness and activity. Here are
    concentrated the most important organs in a city's life: the Theatre
   and the Town Hall, a church, the wine-traders Stępkowski and Boquet, a
   prime restaurant decorated to ensure the greatest comfort, the offices
      of Warsaw's most popular newspaper Kurier Warszawski, stationery
      emporiums, tobacco emporiums, pharmacies, perfumeries, jewellers'
       shops, clothing and shoe shops, the finest pastry-cooks' shops,
   emporiums offering lamps, samovars, linen, gowns and furs, fruit shops,
       cab stops, etc. etc. Such hustle and bustle is not to be found
   elsewhere in the city. Teatralny Square fully deserves the traveller's
                                  interest.


   Warsaw

Theatre

   Warsaw is home to over 30 major theatres that are spread throughout the
   city, including the National Theatre (founded in 1765) and the Grand
   Theatre in Warsaw ( ) (established 1778).

   Warsaw also attracts many young and off-stream directors and performers
   who add to the city's theatre culture. Their productions may be viewed
   mostly in smaller theatres and Houses of Culture (Dom Kultury), mostly
   outside Śródmieście (downtown Warsaw). One of the most notable stages
   in Poland is TR Warszawa (formerly Teatr Rozmaitości).

   Warsaw hosts the International Theatrical Meetings.

Music

   Thanks to numerous musical venues, including the Teatr Wielki, the
   Polish National Opera, the Chamber Opera, the National Philharmonic
   Hall and the National Theatre, as well as the music theatres Roma and
   Buffo and the Congress Hall in the Palace of Culture and Science,
   Warsaw hosts many renown events and festivals. Among the seasonal
   events worth particular attention are: the International Frederick
   Chopin Piano Competition, the International Contemporary Music Festival
   Warsaw Autumn, the Jazz Jamboree, Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, the
   International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition, the Mozart
   Festival, and the Festival of Old Music.

Museums and art galleries

   There are many museums and art galleries in Warsaw, most notable are
   the Muzeum Narodowe, The Polish Aviation Museum, Zachęta Art Gallery,
   Centre for Contemporary Art, Museum of the Polish Army. The biggest of
   them, the National Museum has numerous divisions located in many parts
   of Warsaw, most notably in the Royal Castle and the Wilanów Palace.

   Since 2004, a Warsaw Uprising Museum has been open to the public.

Film

   Since World War II Warsaw has been the second most important centre of
   film production in Poland. As the capital of Poland it has also been
   featured in countless movies, both Polish and foreign. Movies such as
   Kanał and Korczak by Andrzej Wajda, Eroica by Andrzej Munk, The
   Decalogue by Krzysztof Kieślowski, Miś by Stanisław Bareja or The
   Pianist by Roman Polański used Warsaw either as the background, or as
   the protagonist.

Education

   Main gate of Warsaw University.
   Enlarge
   Main gate of Warsaw University.

   Warsaw is one of the most important education centers of Poland. It is
   home to four major universities and over 62 smaller schools of higher
   education. The most important are:
     * University of Warsaw (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
     * Warsaw University of Technology (Politechnika Warszawska)
     * Warsaw School of Economics (Szkoła Główna Handlowa)
     * Warsaw Agricultural University (Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa
       Wiejskiego)
     * Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University (Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana
       Wyszyńskiego)
     * Medical University of Warsaw (Akademia Medyczna w Warszawie)
     * Military University of Technology (Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna)
     * Academy of National Defence (Akademia Obrony Narodowej)
     * Academy of Physical Education in Warsaw (Akademia Wychowania
       Fizycznego w Warszawie)
     * Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (Akademia Muzyczna im. Fryderyka
       Chopina)
     * Theatre Academy (Akademia Teatralna im. Aleksandra Zelwerowicza)

   See also: List of universities in Poland

   The overall number of students of all grades of education in Warsaw is
   almost 500,000 (29.2% of the city population; 2002). The number of
   university students is over 255,000.

Economy

   Warsaw at night. The Palace of Culture and Science, the city's tallest
   building and the 4th tallest in the European Union is visible on the
   right.
   Enlarge
   Warsaw at night. The Palace of Culture and Science, the city's tallest
   building and the 4th tallest in the European Union is visible on the
   right.
   John Paul II Avenue
   Enlarge
   John Paul II Avenue
   Great Synagogue before 1939
   Enlarge
   Great Synagogue before 1939

Business and commerce

   Warsaw, especially its downtown ( Śródmieście), is home not only to
   many national institutions and government agencies, but also to many
   domestic and international companies. In 2003, 268,307 companies were
   registered in the city. Warsaw is seen as the heart of Poland by
   foreign investors, whose financial participation in the city's
   development was estimated in 2002 at over 650 million euro. Warsaw
   produces more than 15% of Poland's national income. The GDP (PPP) per
   capita in Warsaw was about $28,000 in 2005.

   At the same time the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in Poland,
   not exceeding 6%, according to the official figures.

   The city itself collects around 8,740,882,000 złotys in taxes and
   direct government grants.

   It has been said that Warsaw, together with Frankfurt, London and
   Paris, is one of the tallest cities in Europe. 11 tallest skyscrapers
   of Poland, 9 of which are office buildings, are located in Warsaw. The
   centrally located tallest structure, the Palace of Culture and Science,
   is the 4th tallest building in the European Union.

Stock exchange

   Although Warsaw was home to a stock exchange since 1817, in 1945,
   because of political changes after World War II, it could not be
   recreated. It only started operating again in April 1991, after the
   reintroduction of the free-market economy and democracy. It is now the
   biggest stock exchange in the country, with more than 250 companies
   listed. The main indexes of its performance are WIG and WIG20.

   History likes funny twists — it's worth mentioning that from 1991 until
   2000 the Warsaw Stock Exchange was situated in the building previously
   used as the headquarters of the Polish Communist Party ( PZPR).

Industry

   Following the destruction of the city in World War II and its
   reconstruction, the communist authorities decided that Warsaw be
   rebuilt as a major industrial centre. Several hundred major factories
   were built in the city or just outside of it. Most notable were the
   Huta Warszawa Steel Works and two car factories.

   However, as the communist economical system deteriorated, most of them
   lost any significance. In the years following 1989, in the course of a
   peaceful transformation of both political and economical system in
   Poland, most of these went bankrupt. Nowadays, the Lucchini-Warszawa
   Steel Mill (formerly Huta Warszawa) is the only major factory
   remaining.

Tourist attractions

   Aleksander Church before 1939
   Enlarge
   Aleksander Church before 1939
     * Although Warsaw is a reasonably new city, it has a lot of tourist
       attractions. Apart from the Old Town quarter, carefully
       reconstructed after World War II, each borough has something to
       offer. Among the most notable landmarks of the Old Town are the
       Royal Castle, King Zygmunt's Column, and the barbican.

     * Further south is the so-called Royal Road, with lots of notable
       classicist palaces, the Presidential Palace and the Warsaw
       University campus. Also the popular Nowy Świat Street is worth
       mentioning.

     * Warsaw's oldest public park, the Ogród Saski, is located within 10
       minutes distance of the old town. Another such oasis of silence and
       serenity is the Powązki Cemetery, one of the oldest cemeteries in
       Europe, filled with hundreds of precious sculptures, some of them
       by the most renowned artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Since
       it serves the religious communities of Warsaw, be it Catholics,
       Jews, Muslims or Protestants, it is often called a necropolis.
       Nearby is the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery, one of the largest
       Jewish cemeteries in Europe.

     * To the north of the city centre the museum of the former Warsaw
       Ghetto is located, which is also a popular locality often visited
       by foreign tourists. Also the borough of Żoliborz is famous for its
       architecture from the 1920s and 1930s. Between Żoliborz and the
       Vistula the Warsaw Citadel is located, a priceless monument of 19th
       century military architecture. Also the former royal residencec of
       king Jan III Sobieski in Wilanów and Belweder are notable for their
       baroque architecture and beautiful parks.

     * However, Warsaw is perhaps the most famous for several buildings
       from modern history. Apart from the Palace of Culture and Science,
       a Soc-realist skyscrapper located exactly in the city centre, the
       Stadion Dziesięciolecia which is the biggest market in Europe also
       attracts many tourists. For those who seek dramatic contrasts the
       borough of Central Praga is often the best choice. Called by the
       Varsovians the Bermuda Triangle for high crime rate, it is a place
       where almost completely demolished houses stand right next to
       modern apartment buildings and shopping malls. Also a Constitution
       square with its monumental socrealistic architecture should be
       mentioned.

   Palace of Culture and Science
   Enlarge
   Palace of Culture and Science
     * Ulica Kubusia Puchatka is a Warsaw street named after
       Winnie-the-Pooh.

     * The modern architecture in Warsaw is represented by:
          + Metropolitan at Pilsudski's square by sir Norman Foster
          + Warsaw University Library (BUW) by Marek Budzyński and
            Zbigniew Badowski with a garden on the roof and beautiful viev
            on the Vistula river
          + Rondo 1 office building by SOM

Trivia

     * Every member of the Queen's Royal Hussars of the United Kingdom
       light cavalry wears the Maid of Warsaw, the crest of the City of
       Warsaw, on the left sleeve of his No. 2 (Service) Dress.
     * One of David Bowie’s songs released in the album Low is called
       Warszawa.
     * One of Joy Division’s songs released in the album Substance is
       called Warsaw. The band itself was previously called "Warsaw" as
       well.
     * There is a Danish heavy metal band called Red Warszawa.
     * There are ten towns in the USA called Warsaw

Famous people

   Seated statue of Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik) by Bertel
   Thorvaldsen in front of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
   Enlarge
   Seated statue of Nicolaus Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik) by Bertel
   Thorvaldsen in front of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
   Bristol Hotel
   Enlarge
   Bristol Hotel

   People born in Warsaw who are famous:
     * Mordechai Anielewicz ( 1919– 1943?), commander of the Warsaw Ghetto
       Uprising
     * Eugeniusz Bodo ( 1899– 1943?), singer and actor
     * Zbigniew Brzeziński (b. 1928), political scientist, advisor to US
       President Jimmy Carter.
     * Fryderyk Chopin, ( 1810– 1849), the most renowned Polish composer
     * Maria Skłodowska-Curie, ( 1867– 1934), pioneer researcher into
       radioactivity, two-time Nobel Prize winner
     * Lucyna Ćwierczakiewiczowa ( 1829– 1901), the first Polish cookbook
       author
     * Abraham Joshua Heschel ( 1907- 1972), Jewish theologian and
       philosopher
     * Agnieszka Holland (b. 1948), internationally acclaimed film
       director
     * Adam Jarzębski (ca 1590-1649), composer and violinist, author of
       the first guide to Warsaw
     * Jacek Kaczmarski ( 1957– 2004), songwriter, poet and author
     * Ryszard Kapuściński (b. 1932), writer and journalist
     * Krzysztof Kieślowski ( 1941– 1996), internationally acclaimed film
       director
     * Krzysztof Komeda, ( 1931– 1969), free jazz pioneer, composer
     * Janusz Korczak (1878 or 1879-1942), writer, publicist, educator,
       children's rights advocate.
     * Ryszard Kukliński ( 1930– 2004), a CIA spy during the Cold War
     * Kazimierz Kuratowski ( 1896– 1980), mathematician
     * Janusz Kusociński ( 1907– 1940), athlete, champion at the 1932
       Summer Olympics
     * Tamara de Lempicka ( 1898– 1980), painter
     * Witold Lutosławski, ( 1913– 1994), composer
     * Benoît Mandelbrot (b. 1924), mathematician and creator of
       Mandelbrot set
     * Icchok Lejb Perec ( 1851- 1915), Yiddish novelist, poet and
       playwright
     * Bolesław Prus ( 1847- 1912), novelist
     * Władysław Reymont ( 1867– 1925), novelist, Nobel Prize winner
     * Jerzy Rybicki (b. 1953), boxer, champion at the 1976 Summer
       Olympics
     * Wacław Sierpiński ( 1882– 1969), mathematician
     * Stefan Starzyński ( 1893– 1943?), heroic mayor of Warsaw, 1934–
       1939, murdered by the Nazis.
     * Stanisław Staszic ( 1755– 1826) clergyman, writer, publicist,
       translator, philosopher and Enlightenment activist;
     * Władysław Szpilman, ( 1911– 2000), composer and author of The
       Pianist
     * Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz aka Witkacy ( 1885– 1939), writer and
       painter
     * Janusz A. Zajdel ( 1938– 1995), science-fiction writer
     * L.L. Zamenhof, ( 1859- 1917), creator of the international language
       Esperanto

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