The Polish shrine which was pledged to be constructed two days after adopting the first European constitution

The modern building environment has produced typically accelerated construction periods for architectural projects. Today, the majority is constructed within 3-5 years of project commencement. However, history shows that many high profile construction projects haven’t been so quick to complete. York Minster Cathedral, York, UK took 252 years to finish, Chicken Itza, Yucatán State, Mexico – 400 years, Petra, Jordan –  450 years, Stonehenge, Wiltshire, England – 1,600 years, The Great Wall, China – 2,000 years. Among them are Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain which has been in the making since 1882 and the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw, Poland which story of construction began in the 18th century.

A votive offering for the first European and world`s second constitution

The Temple is meant to be a national and religious symbol for Poland. The Divine Providence complex comprises a Church of Divine Providence, emerging Museum of John Paul II, the Pope and Primate Stefan Wyszyński, often called the Primate of the Millennium, and a Pantheon of Great Poles.

The history of the Temple of Divine Providence stretches back over 200 years and it is associated with Poland’s first Constitution of May 3rd, 1791 being the first European and world`s second Government Act. Two days after passing the constitution, members of Parliament (Great Seym) adopted a resolution that a temple should be built as a votive offering. However, Poland’s turbulent history got in the way.

Began in 1791, finished in 2016

The story starts in 1791, 226 years ago. The church was pledged to construct by the will of Stanisław August Poniatowski, the King of Poland and in virtue of the resolution of the Four-Year (Great) Seym as thanksgiving for the adoption of the country’s first Constitution. Therefore a church was meant to be “ex voto of all estates dedicated to the highest Providence.” It was to be an expression of gratitude to “the Highest Ruler of the fate of nations” for the adoption of the constitution.

The celebration of laying the cornerstone of the planned shrine in Ujazdów was held on the first anniversary of the constitution. King Stanisław August and the last Primate of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Archbishop Michał Jerzy Poniatowski, began the construction of the shrine. The monarch also accepted the design of his royal architect Jakub Kubicki, best known for designing Castle Square, The Kubicki Arcades at the Royal Castle and several buildings in Royal Łazienki in Warsaw. The Temple was to be built in the classicist style on the plan of a Greek cross. However, the Russian army attacked Poland, making construction impossible. Three years later Poland disappeared from the map of Europe. Only a small ruined chapel, in the Botanical Garden in Agrykola (Ujazdów), survived.

A building of the constructivist style with a tower that would resemble the skyscrapers of New York

The first area designated for construction was where the Botanical Garden stands today. Even now, there is a prototype of the temple on the grounds. Unfortunately, the construction plans were first thwarted by the war with Russia, and later by Poland’s loss of independence.

After Poland regained independence in 1918 the Seym of the restored Polish Republic II passed an act to build the shrine on March 17th, 1921. The Parliament decided that the state would cover the cost of the construction, which was to be 15 million old zlotys. The budget was also to finance a perpetual scholarship to order Masses celebrated in the intention of the Homeland and for the souls of all Poles who died for the country. However, financial difficulties and inflation did not allow the young state to bear such costs. The Committee on Commemorating Marshal Józef Piłsudski, created after his death, chaired by Ignacy Mościcki, President of Poland decided to carry out the project. The Shrine of Divine Providence was to be built in the fields of Mokotów. The Committee announced a tender and chose design of Bohdan Pniewski, mostly known as a designer of state buildings in pre-war and post-war Poland. He proposed an edifice of the constructivist style with a tower that would resemble the skyscrapers of New York. However, the start date was constantly postponed. Finally, it was settled in 1939, the year in which Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland, starting WWII.

“The vows the Polish nation made 200 years ago should be fulfilled”

The project could have not been realised during the war. The post-war communist Polish People’s Republic did not continue with the project. Following the fall of communism in 1989, the Primate of Poland Cardinal Józef Glemp revived the idea of the shrine in the late 1990s. The Seym on October 23rd, 1998 adopted, by a decisive majority, an act to construct the National Temple of Divine Providence. The resolution said that “the Seym of the Third Republic of Poland thinks that the vows the Polish nation made 200 years ago should be fulfilled” and the shrine would be “a votive church of the nation for the Constitution of  May 3rd, the regained independence in 1989, for twenty years of John Paul II’s pontificate and two thousand years of Christianity.”

Thanksgiving for which the Poles have waited 200 years

John Paul II supported the construction of the Temple. In his pilgrimage to Poland in 1999, during the celebration in Pilsudski Square, he blessed the cornerstone, which was embedded at the position of the future altar. He said, “May this shrine become a place of special thanksgiving for freedom of the Homeland. I pray that no painful experience would disturb this thanksgiving for which we have waited 200 years.” The Pope prayed for the construction and provided financial help. The shrine is located in Wilanów, the end of the historic Royal Route.

“The Temple was funded by nearly 100,000 donors, who strongly felt the duty to fulfill this historic promise given by the Polish nation.”

The construction was commenced three times and for the third time it started to take its actual shape.

In 2002 that the foundation stone was set and the building of the Temple of Divine Providence in the fields of Wilanów finally started. However, the public financial support was withheld. Thus, the Temple was built exclusively from many small private donations. “The Temple was funded by nearly 100,000 donors, who strongly felt the duty to fulfill this historic promise given by the Polish nation. Although it was not easy, these people continued with determination what Primate Józef Glemp initiated at the turn of the century,” said Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, Archbishop of Warsaw on the day of inauguration of the Temple.

The form of a Greek cross

In January 2002, the Primate chose the final design of the temple by the architects’ team directed by Wojciech and Lech Szymborski, with an estimated cost of around 40 million Euros. This sum was met to a large extent through mentioned private donations and co-financed by a state budget. The building is based on an 84 m x 84 m base area in the form of a Greek cross – a cross with four equal length arms, with four gates, a dome and a cross. The building is around 75 metres tall overall. 26 columns are arranged in a circle to form the nave of the church which has a 68 m diameter.

A funeral site for important Poles

The Pantheon of Great Poles is an underground part of the Temple of Divine Providence in Warsaw and it will be a part of a Centre of Divine Providence where  the shrine belongs to. This is a funeral site for important Poles. As of today, in the basement, there are already the tomb of priest Jan Twardowski, a famous Polish poet, representative of contemporary religious lyrics, the tomb of the last President of Poland in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski, the altar and relics of Saint John Paul II (a replica of his tomb in St. Peter’s Basilica), relics of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko, Polish priest and martyr, Zdzisław Peszkowski, a chaplain for the Katyń Families Association, and the Murdered in the East, and a prisoner in Kozelsk, and Krzysztof Skubiszewski, Minister of Foreign Affairs and an established scholar in the field of international law.

***

After 13 years of struggling construction, the Temple has finally opened on November 11th, 2016, Poland’s Independence Day, by Cardinal Kazimierz Nycz, the archbishop of Warsaw. The ceremony was attended by President of Poland, Prime Minister, speakers of both houses of parliament and many politicians. The official opening does not mean that the whole construction work is complete, as some finishing touches are still needed.

The text has been previously published at http://www.communications-unlimited.nl/the-polish-shrine-which-was-pledged-to-be-constructed-two-days-after-adopting-the-first-european-constitution/

Tomb of the last President of Poland in exile Ryszard Kaczorowski

The lower chapel of the temple

The Pope John Paul II

Kraków`s Jewish Quarter among the world famous districts

Kazimierz district has become newly fashionable in the recent decade. With its mushrooming cafes and nightlife spots, it has become Kraków’s equivalent of London’s Soho, Paris’ Quartier Latin, and New York’s Village. Kazimierz district’s recreated Jewish past and newborn reputation as a haven of artists and the youth have made the rundown area near the Old Town trendy among tourists and the locals alike.

Worldwide exposure through the lens of Steven Spielberg

Well-known for its associations with Schindler and Spielberg, Kazimierz was the centre of Jewish life in Kraków for over 500 years. During WWII the Nazi Germany was systematically destroying the Jewish Quarter and the communist regime “stuck the course” making that one of Kraków’s dodgiest districts. Rediscovered in the 1990s, thanks to the fall of the system and worldwide exposure through the lens of Steven Spielberg on “Schindler`s List” movie, Kazimierz has rebounded and today it`s Kraków’s most exciting district – a bustling, bohemian neighbourhood packed with numerous cosy art cafes, galleries and antique shops, paved street and monuments of Jewish culture which draw tourists with a magnetic force.

The return of contemporary Jewish culture

In fact, no other place in Europe conveys a sense of pre-war Jewish culture on the continent better than Kazimierz. Traces of its Jewish history have not only survived, but literally abound in the form of the district’s numerous synagogues and Jewish cemeteries. As a result, the district has become a major tourist draw and pilgrimage site for Jews, which has led to the return of contemporary Jewish culture in the area.

Famous academy throughout medieval Europe

Three early medieval settlements are known to have existed on the island defining Kazimierz. The most important of these was the pre-Christian Slavic shrine at Skałka (“the little rock”) at the western, upstream tip of the island. This site, with its sacred pool, was later Christianised as the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in the 11th century and was the legendary site of the martyrdom of St. Stanisław. There was a nearby noble manor complex to the southeast and an important cattle-market town of Bawół (buffalo), possibly based on an old tribal Slavic borough, at the edges of the habitable land near the swamps that composed the eastern, downstream end of the island. There was also a much smaller island upstream of Kazimierz known as the “Tatar Island” after the Tatar cemetery there. This smaller island has since washed away.

In the beginning of the 14th century, Kraków`s inhabitants led a popular rebellion against King Ladislas the Short. In order to avoid similar events from occurring in the future, the next king of Poland, Casimir the Great, founded a separate town located on a large island on the Vistula River in 1335, which was to take over as Poland’s capital.

It was there that the Kraków`s Academy which was to become famous throughout medieval Europe (today known as the Jagiellonian University) as well as splendid churches which still stun with rich ornamentation were erected. Yet with time, the king’s wrath with the Kraków`s inhabitants diminished, and as it also turned out that Kazimierz is threatened with frequent flooding, the investments were halted. Even if Hartmann Schedl’s 1493 “The Chronicle of the World” portrays the quarter as impressively as the town of Krakow, in reality it was much more modest.

A model of every Eastern European shtetl

At the end of 15^th century King Jan I Olbracht transferred Kraków`s Jews to the nearby royal city of Kazimierz, which gave rise to its once bustling Jewish quarter and a major European centre of the Diaspora for the next three centuries. With time it turned into virtually separate and self-governed 34-acre Jewish Town, a model of every Eastern European “shtetl”, within the limits of the gentile city of Kazimierz. As refugees from all over Europe kept coming to find the safe haven here, its population reached 4,500 by 1630.

One of the most influential Polish towns during the Middle Ages

The construction of Kazimierz was never completed and the quarter was not so attractive, which, paradoxically, was to become a reason for its future glory. When in 1495 Jews were prohibited to settle within the Kraków city walls, they began to move to Kazimierz. They took over a fifth of the town’s surface, and in this way, Europe’s only Jewish-governed town of the time was created, surrounded by city walls and endowed with its own government, subject only to the King’s power.

Awarded its Magdeburg Rights, which allowed markets to be held on what is now Pl. Wolnica, Kazimierz prospered and became one of the most influential Polish towns during the Middle Ages. By the 17th century Jewish life was flourishing and numerous synagogues had been constructed when the plague hit in 1651. Four years later Kazimierz was ransacked by Swedish invaders, famine, floods and anti-Jewish riots followed in quick succession, and a mass migration to Warsaw began, leaving the once vibrant Kazimierz a shadow of its former self.

Saved by Oskar Schindler

For centuries, Kazimierz remained an independent town and was only joined with Kraków at the end of the 18th century. In 1796 Kraków came under Austrian control. Ironically this would bring about the area’s rebirth as the Austrians worked hard to redevelop the city: the streets were cobbled, the crumbling defensive walls were torn down, the first gas lamps were illuminated in 1857, and the suburb had a power station by 1905.

The Austrian authorities allowed Jews to settle anywhere in Kazimierz, and eventually also in Kraków. Soon, the wealthier members of the Jewry moved to the town centre, and Kazimierz remained the quarter of the poor, resulting in its unique atmosphere.

By 1910 the Jewish population stood at 32,000, a figure that was to nearly double during the inter-war years. This, as we know, would come to a dramatic end with the Nazi occupation of Kraków and Hitler’s systematic extermination of the Jews of Europe. Herded across the river to a ghetto in Podgórze, Kraków’s Jews met their end there, in Płaszów, or Bełżec primarily. A mere 3-5,000 survived the Holocaust, a large proportion of them saved by Oskar Schindler.

A movie that would put Kazimierz on the world map and irrevocably change its fortunes

Although 5,000 Jews were registered as living in Kraków in 1950 any hopes of rekindling the past soon vanished. The anti-Zionist policies of the post-war communist authorities sparked waves of emigration to Israel, and by the 1970s signs of Jewish life had all but disappeared and the area had become a bandit suburb. The fall of communism in 1989 sparked new hope, however; investment began trickling in, 1988 saw the first Jewish Festival take place, and five years later the Judaica Foundation was opened. That was also the year Spielberg arrived to film “Schindler’s List”, a movie that would put Kazimierz on the world map and irrevocably change its fortunes. Today a visit to Kazimierz ranks just as high on itineraries as a trip to Wawel, illustrating the historical importance and public regard the area possesses. No visit to Krakow would be complete without a tour of Kazimierz.

The quarter lives a real “golden age” now rather than under the reign of Casimir the Great

Nowadays, as many centuries ago, Kazimierz is once again a meeting place between nations and cultures. Kraków`s inhabitants decided to renovate the quarter, thus saving a part of the national and European heritage. Kazimierz’s glory began to be recreated dynamically and the quarter started to attract tourist from all over the world. It almost seems that the quarter lives a real “golden age” now rather than under the reign of Casimir the Great or in the splendid Jagiellonian times. Kazimierz was never so well off and so admired.

The most famous cultural event which takes place here is an internationally renowned Jewish Culture Festival − each year attracts thousands of participants from all over the world. During the festival days streets of Kazimierz are full of multilingual talks, klezmer music and concerts − people dance and sing together.

Unique on a global scale

An urban complex of the former Jewish settlement which existed there from the end of the 15th century until the beginning of the 19th century, unique on a global scale, have been preserved. The most important elements of this complex are the historical Old, New (Remuh) with the adjacent cemetery, High, Popper, Izaak and Kupa synagogues.

The latest-built and the easternmost of all the two-nave synagogues built in the Middle Ages in Europe

The Old Synagogue is not only the most valuable monument of Jewish sacral architecture, but also the cradle and bastion of traditional culture of Kraków`s Jews. It is also a good place for a museum exhibit about itself, named aptly for the subject it touches on, The Bastion of Tradition.

The Old Synagogue, build ca. the mid–1480s by Jews leaving Kraków, which was inhospitable to them at the time. It is the latest-built and the easternmost of all the two-nave synagogues built in the Middle Ages in Europe.

The original building was rebuilt in 1570 under the watchful eye of an Italian architect Mateo Gucci. The rebuilding included the attic wall with loopholes, windows placed far above ground level, and thick, masonry walls with heavy buttressing to withstand siege, all features borrowed from military architecture. The Old synagogue is a rare, surviving example of a Polish Fortress synagogue.

The synagogue was completely devastated and ransacked by the Germans during WWII. Its artwork and Jewish relics, looted. During the occupation, the synagogue was used as a magazine. In 1943, 30 Polish hostages were executed at its wall. The Old Synagogue was renovated from 1956 to 1959 and currently operates as a museum. It is a Division of the Historical Museum of Kraków, with particular focus on Kraków’s Jews. The exhibits are divided into themes dealing with birth, prayer rituals, diet, divorce and death. The beautiful women’s prayer room, which dates from the 17th century, is often used to hold temporary exhibitions.

One of Europe’s most interesting graveyards

Remuh cemetery by the Remuh Synagogue was named after the nickname of famous 16th-century rabbi and religious writer Moses Isserles. Even today pious Jews keep coming to pray at his grave and the graves of their other great men who were buried there. The cemetery was used from 1551 to 1800. Its hundreds old tombstones, dating mostly from the Renaissance, as well as its history and surroundings make the Remuh Cemetery one of Europe’s most interesting.

A booming centre of Jewish culture

The newest of the synagogues in Kazimierz, this was built in the second half of the19th century by the Association of Progressive Israelites. Services were delivered there in Polish and German, changes were introduced to the liturgy, which raised protests among Orthodox Jews. The interior of the synagogue has been renovated by the World Monuments Fund. The women’s gallery and the ceiling are richly adorned with stuccoes and frescoes in an Oriental-Moorish style. The fine 19th-century stained glass windows on the ground floor and the upper floor add to the charms of the synagogue interior.

Tempel Synagogue is not only a major place of worship, but also a booming centre of Jewish culture, which hosts numerous concerts and meetings, especially during the Festival.

Kupa means “fund”

The Synagogue was founded in 1643 by the Kazimierz Jewish district’s kehilla (a municipal form of self-government), as a foundation of the local qahal (a theocratic organizational structure in ancient Israelite society according to the Masoretic Text of the Bible). That`s why it is called Kupa, as the word means “fund”. A contribution of 200 zlotys by the Jewish goldsmiths’ guild helped to bring the construction to its successful completion. The Synagogue was built in a baroque style with a square prayer hall inside. The building underwent many renovations throughout the centuries. In the 19th century it was repeatedly extended: first in the wake of the construction of Miodowa street. At that time a garden was designed between the street and the synagogue wall, and a storeyed wing and a balcony were built leading to the women’s area. Conservation and renewal works were also carried out between the two world wars. The interior was decorated with new paintings, and the entire building was surrounded with decorative fencing.

During the German occupation the synagogue was devastated. The bimah (the raised roofed podium in the centre of the synagogue) was entirely destroyed, and so was the platform with stairs and kantor’s pulpit in front of the Aron Kodesh. The movable furnishing was also lost.

For a number of years after the war, the synagogue again assembled a congregation for prayer. It also performed other functions, as it housed a matza producer and a ritual slaughterhouse for poultry. Moreover, Jewish families who arrived in Kraków from the USSR after 1945 lived in the wing. The synagogue was also used by a production cooperative. Today, after a thorough renovation supervised by heritage preservation services, it is a place of meetings, concerts, and exhibitions conducted primarily as part of the Jewish Culture Festival. It is also the main synagogue of the Jewish community of Kraków.

***

A Jewish world without Kazimierz would be as empty as a body without a soul. In a different time, in a different Kazimierz, one of the greatest Jewish scholars to ever live said: “the aim of man is to search for the cause and the meaning of things”. Kazimierz is an enchanting place, and a place to reflect on what has gone before us. That`s why it is a “must-see” place.

!להתראות בקרוב [Lehitraot be-karow!]

See you soon!

By Agata Szostkowska

Photos: Michał Stanisławski

The text has been previously published at http://www.communications-unlimited.nl/krakows-jewish-quarter-among-the-world-famous-districts/#prettyPhoto

Warsaw’s Prague picked among Europe’s hippest districts

Gritty. Bo-ho. Up-and-coming. There are a lot of terms being tossed around to describe Prague (Praga), the eastern district of Warsaw and they’re all fairly apt. Also award-winning lifestyle website theculturetrip.com has picked that borough among Europe’s hippest districts. The website homed in on 11 other European hotspots, including London’s hipster mecca Dalston, Amsterdam-Noord, Berlin’s Kreuzberg and Gracia in Barcelona.

Warsaw’s wild side

Praga, which evaded the destruction meted out to most of the city during WWII, was nevertheless regarded as somewhat beyond the pale until a decade ago. The area used to be Warsaw’s hottest district for all the wrong reasons. It has long been regarded as off-limits to Western visitors thanks to its criminal underclass and imposing tower blocks. Some Varsovians still think that a night out in Prague is a bit too edgy for comfort, remembering the days when the neighbourhood’s soaring crime rate earned it the nickname “the Bermuda Triangle”. For decades, it was home to the poorest of Warsaw’s poor, and the derelict streets were ruled by the criminal underworld. That`s how times have changed. The eastern area hugging the Vistula river has blossomed into one of Europe’s creative hubs with many of its abandoned warehouses and disused factories being transformed into hip bars, clubs, restaurants and art spaces. Today, the district attracts young crowds of boho-types who rightly acknowledge that this up-and-coming district is where the pulse of Warsaw can really be found.

Prague is worth visiting especially if you prefer to see the city’s artsy underbelly and get away from the beaten tracks of Old Town. The borough is still at least five years away from being hipster-soaked Brooklyn or Boho Montmartre, but that’s exactly why now is the time to go: you will see the evolution in progress.

Where Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Jews lived together peacefully

Since 1432 until 1791 Prague was a separate city, attached to Warsaw in the late 18th century. You can still find many original pre-war apartment blocks, pavements and lampposts dotting the district. This was also once a neighbourhood of rich cultural diversity where Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Jews lived together peacefully and throughout the district there are traces of several beautiful places of worship, some still in existence.

Even as the cities of Warsaw and Prague developed during the Renaissance,

… no permanent bridge was ever built between them…

communication was by ferry or by crossing the ice in winter. There are still the elegant, Greek-temple-styled Water Chamber on Kłopotowskiego street, with its bas-relief of Neptune and his horse-drawn chariot, where the toll service for water crossings was managed. The first permanent bridge called Kierbedź Bridge was built in 1864.

There are the only remaining traces of Renaissance Prague on Ratuszowa Street, where the Church of Our Lady of Loreto stands. It was built in the first half of the 17th century, a pink cake-like structure with thick, squat towers framing its Greek temple-styled front face.

Genuinely antique and genuinely decrepit

The scene couldn’t have been more different from polished downtown Warsaw, where the almost total devastation of WWII has ensured that everything – including the “Old Town” – is brand new. Prague is both genuinely antique and genuinely decrepit. The beautiful old buildings are crumbling, rusting iron bars jut out from walls pitted by wartime bullets and the delicate art nouveau facades are thick with grime. But the streets themselves burst with life. This is a neighbourhood of small shops and street markets, where children play unattended in the alleys and every courtyard shelters an icon of the Virgin Mary.

After dark, Prague really shines. Its nightlife, weaving between the cutting-edge and the downright surreal, pulls in revellers from every corner of the city. The walls may be cracking, the furniture rarely matches and there’s a good chance the bartender is a volunteer, but for many, Prague’s bars and clubs fill a void left by Warsaw’s headlong race toward westernisation.

At The Fumes Of The Absurd

“W Oparach Absurdu” in English means “At The Fumes of The Absurd”. This is one of the most iconic bars in town. Owner Elzbieta Komorowska spent months hunting through antique shops and flea markets to decorate her wonderland, and the results are dizzying – religious icons, a plaster pig, Christmas ornaments and Persian carpets leave barely enough room for customers. But they pack them in all the same, and even manage to squeeze the occasional band on to a microscopic stage. There’s no cocktail menu, but be sure to sample Spider Drink, an eerie green-and-red mixture of banana, black currant and vodka that goes down too easily.

“Porto Praga”

“Porto Praga” is the neighbourhood’s most decisive foray into highbrow dining. Warsaw’s cultural elite flock here to enjoy dishes from around the world, from Spanish veal to Balinese tuna tartar, as well as a raft of imaginative cocktails with names like “Strawberry Cheesecake.” Tucked into the last remnants of a 200-year-old steam mill, the restaurant’s interior has been fitted out with art nouveau elegance that provides a stark contrast to the rough tenements outside.

“Skład Butelek”

With a name that translates as “Bottle Warehouse”, Skład is housed in the bowels of a 1913 rubber factory. The bar’s mish-mash of old furniture, candle-lit corners and gregarious bar staff attract those looking to get as far away as possible from the gleam and glitz of central Warsaw.

“M25”

This post-industrial complex hosts big names in techno and electro music, and is reminiscent of the warehouse techno clubs of Berlin.

“11 Listopada no. 22”

This address is home to several bars tucked into a small courtyard. Compared to clubs in the centre of Warsaw, these retro places are much cheaper and charge little or no fee for entry, so understandably their biggest clients are students. Located there are “Hydrozagadka”, “Saturator”, “Zwiążmnie”, and “Skład Butelek”.

“Sen Pszczoły”

The “Bee’s Dream” is a quirky two-floor club, bar, and beer garden where the toilets are in elevators and a bathtub sits lonely amongst the picnic tables outside. Summertime is best for a visit to “Sen”, the beer garden will be in full swing, the outdoor cinema will likely be screening a bizarre foreign film, and the staff will be grilling up sausages and veggies. You can soak up all the vodka for under the equivalent of 3 euro.

Ząbkowska Street

One of the main streets of old Prague, the oldest buildings are from the 19th century. Also one of the prominent landmarks in Warsaw, Zabkowska Street extends from the crossing point of Radzymińska Street and Kawęczyńska Street to Targowa Street. This pretty street has a magical ambience and is flocked by locals and tourists from across the world.

For many people this place is “The Prague Old Town”. Walking along Ząbkowska we can see how the Prague architecture evolved from the second half of the 19th century to now. The oldest surviving house on this street is a small ground-floor house (No. 14), which is from 1866. The house at No. 7 is from 1880 (though it has been restored) and is considered by many to be the most beautiful house of Ząbkowska Street. At No. 2 there is one of the most recognisable buildings in Prague – it’s a four-floor, renovated house, which dates from 1914.

This charming street has a cobbled surface which is why it is also referred to as the Cobbled Street.

The area where Markowska Street and Targowa Street meet housed the Zabkowskie turnpikes from 1770 to 1889. This is where fees were charged for merchants coming from the eastern cities, Bialystok and Grodno. When Szmulowizna (now a part of Prague which has got very bad reputation) was added to Warsaw, the turnpikes were wound up. In 1897, the place where turnpikes used to be was converted to an alcoholic plant which exists even now.

Do not miss out the old, dilapidated house that refused to be grazed down in spite of numerous efforts. The occupants of the terrible looking house were evicted in 1990 and it was only in 1999 that it was successfully demolished. Visit this charming street and enjoy the unique and interesting ambience here.

“Koneser” – old vodka factory

“Koneser” is situated at the heart of Ząbkowska Street. This is a complex of red brick buildings from the late 19th century, in which, for over a hundred years, an alcohol factory was located. It is one of the most valuable examples of industrial architecture, as some of the buildings are inspired by Gothic influences (the front gate often makes visitors think of a castle with a small turret).

This immense complex may look like the set of a Gothic horror film, but inside the old Koneser vodka distillery is a hive of creative activity. Two art galleries now call it a home, as well as a restaurant, a performance space and a small “design” shop selling everything from inflatable chandeliers to porcelain Wellington boots. A collection of wooden pallets out back morphs into an open-air cinema on summer evenings, where young Pragans nestle into fluffy cushions to watch art-house flicks projected on a brick wall.

The recipes of the products being made at the factory date back to the 1920s, and involve some of the best Polish vodkas: “Wyborowa” and “Żubrówka”. Other famous alcoholic products you should try are the lemon and grapefruit flavored vodkas (“Cytrynówka” and “Grejpfrutowka”) as well as the “Klubowy” brandy.

“Fabryka Trzciny” Art Centre

This is the city’s famous private art centre. Housed in a former factory from 1916, which used to produce marmalade, sausages and “pepegi” (a kind of “socialist trainer”). Today, the center consists of, among other things, an auditorium, a meeting room, a theatre and an exhibition halls, spaces used for film festivals, fashion shows, symposiums, conferences, training sessions and events organised for special occasions. This unusual venue is known for its avant-garde style, mixed with tradition and aspects of the original old factory.

The designers found ingenious ways to preserve the factory’s industrial character, and today you can sip cocktails in the “Stove Room,” dominated by an enormous brick stove squatting in the corner, and dance between walls covered in plugs, pressure gauges, rusted pipes and glowing glass bottles. Bands from around the world play here, and the parties go on until dawn.

The Soho Factory

The Soho Factory aspires to create in Warsaw a space for the artistic evolution of an industrial area, outside of the artificial context of a museum, modeled after New York City’s Soho. The project initiated by the Artanimacje association aims to revitalize and aesthetically transform Warsaw’s Prague quarter by introducing different projects such as the Soho Factory. The place hosts educational workshops, performance art exhibitions, music concerts, and other vibrant cultural events.

Różycki Bazaar (Bazar Różyckiego)

Bazar Różyckiego is the oldest existing market in the city. It was established in the 19th century and founded by Julian Różycki, who was a pharmacist and owner of several pharmacies. The bazaar was constructed in order to be a major trading center in Prague, originally it had seven indoor stalls.

This market played a big social role during WWII and its aftermath, providing people with ammunition and medical equipment. It was also one of the few places where Warsaw residents could buy goods, derived – with a bit of cunning and quite a lot of danger – from the German transport vehicles and stores.

After the war the bazaar really flourished. One could buy goods unavailable in state stores, which in the communist times, were often empty anyway.

Nowadays, around 300 sellers run their businesses at the market, offering various products such as clothes, food, and accessories. In 2008 the market ceased to be publicly owned and was returned to its original owners, the Różycki family.

Former Jewish bathhouse

This small building with a facade of red brick was built between 1910-1914, and designed by Naum Horstein. It originally served as a mikvah, that is a Jewish ritual bath. Before the Sabbath and important religious holidays, Jews cleaned away any spiritual impurity in this ‘special pool’. After the war, many things stood in the building, including Office of the Central Committee of Polish Jews, and then a kindergarten and secondary school. Today the building is owned by the Jewish Community, and houses a multicultural high school, named after Jacek Kuroń.

During its renovation in 2009, in the building’s courtyard was found a perfectly preserved pool, which had been used to store rainwater.

Besides the building is a small square, which until 1961 was the Prague synagogue. On the instructions of the then-authorities the temple was destroyed and the ruins were turned into a small hill, and next to it was built a children’s playground.

Former Water Chamber

This is one of the oldest and most valuable buildings on the right-bank of Warsaw. It’s also called the House of Columns. Built and designed by Antonio Corazzi between 1824-1825, it was for the City Department of Bridges. The building was situated at the entrance to the boat bridge, which was used to cross to the other side of the Vistula River, and it was there that tolls were paid. The chamber performed this function until 1864, when the first permanent crossing of the Vistula River was built – the Kierbedź Bridge. On the building’s facade is a carved relief by Tomasz Accardi, which represents Neptune’s (the god of the sea) chariot drawn by fish-tailed horses, and surrounded by dolphins. Also interesting are the cast-iron plates documenting the record heights of the Vistula’s water levels in 1813, 1839 and 1844.

In 2007-2008 the building underwent a general overhaul, currently, it houses a branch of the Warsaw City Office.

Monument of the Prague Backyard Orchestra (Pomnik Praskiej Kapeli Podwórkowej)

Revealed in 2006, this monument presents a neighbourhood band from the days when such musicians roamed the courtyards of Warsaw, especially in the Prague neighbourhood, and played popular Warsaw tunes. The band consists of an accordion player, violinist, guitarist, drummer, and a banjo player. A small square with benches surrounds the monument, where one can rest and listen to music, including tunes from the pre-war years. Simply send an SMS to 7141 with the text KAPELA along with the track number in the body of the message (100 titles available, track list appears on the drum).

The influence of Napoleon

In addition to a vibrant cultural life, Prague also boasts many beautiful stretches of green parkland. One such spot worth visiting is Park Praski, just outside the Zoological Gardens. In the early 19th century, this area of Prague was razed by Napoleon in preparation for new fortifications. The influence of Napoleon didn’t last long, and by the mid-19th century, city authorities decided to do something more recreational with the space. Today you can wander along vast stretches of pleasant tree-lined lawns, or see an open-air concert at the park’s outdoor stage.

The “Green” Pearl Of Prague

Another pearl of Prague is Skaryszewski Park, a massive stretch of green in the southern part of the district that includes tennis courts, a sports stadium, a rose garden, a children’s playground, a small lake and two picturesque ponds. Unlike many other parks in the city (the royal Łazienki park for example) you can fully enjoy yourself. That means walking on the grass is OK and there are plenty of paths for runners and cyclists. The park is also something of an open-air art gallery, featuring several beautiful works of sculpture created before the war by up-and-coming artists of the time.

Warsaw`s Zoo

Warsaw`s Zoo is home to over 5000 animals from all around the world. The Zoological Garden is big attraction for kids but also for adults as there are some interesting stories for the latters, too. During the war the zoo director Jan Żabiński and his family hid over 200 Jews from the Nazis.

The garden was founded in the year 1928 to house native animals of Poland such as storks, brown bears and otters. There you can also find many exotic animal species such as the Rothschild giraffes, African elephants, gibbons, Indian rhinoceros, reptiles, birds and tropical fish.

Beach on the Vistula (Plaża nad Wisłą)

The Vistula is nowhere near safe enough for swimming, but there are a few river-side getaways, particularly on the wilder, undeveloped right bank, that can successfully trick us into thinking we’re on a sparkling beach – and the view onto downtown Warsaw can’t be beaten.

The beach is several hundred meters long, and open only during summer. It hosts loads of visitors due to numerous attractions: lawn chairs, wicker baskets, volleyball and badminton fields, and in the evening, concerts and DJ’s. There is also the undeniable added charm of being able to get an unparalleled view of the Old Town, in all its splendor. On the Vistula River there are four other beaches, located on the Cypel Czerniakowski and Wał Miedzeszyński Street, which runs level with Kryniczna Street, Poniatówka near National Stadium, Żoliborz beach (ul. Wybrzeże Gdyńskie 2).

National Stadium – Rondo Waszyngtona

The stadium has a seating capacity of 58,145 which makes it the largest association football arena in Poland. Its construction started in 2008 and finished in November 2011. It is located on the site of the former 10th-Anniversary Stadium, on Aleja Zieleniecka in Praga Południe district, near the city center. The National Stadium hosted the opening match (a group match), the 2 group matches, a quarterfinal, and the semifinal of the UEFA Euro 2012, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine. The stadium is equipped with a heated pitch, training pitch, façade lighting, and underground parking. It is a multipurpose venue able to host sporting events, concerts, cultural events, and conferences. The official stadium opening took place on 19 January 2012, and the first football match was played on 29 February 2012. The match between the Polish national football team and the Portuguese team ended with a 0–0 draw.

***

Prague is a perfect example of the change that’s taking place in the Warsaw of today – a city that’s prepared to revitalize traces of the old with currents of the new. The borough is still at least five years away from being hipster-soaked Brooklyn or Boho Montmartre but it`s closer and closer year by year. That`s why you must see the old Prague. It`s really worth visiting.

See you there!

The text was previously published at http://www.communications-unlimited.nl/warsaws-prague-picked-among-europes-hippest-districts/#prettyPhoto

A wall altar

Koneser: old vodka factory, a hive of creative activities

Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and Florian the Martyr – Minor Basilica

Former Water Chamber, now The Registry Office.

Former Jewish bathhouse, now multicultural high school, named after Jacek Kuroń, one of the democratic leaders of opposition in the People’s Republic of Poland.

Monument of the Prague Backyard Orchestra. There were backyard orchestras in Warsaw both before and after the war.

One of the Pragan murals which were very popular after the war. There are lots of wall paintings, remains of the past.