Warsaw

I

Introduction

Warsaw (Pol., Warszawa), largest city and capital of Poland, central Poland, on the Wisła River. It is the capital of Mazowieckie Province and at the centre of rail and road networks that connect it with all parts of Poland and with other major European cities. Population 1,687,600 (2005 estimate).

II

Economy

Although 90 per cent of the industry of Warsaw was destroyed in World War II, the rebuilt industrial region of the city has numerous enterprises. The principal industries are printing, publishing, and the manufacture of motor vehicles, electronic products, steel and other metals, textiles, non-electrical machinery, motorcycles, chemicals, tobacco products, processed food, and furniture.

III

Places of Interest

Warsaw was for centuries the political and cultural centre of Poland. Almost totally destroyed during World War II, the city has been rebuilt and its area greatly extended. The Old City, which has been restored and, in 1980, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, centres on the medieval market square, situated near the river and surrounded by Renaissance and Baroque houses. To the south of the square is the Barbican, a relic of the medieval fortifications. Farther south, on an island in Łazienki Park, is the Palace on the Water, built in the 18th century as the summer palace of Stanislas II Augustus, the last king of Poland. Łazienki Park is also the site of a monument to the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. To the north, west, and south of the Old City, wide, tree-lined avenues, large modern apartment buildings, shopping plazas, and parks have been built since 1945.

Warsaw has many historic churches, notably the 14th-century Gothic cathedral of St John and the reconstructed 16th-century church of the Holy Cross. Other outstanding buildings include the modern Palace of Culture and Science and the 19th-century Grand Theatre, devoted to opera and ballet. Monuments to famous men and events in Polish history include those to Sigismund III Vasa, the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, and the poet Adam Mickiewicz. Two other monuments are dedicated, respectively, to the heroes of the Warsaw ghetto and of the Polish underground during World War II.

Warsaw has about 30 museums and numerous art galleries. The National Museum has a notable exhibit of antique Nubian paintings from Africa and a collection of Polish art from the 14th to the 20th century. Cultural activities include an annual international book fair, the international Frédéric Chopin piano competition, held every five years, and the annual contemporary music festival, the Warsaw Autumn. Educational facilities include the University of Warsaw (1818), more than 10 other institutions of higher education, and some 35 research institutes.

IV

History

Warsaw grew, in the early 14th century, around the castle of the dukes of Masovia. In 1595, after the burning of Kraków, it became the capital of the Polish Kingdom. Occupied several times by Sweden and Russia, the city passed to Prussia in 1795. Napoleon made it the capital of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw in 1807. From 1813 until its occupation by Germany in 1915, Warsaw was under Russian control. In 1918 it became the capital of the newly restored Polish state.

On September 1, 1939, as World War II began, Warsaw received the first German air raid on a major city. After countless bombing and artillery attacks, the German armies captured the city on September 27. Throughout the war, the Polish capital was not only the headquarters of the German occupying authorities but also the centre of the Polish underground. In the next four years, the Germans carried out a calculated plan to annihilate the city. Some 500,000 Jews were the first victims. They were herded into a walled ghetto of less than 2.6 sq km (1 sq mi). Between July 22 and October 3, 1942, more than 300,000 inhabitants of the ghetto were sent to concentration camps and killed. In April 1943, German troops attacked the ghetto, and the 40,000 remaining Jews were killed after a heroic resistance that lasted for three weeks.

On August 1, 1944, as Soviet armies neared the city, the citizens of Warsaw rose against the Germans and fought for 63 days before they were finally defeated. After the uprising, German troops killed or deported most of the remaining population. Then special forces carried out a systematic destruction of the city razing about 85 per cent of buildings to the ground. Warsaw was liberated by Soviet and Polish troops in January 1945. After the war, the city was rebuilt, with the aid of gifts from other countries. Where possible, the original plans were followed in the reconstruction of historic buildings and districts. Of a pre-war population of more than 1 million, only some 162,000 survived the war, living in Praga east of the river and in the western suburbs.