Warsaw is a city of monuments. You’ll can find top examples of Polish sculpture and statuary, along with very controversial artistic monuments. In the Śródmieście district alone there are several thousand memorials: plaques, texts and full-fledged sculptures. Usually monuments make us to recall some historical information. On plenty of streets we see posts, bronze statues, tall figures looking down on us. Yet there are others with which we can enjoy a dialogue. Let’s find monuments that break out from the acceptable canon, that expand our historical views beyond just remembering martyrdom. Let’s visit monuments that improve your mood, instead of evoking military events or tragedies long gone, and present a different focus, making us smile.
Text: Tomasz Fudala

The Egg, Joanna Rajkowska
Two meters tall, this song-thrush egg intrigues those walking by. Its blue color is made from rock dust, and the hand-crafted texture and black-crimson spots invite us closer. Inside, a hidden mechanism turns the egg’s shell into a sort of a speaker membrane. Put your ear to it, you’ll hear the squalling of a baby bird. Next to the sculpture is a puddle where pigeons like to bathe. This is just how a good monument works: you look around, starting to consider this symbol’s meaning in the surrounding city. It’s hard to imagine any urban environment without birds. Winged Varsovians accompany us everywhere, living in hedges, parks, trees and visiting us when we sit at a cafe. The Egg isn’t a typical statue dedicated to a particular individual, it’s more about the concept of coexistence of nature and the city. Without its ecological landscape, the city would be hostile like a desert. Without the Vistula, its sloping riverbanks or parks, it’s hard to even imagine Warsaw. Ratajkowska’s Egg reminds us that we aren’t alone in the city, we have our nonhuman neighbors. Her sculpture isn’t a typical monument, yet it fits in a series of the artist’s works that touch on the climate catastrophe. You can interpret it as a monument to the ecologically diverse world that’s changing before our eyes.
Plac Pięciu Rogów, at the Chmielna, Zgoda Szpitalna and Bracka Sts. intersection

Neurotics Monument: Oskar’s Puddle, Rafał Bujnowski
You can literally step into this monument on your way to Łazienki Park and the adjacent botanical garden. Don’t worry, no one will hold it against you. It’s dedicated to difficult emotional states. Maybe they also deserve a memorial in granite? When our comfort is disrupted by anxiety, worry, frustration or guilt, the artist Rafał Bujnowski suggests taking a gaze at ourselves in this round puddle. The monument’s dedicated to another artist: Oskar Dawicki. Bujnowski filled a basin carved in granite slabs with water. Art often touches very intimate aspects of our existence. Which can get pushed aside by mass culture and social media promoting views that healthy people are consumers. Artists remind us how our minds and bodies experience other states, as important as wellness, and they require our attention.
Ujazdowskie Ave., along the cycle path between Agrykola and the botanical garden.

Kazimierz Deyna Statue, Paweł Althamer with Rafał Żurek, Roman Stańczak, Julia “Matejka” Althamer and Brunon Althamer
One of the best known Polish football players of the 20th century, Kazimierz Deyna, jumps on the playing field, intending to shoot and score. He’s unstoppable, and his sculpture is raised on a pedestal, made to be dynamic. Deyna seems to float above the field that itself is reminiscent of a cloud. This sports legend played for Poland from 1968 to 1978 and had a successful career in the UK and the US. He became a symbol of Legia, the Warsaw football club where he played for over a decade. That’s why Warsaw is the place for his monument. Deyna is considered one of the best Polish players ever. The artist depicts him as a flat figure, literally going blurry from his pace on the field. In its colors and the way it’s made, the sculpture recalls works of American pop art. Deyna is a mass-culture character, and his statue standing in the Praga district is a part of a wider strategy by the artist of working in his own neighborhood and engaging the local community. He held workshops with people who face social exclusion (“Pan Guma”), initiated the Sculpture Park in Bródno and made a neon sign for Bar Ząbkowski, a local milk bar (with homemade Polish food).
Designed for Brzeska St. 16, the sculpture is currently in front of Offside Club, intersection of Zaokopowa and Wileńska Sts.

The Dancer. A tribute to Polish ballet artists
This monument’s placement isn’t random. Behind Teatr Wielki (the National Opera) and across from the Roman Turynowicz Ballet School on Moliera St. In such a theatrical setting, the sculpture created by Zbigniew Stanuch is right at home. The artist designed it for a competition in which he beat a large number of competitors, with 56 people taking part. In 2016, The Dancer was unveiled to commemorate the generations of dancers, choreographers, and pedagogues. The sculpture references early 20th-century art – a time when ballet was growing quickly. The monument depicts a dancing woman in a position reminiscent of the classic arabesque figure. This pose is inspired by oriental motifs. It requires balance, with the body held up by one leg while the second stretches back. The figure appears light, matching the Opera’s greenery-filled back. Its placement was the initiative of the Foundation of Art And Dance. This is the second sculpture of a dancer in Warsaw’s public space. The most famous one is found in the rose garden of Skaryszewski Park, sculpted by Stanisław Jackowski and unveiled in 1927.
Molier St. behind Teatr Wielki

Jan Matejko monument, Marian Konieczny
This monument came into being at the initiative of Towarzystwo Opieki nad Zabytkami (a relics- conservation association). The maker of Warsaw’s Nike created a figurative portrait of the best-known Polish historical painter of the 19th century. Jan Matejko, nonchalantly turned towards pedestrians, holds a painter’s tools: a brush and a palette, but he also seems close to passersby and current life on Puławska St. The monument isn’t isolated, it’s inviting, seated on the pedestal’s edge. There Stańczyk sits already, deep in thought, the royal jester known for his sharp wit, a recurring character in Matejko’s works, depicted by the painter as pondering Poland’s fate. Daily street life adds fun interactions to the monument, it’s a place for choreographic performances by contemporary artists. The monument with its park surroundings and low base has become a much-liked among the populace. Here, even someone having a drink seems symmetrical with Stańczyk. What other interactions can you have with this monument?
Puławska St. at Morskie Oko Park

The Happy Dog monument on Pole Mokotowskie
“Happiness is a warm puppy,” as a character liked to say in Peanuts, the comic by Charles Schulz. Snoopy is a pop-culture icon but in Warsaw there’s the Monument of the Happy Dog, for which a very real dog posed: a golden retriever named Lokat. If you own a dog, visit this bronze-cast canine with nose raised in Pole Mokotowskie Park. The park serves the area’s inhabitants as a place for walking their dogs and as a dog run, a mecca for Warsaw’s dog society. Although dogs attending the 2004 unveiling seemed more interested in the dog cake prepared for them than in their bronze hero. Placing the monument was initiated by Cztery Łapy (four paws) magazine, with its inauguration preceded by a dog parade.
Pole Mokotowskie

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tomasz Fudala (b. 1980), art historian and curator, graduate of the University of Warsaw, author of texts on art and architecture, works at the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, curator of the Hansen House in Sztumin. Cofounder of the festival Warszawa w budowie (Warsaw Under Construction) running since 2009. Received the Jerzy Stajuda critics award and the President of Warsaw Architecture Award for his exhibition Spór o odbudowę warszawy (The Dispute about Rebuilding Warsaw).

Warsaw is a rather flat city – great news for cyclists, bad for those who’d like to take a memorable photo with the city’s panorama in the background. Thankfully there are some structures and man-made heights (even one that’s natural) providing that opportunity.

The Warsaw escarpment
The one clearly visible natural difference in elevation isn’t a hill, it’s an escarpment. It cuts along the city from north to south, more or less parallel to the Vistula, reaching up as much as 25 meters, and walking along it you can admire river-valley views and the districts down below. One of the most striking views is seen from the terrace behind Ujazdowski Castle. From there, you view the decorative canal in Agrykola Park and to the left tennis courts and the Legia football club’s stadium, and in the distance to the right, the Siekierkowski Bridge pylons.
Open 24/7

Palace of Culture and Science
The viewing level out on the Palace’s 30th floor, 114 meters over the city, is a classic tourist attraction, though its fame is for a good reason. Until the Varso Tower’s lookout point opens, no other publicly accessible place provides a view from this altitude and in all directions. While there, use the info boards and pass through Warsaw’s entire history. Start at the east side and move right. First, you’ll spy the Old Town’s red roofs. From the south, the vista stretches to Śródmieście’s prewar developments, from the west the panorama shows new skyscrapers, from the north you see modernist housing blocks in the midst of greenery – this area was the Northern District and was turned into the wartime ghetto, which was then completely demolished. It’s a good idea to buy online tickets to avoid standing in line (www.bilety.pkin.pl).
1 Defilad Square, enter from Marszałkowska St., daily from 10 to 8 pm, tickets from 20 to 25 zł

Panorama Sky Bar
This isn’t the most affordable or casual place for grabbing a drink, and coffee costs you 27 zł, but the price also gets you a beautiful city view – from the tallest skyscrapers at the left to the National Stadium at the right. It’s a good idea to visit before the evening rush to not stay in line.
Marriott Hotel, 65/79 Jerozolimskie Ave., open daily from 1 pm, no tickets

The Warsaw Uprising Mound
After the Second World War, rubble of the wreck of Śródmieście was piled here. That’s how this 31-meter mound, now overgrown, came to be. In 1994, the Polska Walcząca monument (for “Poland fights,” the slogan and symbol of the Warsaw Uprising) was set at the top. In the latest modernization, a park was established, preserving the half-wild greenery and exposing parts of the rubble: arches, stairs, floors. From the top, admire the views towards Śródmieście and in the opposite direction over the Vistula’s valley with the tall smokestacks of the Siekierki heat and power plant.
Akcja Burza Park, enter from Bartycka and Grupy AK Północ Sts., open 24/7

Cwila Mound
This 20-meter hill was made in the 1970s from earth and materials moved while building the Ursynów district. The name, reportedly from an engineer of that name managing the heavy moving, was given spontaneously by construction workers. From the top, the panorama stretches forth of Ursynów and Służew housing blocks. A ski lift operated here but quickly shut down. In the park below, a symbol of the district remains: the concrete Boy on a Horse sculpture by Ryszard Stryjecki from 1977.
Roman Kozłowski Park, open 24/7

Biurowiec Forest
This vantage point isn’t at the peak of a skyscraper, but on a roof of a smaller segment, yet has some benefits: it’s green, free, and lets you take a look over Śródmieście from the north.
Forest, 14 Burakowska St., weekdays 8 to 6 pm, weekends 8 to 9 pm. Elevator by the reception at left of entrance

BUW Garden
The University of Warsaw Library’s building is an icon of 1990s postmodernist architecture. Its allure isn’t due to spacious reading rooms alone, but also to Warsaw’s first and still most beautiful rooftop garden, 16 meters above street level. From the pathways, picturesque alleys, and benches, admire views of Praga, Śródmieście and the Vistula.
Biblioteka Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 56/66 Dobra St. Gardens open daily year round; rooftop open from April to October, 8 to 6 pm, in summer until 8 pm. Entrance free

Museum of Warsaw
The museum’s exhibition galleries are located in conjoined tenements of the Old Town’s market square and their rooms create a real labyrinth, with many staircases, ramps, and steps not making navigation any simpler. But for the best, most persistent navigators, there’s a prize at the top, a vantage point with a picturesque view to the Old Town’s roofs and towers. Sadly there’s no elevator and stairs are steep so this place isn’t accessible to everyone.
28/42 Old Town Market Square, open during museum hours, tickets 7–10 zł or included with exhibition tickets

Chopin Terrace Cafe
The latest Instagram and TikTok hit is the view from this small terrace atop an old building downtown. Skyscrapers and the Palace of Culture and Science seem within arm’s reach. In the evenings, concerts are held (ticketed, or not).
14 Smolna St.,daily 2 pm to 10 pm. Entrance free

Siekierkowski Bridge
Walking around Warsaw’s city center, you feel its skyscrapers are placed chaotically. Only from afar do they form into an impressive bunch. This beautiful, distant view of downtown is lined with lush greenery growing along the Vistula banks, and can be admired from the east-bank walkway or the cycle path on the bridge’s north side. The lazier among you can just choose a city bus that crosses the bridge, but it won’t wait for you to snap a photo!
Open 24/7

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Grzegorz Piątek is a writer and publicist researching Warsaw’s architecture and history. Co-conceiver of the utopian idea to create an artificial mountain ring around the capital called Mountains for Warsaw. For books including Najlepsze miasto świata (about rebuilding Warsaw) and Gdynia obiecana, he’s taken home a bunch of awards.

Warsaw street commerce, the capital’s crowded markets and bazaars—buy low, sell high, or don’t, but you can always come take a look. Nowhere more than in the capital’s marketplaces is the city’s soul and the fortitude of its inhabitants so visible! The topic of market ethos and folklore, with a strong dose of Varsovian dialect, has been written about by many authors, songs were sung. Here is where all types of people have always mixed, from dandies to pickpockets. Social life and romance flourished, you ate and drank and small fortunes were made and lost. Some legendary marketplaces are no more, others changed, adapting to requirements of new city life. New places are still being created: fancy halls with healthy food, handmade items and food courts. Local garage sales grow in popularity. The city lives on its markets!

Hala Mirowska (Hale Mirowskie)
In the nineteenth century, an effort was made to “civilize” street commerce, to improve hygiene and the experiences of shoppers and vendors. These twin brick halls with imposing facades were erected then, in which you could rent a stall. And it remains like that to this day.
The eastern part of the complex, Hala Gwardii, was transformed after many twists and turns into a contemporary food hall. In the western hall, Hala Mirowska, we can experience the market as it used to be, especially outside, as stalls have spread wel beyond the hall’s walls. Here you’ll find delicious fruits, vegetables and other produce. Don’t forget what’s called “flower alley,” where year round and 24/7 you can get beautiful bouquets and other floral compositions. Its worth coming here just for the purely visual pleasure of the colorful displays. Another testament to the rich life around the hall are the many small traders. A painting here, a mismatched shoe there and other bizarre items. And from time to time you’ll find some real treasures.
1 plac Mirowski, open dailyy except Sunday from 7 am to 6 pm, “flower alley” 24/7 (some stalls)

Różycki Bazaar aka RÓŻYC
This legendary Praga bazaar has an even deeper history than the Hala Mirowska complex. While fully open air, it was at some point if not the most important then certainly the most colorful marketplace. You cpuld buy your own documents at the exit, stolen from you as you were entering, or lose a fortune at “three cards.” The market offered what may have been second-hand but still western-made products, a major draw in the days of the Polish People’s Republic. After 1989 and the transition towards a market economy, Różyc traders found it harder and harder to compete with newly emerging supermarkets. There’ve been attempts to revitalize the place, with new pavilions including some where vintage fashions appear. In the old part, dominant offerings include clothes for baptism-communion-wedding-funeral occasions, in styles neither timeless nor fashionable. It’s still worth hanging out a bit and listening to slowly flowing conversations among older stall owners, in which you’ll still hear a little “Praga-speak.” And of course you can eat legendary dishes: pyzy (oval dumplings) and tripe from Różyc!
54 Targowa St., open daily except Sunday, 6 am to 5 pm

Namysłowska Bazaar
The bazaar replaced an old swimming-pool complex on Namysłowska St. years ago. Now it must be the roughest, most anarchic example of street commerce. There’s long been talk of closing it to build an urban recreation center. But still each weekend with a tingle of uncertainty about whether the market will be open or not, people swarm there in droves. There’s lots to choose from: antiques, new and not-so-new clothes, food that’s fresh or “just past expiration date.” You’ll also find surreal and conceptual stuff (I heard of one seller offering just a single item one day, a brush for wall painting still wet with paint). Veggies and fruit get sold by people who grew them, plus other goods of various levels of legality. I’m not promoting anything, just passing on information, trusting your consumer’s common sense.
8 Namysłowska St., open weekends from morning to early afternoon

The Tenth-Anniversary Stadium’s Europa Fair
A symbol of modern Varsovian street entrepreneurship and of post economic-transformation grandeur. It’s a symbol but exists no more, as the Tenth-Anniversary Stadium has been replaced by the National Stadium, with the Europa Fair closed since 2011. That bazaar was like no other, a city within a city, the global world of trade in a nutshell, which flourished in the early 1990s in the capital of a post-Communist country.
Probably simplest by far would be to list what you couldn’t buy there, rather than describing the nearly infinite range of available merchandise and services. Let’s not overlook the vendors—it was multiculturalism on a scale unheard of here, with dozens of nationalities and languages. Including those who were then the capital’s largest minority: the Vietnamese, with their commercial and gastronomical infrastructure and social relations brought all but directly from their country. When times were flourishing, almost half a million were making their living here. Some of us loved this scene, others hated it, but everyone was there and everyone was shopping there. The end of the market at the Tenth-Anniversary Stadium came before the Euro Cup Championship was held in 2012, as the new stadium needed to be built.

Bakalarska Bazaar
This marketplace began to flourish after 2010, when some merchants from the Tenth-Anniversary Stadium relocated here. It’s not very centrally located but while getting out to the Włochy district is a “trip,” it’s very worth your while. This may be our day’s most multicultural market, where you’ll meet vendors from African nations, the Caucasus and of course Vietnam. The “nail salon street,” illuminated in neon signs and LED ads, has become the symbol of this place. It also has the best shops for Asian food products and fantastic bars and restaurants. Once you get out to Włochy (“Italy,” in Polish), you wind up much farther away. The Bakalarska bazaar is an interesting architectural curiosity, as well. There’s a contemporary hall designed by the studio of Aleksandra Wasilkowska, and old stalls pieced together from whatever happened to be at hand—in the spirit of stable-but-temporary and “zero waste” principles. Among the offerings, fabrics and footwear made in China dominate, yet even these make for colorful cascades and mounds of abundance, as if from another geographical lattitude altogether.
11 Bakalarska St., open 7 days from 6 am to 5 pm; restaurants in the hall from 11 am to 9 pm

Koło Antiques Market
The Koło antiques bazaar is best visited in the morning around 8. Or so all of Warsaw’s seasoned antiques hunters would tell you. It’s the best spot for those looking for vintage things and other antique-ish goods. You’ll find old paintings, illustrations, sculptures, clocks, glasswork, ceramics and loads of stuff with or without an intriguing story attached. You could drop a fortune here, no doubt, but you can also head out with some cheap little curio and naturally you haggle while doing so.
99 Obozowa St., open Saturdays and Sundays 6 am to 3 pm

Olimpia Bazaar
In the main section you’ll find the usual “everything,” from some clothes to German housecleaning products, fruits and vegetables and other produce, but the side alleys (muddy when it’s rained) are the prime “hunting grounds” for treasure hunters. Pricey antiques aren’t really to be expected, instead its bunches of little “stuff.” Spread out across blankets, cardboard or other makeshift “counters,” what awaits are things or their parts without any context or order and together creating unique microcosms. Toys in various conditions, electronics from the days of the Space Race, religious paraphernalia, kitchen gadgets…. Olimpia isn’t a first, second or even fifth chance at new life for abandoned stuff. Don’t be surprised to be caught up in nostalgia and arrive home with an unplayable record or some other artifact of questionable appeal.
55/60 Górczewska St., open Sundays, 6 am to 3:30 pm

Biobazaar and Breakfast Market
It’s worth visiting places pulsing with the freshest options in city life, too. There, new trends in mindful consuming and leisure time take shape. We recommend two tried-and-true initiatives. Within the meticulously reconstructed Norblin Factory is BioBazaar, Poland’s oldest marketplace for eco products, with over 60 stalls and bistros. You’ll a ton of fresh produce and goods with reliable eco-friendly certification. You can also grab something to eat and get inspired. Another interesting proposal is the Breakfast Market happening on weekends in Żoliborz (Saturdays) and Mokotów (Sundays). You’ll taste interesting dishes from local and foreign cuisines while also doing some yoga or hearing live music. The market’s very child friendly and the atmosphere is “just plain nice.”
BioBazaar, Norblin Factory, 51/53 Żelazna St., open Tuesday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm, saturday: 7:30 am to 4 p.
Breakfast Market, Śmiała Square/ Wojska Polskiego Ave. in Żoliborz and AK GRANAT Square in Mokotów, open at varying hours

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Anna Ciabach was born in 1980. Art historian, exhibition curator, author and editor of articles, event organizer. She’s worked in the capital’s art galleries including Galeria Klimy Bocheńskiej, Art NEWmedia and the Galeria Studio. From 2014 to 2018 she and Zuzanna Sokalska ran Galeria Monopol. Currently lives and works in Szczecin. Misses Warsaw a bit.

There is lots of art in Warsaw’s public spaces. Walking around the city, pay attention to the bridge exits, stairs, overpasses – street art and graffiti are surely lurking there. You’ll find monumental murals almost everywhere, but clusters of those are most common in the Praga, Mokotów, Śródmieście and Ursynów districts. Be sure to visit parks near art institutions including Królikarnia and the Ujazdowski Castle Center for Contemporary Art, and check out new neighborhoods like Żoliborz Artystyczny. Most of all, let yourself be surprised!
Text: Aleksandra Litorowicz

Bródno sculpture park
A park full of contemporary sculpture among housing blocks! Initiated in 2009 by the artist Pawel Althamer, the Targówek District Office and the Museum of Modern Art, each year it hosts new sculptures, installations and activities with the district’s residents and locals. Out in the grass and trees, you’ll find works by leading Polish and foreign artists, including a Garden of Eden, a golden angel, a “Bródno” sign reminiscent of the “Hollywood” sign, an African toguna, a flattened rebar grating and or a gymnastics ladder. In summer, stop by for a cozy event at the Tea House, Warsaw’s smallest community center, housed in a sculpture! It’s a good place to spend time together.
Targówek, Kondratowicza St./Chodecka St.

Maurycy Gomulicki, Światłotrysk
Kępa Potocka is a place where you can have a good, pleasant time. In the park’s southern part stands a neon “orangeade” sign and things somehow get even more pleasant. All thanks to Maurycy Gomulicki, an artist associated with Żoliborz, who with his works brings joy, color and levity to public space. View the neon sign after dark, preferably with a bottle of orangeade in hand. From here you can take a short trip to the Vistula Boulevards – heading towards the Gdański Bridge, you pass four concrete sculptures located in the grass. Heading over to the center of town while passing the Gdański bridge, turn your head – then you won’t miss the neon sign Good to see you. Look for more Warsaw neon signs on its streets and at the Neon Museum at Mińska St. 25, in the renovated Soho Factory complex.
Żoliborz, Kępa Potocka park

Służewiec horse-race track wall
A mecca of Warsaw’s graffiti scene: the 1.5-km wall of the Służewiec horse-race track is the oldest (and longest!) legal graffiti gallery in Poland. Given the diverse tags there, the place is seen also as one where any self-respecting graffiti artist must paint. In 2022, it featured works supporting Ukraine and condemning the war.
Ursynów, Puławska St. 266

Diego Miedo, Big Goose
Diego Miedo, an artist who grew up on the Naples streets filled its walls there with distinctive characters with big noses. In Warsaw, with kids from the Praga district, he has done a giant mural with a really big goose and various smiling creatures and animals among greenery and trees. The mural is an authentic, creative antidote to commercial advertisements. Look for other Praga murals, including those at Panieńska St. 3 (Kajaki), Targowa St. 20 (Dziurą w ścianę), Mala St. 8 (Świątynia), Jadowska St. 7 (Prz_szłość), in the courtyard at Listopada St. 11 (zagłębie street artu) and near the Warsaw East Station.
Praga Północ, Brzeska St. 16

Mermaid statue
Holding a sword and shield, the Mermaid is an official symbol of Warsaw – she is featured in the city’s coat of arms and the legend of the Warsaw Mermaid is important to the capital’s identity. While many depictions of her are scattered around the city, the one on the Vistula Boulevards, muscular and androgynous, is said to best represent the city’s character. Completed in 1939 by the sculptor Ludwika Nitschowa, the modernist statue is modeled after the Girl Scout and poet Krystyna Krahelska, who just five years later died tragically in the Warsaw Uprising, giving the monument yet another dimension. The Mermaid makes a good starting point for a stroll along the Vistula boulevards. You’ll meet thousands of people out on a walk here every day, with tourists, joggers and cyclists.
Śródmieście, Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie St. (near the Świętokrzyski Bridge and the subway station for the Copernicus Science Center)

Joanna Rajkowska, Greetings from Aleje Jerozolimskie
What is a 15-meter artificial palm tree doing in the city center? The artist Joanna Rajkowska’s installation is one of the first widely discussed contemporary art objects in Polish public space. Since 2002, it has accompanied Varsovians in everyday life and festive events, actively participating while dressed up in various “costumes” (banners, flags, shemagh mask, a nurse’s cap). Depending on one’s curiosity level, it can be seen as a city novelty or a guardian of Jewish history in this place. The Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw has even created a Palm Archive.
Śródmieście, Gen. Charles de Gaulle roundabout

The Ukrainian gallery
In 2018, on the 27th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence, a gallery was established in Warsaw that through murals tells the story of similarities between Ukrainian and Polish cultures and traditions. Artists from both countries’ depictions include figures important to both cultures (such as Anna Rizatdinova, the Ukrainian gymnast and two-time world champion) and participants in the Revolution of Dignity in 2014. In the background we see Ukrainian Petrykiv decorative paintings and ornamental Polish Boleslawiec ceramics.
Żoliborz, Zygmunt Słomiński St. overpass near the Gdański Station

Pavilions
The Pavilions is the city center’s party hub. Along with small bars and affordable and iconic Vietnamese food, you’ll find the accumulated street-art history of Warsaw: from remnants of old stickers and stencils to a growing number of commercial murals and two well-preserved works: a 2009 mural by the Belgian artist Roa with sleeping, huddled bears, and a dark stencil composition by the Monstfur group (four works on an electrical box).
Śródmieście, Nowy Świat St. 22/28

Tim Etchells, All the Things
A stone’s throw from the Central Station, before the School’s headquarters, an inclusive Śródmieście cultural venue, the British visual artist and writer Tim Etchells has created a neon sign that reads All the Things which Could Happen Next. At night its beautiful red glow marks the city center. Check out the School’s program: theater events, cooking, concerts, meetings, get-togethers in the inner courtyard for practicing art by being together and common activity.
Śródmieście, Emilii Plater St. 31

Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka, Bielany shell
This concrete sculpture meant for play was created in the 1950s, part of a model playground for a new housing development. Its designers are Maria and Kazimierz Piechotka, architects of housing estates realized here in the 1950s and 1960s. In 2018, through grassroots efforts, the sculpture was restored, and after a series of professional beautification treatments “the Shell” was restored to a look recalling the original. It’s a great place for play time, for the old and young alike, and a good reason for a stroll through charming Bielany.
Bielany, playground at the Skalbmierska and Kulczycka St. intersection

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Aleksandra Litorowicz – president of the Puszka Foundation, cultural studies scholar, researcher, curator, academic lecturer (SWPS University and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw). Creator of the competition for Warsaw of the future FUTUWAWA, a website with Warsaw street art and art in public spaces Puszka.waw.pl and educational website Sztukapubliczna.pl. Co-founder of the SAS School of Community Architecture. Head of the nationwide study of monumental painting and the research project “Squares of Warsaw (to reclaim)”. Contributor to Magazyn Miasta and Notes na 6 tygodni. Author of the Miastozdziczenie.pl initiative investigating interspecies urban habitation.

Warsaw loves the Vistula River! So much so that the Vistula is Warsaw’s informal 19th district. The city has turned gradually to the river, in part thanks to the creation of new institutions near it, the construction of Vistula promenades, and to tireless grassroots work by river lovers and activists, awakening a Warsaw-wide awareness of the Vistula’s uniqueness. Contributing to this uniqueness are the near-natural character of the river’s course and its two differing yet complementary banks: the left bank is neat, full of urban life including nightlife, with the right bank a sanctuary of biodiversity, bird habitats, a place for relaxing on beaches and recreation among greenery. When visiting the points on the map, we recommend exploring both riversides: walking the Vistula promenades and, on the Praga side, along pedestrian and bicycle paths, or kayaking along the Vistula.
The queen of Polish rivers bears traces of a lost region, Urzecze. This is a cultural heritage from the Olenders, or Frisians, Flemish and Dutch who fled religious persecution as Mennonites in the late 16th century. They began settling and draining land along the Vistula’s course, something local Poles hadn’t been able to cope with. In Saska Kępa you still find the original, singular Olêder wood houses. It’s fascinating to track down remnants of this interesting culture, and to find your places along the Vistula River, uncover surprises along the river’s 31 kilometers in Warsaw.
Text: Aleksandra Litorowicz

University of Warsaw Library
Among Warsaw’s most beloved contemporary buildings. You need a library card to use the collections and its comfortable study and work spaces, but the BUW (as locals call the library) is also defined by open spaces: an interior walkway with cafes and exhibitions, and one of the most beautiful spots (and vantage points!) on the capital’s map: the roof garden. Here you can relax while enjoying the view of the Vistula and the urban skyline. If you’re still hungry for modern architecture and science, with just a few steps you’ll find the popular Copernicus Science Center, with a rich program of exhibitions and events, a planetarium and… another neighborhood rooftop that you can and should climb!
Dobra St. 56/66

Urban beaches
Sunbathe or picnic on one of the city’s many beaches. Each has its unique character: the Poniatówka is centrally located, sandy and popular (along the Vistula’s right bank, under the historic Poniatowski Bridge); the Romantic, newly revitalized, full of greenery (Rychnowska St. 15); the Praska beach near the Zoo, with its beautiful Old Town views; and beaches in Saska Kępa, Żoliborz, Wilanów and… many more! From several beaches you can catch a free Vistual ferry, rent a canoe or light up a barbecue in designated areas.

The Kamień educational pavilion
You love greenery and nature? Then the Kamień (boulder) is for you! It’s a place of modern education and local activities, enjoyed by young people and adults. It hosts field classes about nature, ecology workshops and other activities, along with educational walks about the Vistula’s animals and plants. You can rent equipment for trips (binoculars, magnifying glasses, etc.) and use materials necessary for activities, from clay to flower seeds. And pay attention to the building and its immediate surroundings – they’ve gained acclaim in many architectural competitions. The Kamień is a great starting point for exploring nearby Vistula meadows, beaches and riparian forests, and for observing the city’s fauna, flora and fungi.
Wybrzeże Puckie 1

Museum on the Vistula River
The Museum of Modern Art, while its permanent headquarters is complete on Defilad Square, maintains its program of exhibitions and meetings by the Vistula River in a white pavilion designed by Adolf Krischanitz. Their temporary headquarters is decorated with a mural by Slawomir Pawszak. The artist’s allusions include Cosmos, the popular-science TV series from the US in which humans are shown in a broad perspective as citizens of Planet Earth and ambassadors of life. In addition to its exhibition space, the museum houses a cafe, a bookstore and a small education center, and the pavilion is ringed with terraces where outdoor activities are held.
Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie St. 22

Sauna Vistula
A floating sauna moored in Port Czerniakowski, in use year-round. It’s equipped with a sizable window through which you can look out over the harbor, and a terrace for relaxation, activities (such as yoga), sunbathing or… rolling in winter snow. During morning hours and in early afternoons, its use is free of charge after advance booking.
Port Czerniakowski

Good to see you
Good to see you, new neighbor, resident, visitor, tourist! You are always welcome in Warsaw! Such a positive, and open message is declared by the neon sign on the Gdańsk Bridge by Mariusz Lewczyk. Neon signs were very popular in Warsaw and are making a comeback. Learn more about their history and present at the Neon Museum at Minska Street 25, in the Soho Factory complex.
Gdański Bridge

Vistula River sculptures
In 2015, the Bęc Zmiana Foundation, in keeping with Warsaw’s association with two materials – greenery and concrete – revitalized the Vistula’s verdant, peaceful Żoliborz bank with four concrete sculptures. On the promenade grass, they were created: The Crack by Łukasz Jastrubczak, Splendor Solis by Jakub Woynarowski, Icarus by Jan Sukiennik and Slither by Maurycy Gomulicki. To enjoy them, you look into a crack in the ground, check what the time is, sit on a levitating bench and cuddle with a water serpent.
Wybrzeże Gdańskie, north of the Gdańsk Bridge

Multimedia Fountain Park
Each day from May to September, miracles happen here! If you like dynamic music, light shows and huge fountains, and if a crowd doesn’t scare you – this is the place for you! Fountain Park is enjoyed by families with children and by young people. There’s a friendly atmosphere here. Each year, the show’s central theme is one of Warsaw’s legends. The story, displayed in the form of laser animation, is told in a pleasant voiceover. The fountain ensemble is animated within colorfully flashing lights to the musical rhythms. The show lasts about 20 minutes. Admission is free. Note: due to the music’s loud volume, young kids and those sensitive to sound may need to wear muting earplugs or sit farther from the speakers.
Skwer 1 Dywizji Pancernej, below the Old Town

Gnojna Góra
Once a Warsaw garbage dump, today a picturesque vantage point. From here, enjoy a view of right-bank Warsaw and the Vistula promenades. From here, you’ll see how the Vistula’s right and left banks differ. Stop by close to sunset!

Steps
That is, wide concrete steps along the river’s left bank. A popular meeting place for young people from across the city. When the weather gets nice and spring arrives, these steps are full, especially for evenings and on warm nights. Rappers rap about them, music pieces are created in their honor. These steps have FB and Instagram profile. Anybody who’s anybody knows them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Aleksandra Litorowicz – president of the Puszka Foundation, cultural studies scholar, researcher, curator, academic lecturer (SWPS University and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw). Creator of the competition for Warsaw of the future FUTUWAWA, a website with Warsaw street art and art in public spaces Puszka.waw.pl and educational website Sztukapubliczna.pl. Co-founder of the SAS School of Community Architecture. Head of the nationwide study of monumental painting and the research project “Squares of Warsaw (to reclaim)”. Contributor to Magazyn Miasta and Notes na 6 tygodni. Author of the Miastozdziczenie.pl initiative investigating interspecies urban habitation.

The Old Town for kids

The Old Town quarter is popularly known as starówka. Warsaw was founded in the Middle Ages, and first signs of settlement in its area date back to the 9th century. It became the royal seat of Poland in the 16th century, when King Sigismund III Vasa moved the capital from Kraków to Warsaw and lived in the Royal Castle built for him. From then, Warsaw began to expand and now occupies almost 520 square kilometers on both banks of the Vistula River. The Old Town was destroyed during the Second World War. Rebuilding it was thanks to the efforts of residents and architects. Warsaw’s Old Town was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List and is a place visited mainly by tourists from around the world coming to the capital. It is also a place packed with stories and urban legends.
Text: Katarzyna Domagalska, National Institute of Architecture and Urbanism

Museum of Warsaw
The concept of gathering knowledge about Warsaw originates from the late 18th century, during the reign of the last Polish king, Stanislaw August. It wasn’t until the 20th century that the institution of varsavianism – that is, the study of Warsaw’s history and culture – was established: in 1936, as the Museum of Old Warsaw, a branch of the National Museum. Today, the Museum of Warsaw as an independent institution has its headquarters in 11 Old Town buildings, and has several branches: the Printing Museum, the Pharmacy Museum, the Wola Museum, the Palmiry Memorial museum, the Korczakianum, the Praga Museum of Warsaw. Here you will learn about the history of Warsaw told in all possible ways! The museum has a rich program for children and young people and organizes events and walks around Warsaw.
Old Town Square 28-42

Warsaw Mermaid
Half fish, half woman – she is the symbol of Warsaw and can be found in the city’s coat of arms. The mermaid takes care of the city. She has a warrior spirit and is depicted with a sword in her hand and a shield. The Mermaid statue that now stands in the Market Square is a copy of the original, which was created during the construction in 1851–1855 of Warsaw’s first modern waterworks, which are now under the care of the Museum of Warsaw.
Old Town Square

The Under the Lion tenement and sundial
On the tenement house’s facade we see two ladies carrying water and a bas relief of a lion. The artist Zofia Stryjeńska painted them in 1928. There is also a sundial. Can you read what time it is?
Old Town Square 13

Mosaic house
On the building’s facade are depictions of kids playing, including a boy in a striped outfit and a girl on a swing. There is also a painter making a portrait. Nearby is Rybacka (or fisherman) Street, so water-related figures are in the mosaic. Can you find them, or maybe you’ll pose for a photo here?
Mostowa St. 9 and 9A

Outdoor sculpture gallery
Here you’ll find sculptures made by the artist Zbigniew Maleszewski. Maybe among the various shapes here you can find animals and objects turned to stone.
Bugaj St. 15/17, next to the Stone Steps

Granary House
Before the 18th century, Brzozowa Street was simply called “street between the granaries”. It led along the city walls, from Gnojna góra, which was then the city’s waste dump, to Mostowa Street. Granaries are buildings used to store grain. They have steep roofs with large openings through which grain shipments were transferred to boats and ships sailing the Vistula River to other cities.
Brzozowa St. 12

Bear sculpture by the Jesuit church
The artist Jan J. Plersch created the bear statue in the 18th century. Legend says it’s an enchanted prince waiting for his love to restore his human shape.
Świętojańska St.

Royal Castle
From the 16th century, it was the seat of power of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: the king and the Sejm (parliament) resided here, then from 1926 to 1939 it was the residence of the president of the Second Polish Republic. German troops looted and burned it in 1939, and in 1944 it was destroyed. It was rebuilt through nationwide efforts from 1971 to 1984. Today it is a museum with recreated historic royal rooms and regularly hosts exhibitions.
Castle Square 4

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Museum
The brilliant chemist and physicist, who received two (!) Nobel Prizes, was born in this house. Step into the museum operating here and learn more about her life and achievements. You’ll see a collection of original notes and letters of Maria Skłodowska-Curie, and photos, documents and personal belongings of the scientist and her family.
Freta St. 16

Sigismund’s Column
It’s hard not to notice in Castle Square this massive column topped by a statue of a man with a sword and a crucifix. The monument honors King Sigismund III Vasa, who moved the royal seat from Kraków to Warsaw in 1596. It’s a popular place to meet – it’s simple to set a meeting point under the column!
Castle Square

Old Town Panorama
St. Anne’s Church is one of the most popular venues for church weddings in Warsaw, and a vantage point for a magnificent city panorama.
Krakowskie Przedmieście 68

While in the area, be sure to visit:

Vistula Boulevards
A kilometers-long riverside promenade where you can walk, ride by the river on a bike, rollerblade or just play in the little beaches’ sand. Most kids gather at playgrounds adorned with figures of Vistula fish. In summer you can ride a ferry across the river.

Multimedia Fountain Park
In the evenings here you can watch an extraordinary show of water, light and sound. Shows are every Friday and Saturday in May, June and July at 9:30 p.m., in August at 9 p.m., and in September at 8:30 p.m. Through the winter, light streams dance instead of water, then on weekends the main fountain turns into an animated multicolored sculpture.
Square 1 Dywizji Pancernej WP

Roof garden atop the Warsaw University Library
The building has a very interesting form and on its roof is a beautiful garden and vantage points where you can view the Vistula River and the Warsaw skyline. It’s among the largest and most lovely roof gardens in Europe. Located 16 meters above ground level, it has an area of two thousand square meters.
Dobra St. 56/66

Copernicus Science Center
Experience science and ask some questions here. You can experiment and see how the world works and how various inventions do. Be sure to visit the state-of-the-art planetarium, though for observing the evening and night skies, all you need is the green riverside areas.
Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie 20

There is no such thing as a typical Warsaw city square, just as there is no single Warsaw. The capital’s squares are diverse spaces, full of potential and flaws, allowing us to get to know the city from its surprising, non-ideal, subjective sides as well as to experience its everyday and festive life. We recommend a stroll through 11 of them.
Text: Aleksandra Litorowicz

Patelnia (frying pan)
This place is characterized by temporariness and spatial clutter. Among other things are a pavilion with subway entrances, numerous stairs and a retaining wall with its underground entrance. Patelnia is a busy hub connecting transportation routes: streetcars, buses, underground rail and the Metro. Although this space has no official designation as a square, it acts as one, bustling with life, though it’s not well kept and lacks smaller fixtures, benches and greenery. You could say it’s a democratic place – you can come across a traveling church for the homeless, sign a petition, buy flowers or gloves, view a mural, listen to a seat drummer and take part in a demonstration. Or we’ll simply meet na patelni (on the frying pan).

Defilad Square
Extreme emotions are associated with this place, which is much discussed. This square is the city’s chronicler, recalling and shaping Warsaw’s history and its present. Its importance is defined by the size and presence of the Palace of Culture and Science, and also by its daily life: cultural and artistic events, interesting venues (Bar Studio, Café Kulturalna, numerous theaters, the Kinoteka multiplex), the broken, greened piece of the main part of its space, beehives on the terraces, a bus parking lot, a memorial, a temporary food court and the nearby Swietokrzyski Park, where the young are so eager to sit. It’s worth visiting Defilad Square as it is now, with all its trappings and contrasts (“concrete-mania”, “car-centrism”, spatial chaos), because it soon turns into a revitalized Central Square – another step in the process of defining Warsaw’s urban character.

Haller Square
This square across the river in Praga is worth visiting for many reasons. It is one of the greenest squares in Warsaw, surrounded by monumental architecture. Here you’ll find cafes, the Pracownia Wschodnia art gallery, and the Multicultural Center, along with a friendly neighborhood spot: the brine-graduation tower. You can sit beside it or better yet stroll around it, preferably on a windy, sunny day.

Grzybowski Square
This is one of Warsaw’s most beloved squares. Urban furniture, greenery, water and pedestrian space give this place an intimate character. Thanks to its diverse and picturesque landscape and its proximity to eateries, the square is a tourist attraction, yet a low-key, everyday space.

Bankowy Square
Another Warsaw square dominated by its transportation function. The city- and provincial-government headquarters and buildings of great historical and architectural value are located here, as well as cafes and restaurants. We recommend viewing it from the fantastic attraction-filled City Sports Square Ratusz Arsenał, and then skip over to Muranów Cinema.

Zbawiciela Square
The most bustling and lively square in Warsaw. Thanks to its varied restaurants, clubs and cafes with gardens, and also its scale and star-shaped structure, you can enjoy other people and city life here.

Konstytucji Square
Sculpted according to socrealist doctrine, today it unfortunately serves as a large parking lot. This unpleasant fact may be offset at least a little by the square’s beauty, especially when you look up: you’ll find multicolored mosaics on cloister vaults in buildings No. 5 and 6 and neon signs including the renovated Volleyball Player, lit up through the evening. There are numerous restaurants, and a few steps away is Warsaw’s oldest public library on Koszykowa St.

Trzech krzyży Square
A square full of examples of superb architecture from different periods of the city’s development, today it’s reduced mainly to the transportation-hub role. In springtime here you can smell the beautiful scent of magnolias. Since the 1990s, a skateboard spot has been located under the Witos monument.

Piłsudski Square
A vast, monumental square of symbolic, historical and architectural value. State ceremonies are held here, and military parades, and tourists stroll the space on a daily basis. It lacks functions that could give the square other characteristics than being representative. Note the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Metropolitan building with a patio fountain.

Wilson Square
Be sure to arrive here by subway! The Wilson Square station in 2008 was recognized by an international council of experts as the most beautiful in the world! Nearby is the entrance to Stefan Żeromski Park with Fort Sokolnicki and the Wisła Cinema. Take a stroll through the streets of charming Żoliborz, where you will find popular cafes and restaurants.

Europejski Square
This is the first square in Warsaw created by the developer to be used by the city residents. Small architecture and constant animation of this space encourage to spend time here, and the surface emphasizes the pedestrian character of the place. During a walk around the Wola district, it is worth visiting this square surrounded with skyscrapers climbing towards the clouds-Warsaw’s “city”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Aleksandra Litorowicz – president of the Puszka Foundation, cultural studies scholar, researcher, curator, academic lecturer (SWPS University and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw). Creator of the competition for Warsaw of the future FUTUWAWA, a website with Warsaw street art and art in public spaces Puszka.waw.pl and educational website Sztukapubliczna.pl. Co-founder of the SAS School of Community Architecture. Head of the nationwide study of monumental painting and the research project “Squares of Warsaw (to reclaim)”. Contributor to Magazyn Miasta and Notes na 6 tygodni. Author of the Miastozdziczenie.pl initiative investigating interspecies urban habitation.

Warsaw is among the European cities best suited for sports activities. Many schools let you use their playing fields and there are more than 80 parks, so take a look around the neighborhood. We’ve marked the map with distinct places to visit while in Warsaw. Some are located at major tourist attractions and all are easily accessible by public transportation. These are spots where you can train for many activities that are also good for meetings and chilling. While there you’ll see many sports being practiced up close and at a high level.

Świętokrzyski Park
A very popular meeting place for young people in Warsaw. Ping-pong tables, an area for panna football, a small skatepark, basketball courts where local legends are made. On warmer days, lie in the hammocks or spread a blanket on the grass and take in the beautiful view.

National Stadium
The stadium, built for the Euro 2012 tournament, was opened to the public after that championship. A main attraction is a level asphalt promenade, over a kilometer long. The promenade and asphalt paths leading to it are very popular among longboarders, skaters and runners, and are lit for accessibility after dark. In winter at the stadium, an ice rink and Warsaw’s largest indoor skatepark are open.

Wilanowska
The basketball courts here, the scene of local legends, have recently undergone renovations and are back in use for comfortable play. Whether you drop by alone or in a group, this place gives the opportunity to train and compete. If you’re on the lookout for top-level playing, also visit the courts in Agrykola Park near Łazienki Park.

Ratusz Arsenał Square
The newest spot for all roller-based activities, wide open to all rollerblading, skateboarding and scooter enthusiasts. Its smooth surfaces and granite walls draw some of Warsaw’s best skaters. You’ll also find a street-workout gym where you can warm up comfortably or do a full workout. BMX bikes aren’t allowed at Arsenał.

Vistula Boulevards and the Świętokrzyski Bridge
The riverbank promenades called the Vistula Boulevards are Warsaw’s most popular walking spot. Beneath the Świętokrzyski Bridge is an area for street workouts, parkour, and a small skatepark. If you’re looking for a place to work out in bad weather or want to show off your skills, definitely visit the Świętokrzyski Bridge. Cross the bridge and you’ll find a popular wall-climbing spot. Its unusual shape comes from the element of the former Syreny Bridge that is its base.

Szczęśliwicki Park
A large park in the Ochota district where you’ll find many attractions: a hilltop with a beautiful panorama of Warsaw and a year-round ski slope, a volleyball court, tennis wall, roller-skating rink, swimming pool open in the warmer months and cushioned running paths. All this, bordered by old-tree greenery, is set around two ponds that provide the park’s very welcoming microclimate.

Jordanek
Jordanek gardens are situated in many places in Warsaw and let you play many sports for recreation or to train. The garden in Mokotów on Odyńca St. is a popular place where you can play football, volleyball, basketball, ping-pong and foosball.

Pumptrack in Wola
While you’ll find several pumptracks in Warsaw, we recommend one of the first, which is still very popular today. Whether you’re biking, scootering or longboarding, a pumptrack is a great way to spend your park time. If you want a higher skill level, check out the Kazoora Bike Park in Ursynów.

Agrykola
If you prefer running on a track, the Agricola Youth Center is the place for you. Come train individually or take up free classes by running groups including Swords Warsaw. You’ll also find a street-workout gym and long padded running trails around the center.

The Saska Kępa beach
The Vistula’s right bank forms a nature park that’s distinct in Europe, and its beaches are the pride of Warsaw. On those beaches through much of the year you’ll find free rentals of sports equipment and deck chairs. There are fire pits where you can legally grill and barbecue. The Saska Kępa beach also has the best view of Warsaw’s skyline and sunsets. Get there conveniently on bike path bridges slung under the Łazienkowski Bridge.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Skwer Sportów Miejskich: a team of architects, urban athletes and social researchers preparing innovative spatial projects that connect the varied threads of contemporary urban life.

Warsaw is full of greenery, and it’s worth taking full advantage while traversing the city – be it on foot or by bike. It delights year-round: in spring, magnolias, fruit trees and lilacs bloom in neighborhood, in summer there are the city’s perennial flower beds, and autumn is a spectacle of color in parks while winter is especially beautiful in the city’s forests. Within the capital we also have 12 nature reserves.
Text: Agnieszka Kowalska

Ujazdowski Park
This is among the first of Warsaw’s public parks. It was built from 1893 to 1896, designed by Franciszek Szanior, Warsaw’s chief gardener. It’s worth heading further into the park and passing through the back gate to the Open Jazdów enclave.
bus stop: Plac na Rozdrożu

Open Jazdów
This small settlement of Finnish-style houses was built just after the Second World War to house employees of the Capital Reconstruction Bureau. Twenty-seven of the cottages have survived. In houses left by their residents, culture and social associations have found their place and together create a space accessible to everyone: Open Jazdów. Here you can relax, take a free peek at courtyards, learn gardening, listen to concerts, use the restroom and fill up your water bottles.
Jazdów, entrance from Piękna St. via Jazdów St. or from Plac na Rozdrożu, bus stop: Plac na Rozdrożu

Łazienki Królewskie Park
The summer residence of Poland’s last king, Stanislaw August Poniatowski (from 1764) is Warsaw’s most popular park today. Every Sunday from May to June, piano recitals are held at the Frederic Chopin monument, and admission is free. The University of Warsaw Botanical Garden, adjacent to Lazienki Park, is also worth a stroll.
bus stop: Łazienki Królewskie

Saski Garden
In 1727, at the initiative of King August II the Strong, the Saski Garden, closed until then, was partially opened to Warsaw residents. Very well located with a beautiful fountain and baroque sculptures, for residents and for visitors this is a favorite place for strolls. In springtime here, huge chestnuts and lime trees bloom, while in autumn trees turn golden and red. Turn off Krakowskie Przedmieście by the Europejski Hotel and go straight – the park begins behind the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. You can also enter from Marszałkowska St.
bus stop: Królewska

Rooftop gardens
Warsaw’s best vantage points? The two adjacent public gardens on the roofs of public institutions. Each in a different style, both give beautiful views of the Vistula River, the Old Town and of downtown with the Palace of Culture and Science. The roof garden of the University of Warsaw Library (Dobra St. 56/66) is one of Europe’s largest and most beautiful rooftop gardens. The garden on the Copernicus Science Center’s roof (Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie St. 20) is more like a volcanic landscape or Japanese rock garden. Both are open from May to October, admission is free.
metro station: Copernicus Science Center

Królikarnia
This is a fine place for those seeking some nature and culture in one place. The Królikarnia summer palace, built in the 1880s, houses the Museum of Sculpture (a National Museum in Warsaw branch), a cafe and a bookshop. Artworks are scattered throughout the park. Bring blankets and have a picnic here.
Puławska St. 113a, bus/tram stop: Królikarnia

Pole Mokotowskie
This is one of Warsaw’s largest recreational spaces. Currently under renovation, but that won’t stop you from relaxing there. It’s a good area for running, rollerblading, biking and walking the dog. It’s adjacent to the open complex of the Rakowiec private gardens, well worth going deeper into to see dozens of small gardens and interesting small examples of architecture.
metro station: Pole Mokotowskie

Skaryszewski Park
Among Warsaw’s most beautiful parks. It was laid out from 1905 to 1922 and designed by Franciszek Szanior. It has a rose garden with large magnolias, several ponds and art deco park sculpture. It’s an English-style landscape park with individual sections meant to evoke different Polish regions (there’s even a “mountain” waterfall).
bus stop: Rondo Waszyngtona

The Vistula’s right bank
Within the city limits, the Vistula flows for 30 kilometers. It’s a European Ecological Network Nature 2000 zone, and a walk along recreational paths on the right bank is very worth your while. These lead through greenery and offer amazing views of downtown and of the Old Town. Head down from the Waszyngtona roundabout past the National Stadium to the Poniatówka beach and head up toward the Zoo. You can then cross the Swietokrzyski Bridge to the Copernicus Science Center or take the Śląsko-Dąbrowski Bridge to the Old Town. On beaches are designated places for campfires and kids’ playgrounds.

Bielański Forest
Feel the atmosphere of ancient woods here. Most of the forest’s area is a nature reserve. It’s good to enter here through the gate at the back of the Academy of Physical Education campus, or walk the educational path’s four kilometers, which begin at the intersection of Dewajtis and Marymoncka Streets and end near the Vistula’s bank.
bus stop: AWF

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Agnieszka Kowalska: journalist, art historian, popularizer of urban culture, cofounder of Warszawawarsaw.com. Author of guides in the series Do it in Warsaw!, Warszawa Warsaw, Letnisko, Green Warsaw. Works at the Stacja Falenica cinema-cafe.

Make yourself comfy! You really don’t have to act like a local. Among Varsovians, at least half weren’t even born here. Strangers are welcome. It’s newcomers who’ve always generated Warsaw’s famous energy. You’ll feel it strongly in the city center. Here’s where the biggest abundance of everything resides: people, buildings, vehicles, cafes, stores, restaurants, culture institutions. Fortunately, there’s also loads of greenery, parks and places to sit and take a breath, read a book, see an exhibition, hear music and get familiar with and love Warsaw’s architecture.

Oleandrów St.
A quiet block in the city’s busy center. The first residences began appearing here from 1935 to 1939. During the war, those buildings weren’t destroyed, so unlike the rebuilt soc-realist Marszalkowska St. at the corner, on Oleandrów St. you still find simple functional structures designed at a human scale. Original storefronts preserved from the 1930s are here, too. This block is a meeting place, full of small restaurants with original menus.

Zachęta National Gallery of Art
The Italian neo-Renaissance in Warsaw? It’s the building of Zachęta, a gallery hosting exhibitions of new art and presenting works by Polish and foreign artists. The gallery opened to the public in 1900 and draws art lovers to this day. Before the Second World War, it belonged to the Society for the Encouragement of Fine Arts, the main patron of Polish artists, an institution contributing greatly to Polish culture. In the summertime, relax on deck chairs in the beautiful square located before the building’s entrance.
Plac Małachowskiego 3

Kozia St.
While walking Kozia St. you’ll feel the city’s rhythm. Move straight from the sentimental Old Town and the history evoking Krakowskie Przedmieście St. into a late-modernist backyard. We’ll find one building with a form that we can’t classify at first glance. Its walls are stacked and they zigzag. This place is for everyone who appreciates humor, especially since just next door is the Museum of Caricature, where you laugh right along with the satirists whose works are presented.

Zbawiciela Square
If you’re after the metropolitan vibe, there’s no place like Plac Zbawiciela. Club-cafes, pubs, a downstairs comedy club, a theater and cinema are all nearby. Laid out back in the 18th century, modeled on French spatial designs, it was meant to connect Warsaw of that day with the royal suburban estate just over in Ujazdów. It’s a much-loved meeting place for younger Varsovians, especially in the warm months.

Frederic Chopin University of Music
An ideal place for those thirsty for music but not necessarily for the Philharmonic’s halls. Sit on a bench in the green square out back and listen to music and the sounds of varied instruments from the university’s windows, or head inside for an open concert organized by students. Walk about in the square, where sculptures are related to music, including a playful violin key. It’s a work by Karol Tchorek, Warsaw Autumn, which is also the name of one of the capital’s crucial musical events: the International Festival of Contemporary Music held annually in Warsaw since 1956.
Okólnik St. 2, Bohdana Wodiczki square

Zodiac Pavilion of Architecture
Exhibitions and meetings about architecture are held here. Zodiac was originally part of a pedestrian walkway behind the Centrum Department Stores, a commercial landmark of Warsaw since the 1970s. Then, the pavilion was the place to have a pastry, drink a coffee and buy flowers for a girl- or boyfriend while admiring terrace views of modern Warsaw, rebuilt after the Second World War. The square in front of Zodiac once held a pond, while today you’ll find the deszczownica fountain.
Pasaż Wiecha 4

Palace of Culture and Science
The PKiN building is an encyclopedia of Polish architecture. In its mass you’ll find features of diverse architectural styles from various cities. There’s the Lublin attic and the Kraków renaissance. Designed in soc-realist style, it opened in 1956. To build it, an entire quarter of blocks was demolished, and it wasn’t only for this that Varsovians disliked it. It was seen then as a symbol of dependence on the USSR, and even today at times some politicians propose tearing it down. Meanwhile, the Palace has grown into the city, with its useful clocks at its peak, and inside it houses many institutions of science, culture, art and sports, with cafes and restaurants and…the city council. On the Swietokrzyska St. side it’s enveloped by a park where a loop bench stands – be sure to sit there to put your whirlwind of thoughts in order. Then you can ride the Palace’s elevator to the top floor’s viewing terrace to gaze over everything with a bit of perspective.
Plac Defilad 1

Palm tree on the roundabout
The De Gaulle roundabout has become a distinctive landmark on the Warsaw map with this work by the artist Joanna Rajkowska, who engages in art in public space. Her palm tree is named Greetings from Aleje Jerozolimskie, and references the place one of Warsaw’s oldest streets is named for: Jerusalem Road. The palm recalls the presence of Jewish society in Warsaw. Right next to the traffic circle is the former House of the Party building, designed in modernist style. Today, it’s a popular meeting place, home to music clubs and a key address on the nightlife map.
De Gaulle roundabout

Jazdów’s Finnish cottages
The colony of Finnish wood houses, located at the rear of Ujazdowski Park, is a wonderful slowlife enclave in the middle of the city. Here the residents, along with artists and activists, conduct social, cultural and educational activities that are open to the public. Among other things, there’s a community garden where you can grow your own carrots and potatoes. The prefab houses arrived in Warsaw during its reconstruction in 1945 as a gift from the Finnish government. The Jazdów estate was intended to be a temporary housing solution, but has survived to this day as among the few settlements of its kind, serving as a curiosity of downtown Warsaw and a vital site for urban experimentation.

Bęc Zmiana
Mokotowska St. connects two much-liked squares, Zbawiciela and Trzech Krzyży. In recent years it’s grown into a fashion-oriented street. Most places are boutiques, but you also find clothes from young Polish brands, and can refresh or change your hairstyle in one of the many salons in its beautiful buildings. You can refresh your mind as well at the Bęc Zmiana bookstore, a small space offering our selection of today’s most intriguing books, including a long shelf of Warsaw books.
Mokotowska St. 65

Also recommend:

Chopin on the grass
The most enjoyable way to experience Frederic Chopin’s music, that famed Warsaw-born composer, is by attending a (free!) open-air piano recital at the Chopin monument – played from May to September, every Sunday at noon and 4 pm.
Łazienki park

Rotunda for meetings
Technically, this is simply a branch of Poland’s largest bank: PKO Bank Polski. In fact, it’s among the city’s landmarks, not just due to its pavilion form in extravagant circular glass that’s been recently reconstructed but also because of its very convenient location. Its proximity to a subway station and dozens of bus and streetcar stops makes it ideal for everyone to meet first then decide where they want to head off together.
Marszałkowska St. 100/102

A gap for the sun
One of the city’s strangest-looking buildings: 190-meter-tall Intercontinental Hotel, with a huge hole in its body’s lower floors. This is no fad by the architects, it’s a compromise with residents of the housing block behind the hotel, who otherwise would have lost sunlight in their apartments.
Emilii Plater St. 49

Innovators unite!
In the complex of modern buildings collectively known as Varso, you’ll find a thriving center attracting startups and entrepreneurs from around the world. At Venture Cafe Warsaw, find a free work table or attend events and discussions with business and new-tech people. And who knows, maybe you’ll meet folks there and come up with a new project the world’s been waiting for!
Chmielna St. 73

Mokotów has two distinct parts: the lower, located closer to the Vistula’s riverbanks, and the upper, distinguished by its interesting and varied architecture of residential buildings and prewar villas. Upper Mokotów is much liked by Varsovians, due in part to the atmosphere created by green areas mixing with dining establishments that include vegan and vegetarian cuisine in their offerings and its culture institutions with intriguing programs.

Warsaw School of Economics
The campus is composed of three buildings with coherent architecture, designed in the 1920s by Jan Koszczyc-Witkiewicz. Their style defies classification – it’s variously described as art deco, moderate modernism or a combination of classicism and national historicism with expressionism. The main building, completed between 1951 and 1955 according to the 1924 design, was modified by Stefan Putowski. Its central part is a courtyard roofed by a recently restored stepped-glass pyramid. The 1928-1931 library was modern then for the access of daylight coming into the reading room through cylindrical skylights. Note the carefully designed interior and exterior details. Its architectural originality and the remarkable mosaics make the School of Economics buildings unique.
Niepodległości Ave. 162 

Centrum Łowicka
You’ll find local culture institutions in all of the city’s districts. This is a well-known, thriving community center in Warsaw. The Łowicka Center has been in operation since the 1970s. Two decades ago, during a solid reconstruction, it was enlarged to include an auditorium, ballet hall and offices and auxiliary spaces. It hosts concerts, workshops, exhibitions, film screenings, performances, discussions and movement classes. In 1995, the Łowicka Center initiated one of Warsaw’s most important architecture events: its Plans for the Future series of exhibitions showing the capital’s new construction projects.
Łowicka St. 21

Iluzjon Cinema
This single-story cinema building at Słonimski Square – originally planned as Mokotów’s market square – has an interesting form with a wave-like roof and rotunda. The original name of the cinema, Stolica, was chosen after a popular referendum announced by the editors of a magazine with that name. The facility opened on May 1, 1949. In 2012, it reopened after renovations undertaken after public protests saved it from demolition. It’s now home to the cinema Iluzjon (Illusion), a film museum owned by the National Film Archive. The interior, which houses a cafe, is notable for its carefully designed and renovated finishing details. In the main hall, with an orchestra “moat,” wall fabrics and the Warsaw coat of arms – the city’s Mermaid – have been restored. You’ll see film classics in an intimate atmosphere.
Narbutta St. 50A

Nowy Teatr
The area where this theater company is now located had been a clay pit for brickmakers 150 years ago, then a century ago the clay pit was covered with heaps of garbage, and in 1927 a workshop hall was built here for maintaining the city’s cleaning vehicles, which then operated for several decades. Since 2012, the redesigned hall has become the home of Nowy Teatr, among the city’s renowned contemporary-repertoire companies. The effectively adapted building is a local meeting center and venue for culture events. It contains a popular bookstore and a cafe, a much-used place for local freelancers to work. The building’s expansive plaza includes precisely designed green sections that grow increasingly wild. A favorite place among young parents with kids!
Madalińskiego St. 10/16

The Wedel Building
In designing this building, which also housed apartments for sale and rent, the architect Juliusz Żórawski, a prominent Polish representative of modernism, introduced some of Le Corbusier’s five principles of architecture, including a flat roof with a terrace, horizontal-strip windows and a vacant mullioned basement. The recreational roof terrace is capped by an attic resembling a chocolate bar. Before the war, the neon “E. WEDEL CZEKOLADA” sign advertising Warsaw’s most famous chocolate factory, founded by the Wedel family in 1851, adorned it.
Puławska St. 28

Mozaika
This is one of the capital’s few long-lived, continuously operating entertainment establishments. The cafe was established in the 1960s in an ordinary residential building. It brought together art and film circles. In 1991, it was transformed into a restaurant. The interior bar was adorned with stone decorations. The famous, distinctive neon sign was installed in the 1970s, part of a project initiated by the local authorities to light up the city’s main arteries with neon. That undertaking aimed at brightening up Warsaw’s public spaces and imitating the capitalist centers of the West.
Puławska St. 53

Uniwersus
This building stands where Belwederska and Spacerowa Streets intersect, near Łazienki Park’s gate. It was built – despite protests – on the site of a former sanatorium’s demolished, eclectic buildings. Designed in 1975, it was erected as the Central Department Store of the House of the Book, a literary organisation. It housed a bookstore until the 1990s and now houses offices. The architectural style recalls brutalism and today is hard to grasp at first glance – the Uniwersus now being obscured by rampant signs and large-format advertising attached to the facade. And it’s hard to believe that in 1980 the building won the title of Mister Warsaw as the capital’s best architectural realization of the period.
Belwederska St. 20/22

Królikarnia
A grand classicist palace built as an aristocratic hideaway for rabbit hunting and other activities considered exclusive in the 18th century. Today, the building and extensive grounds are part of the National Museum in Warsaw and showcase a collection of outdoor sculptures in the beautiful park around the palace, which include a magnificent view of Lower Mokotów.
Puławska St. 113A

Texts based on Ilustrowany atlas architektury północnego Mokotowa (Illustrated atlas of northern Mokotów architecture); publisher: Centrum Architektury; authors of these texts: Joanna Koszewska, Grzegorz Mika; selection: Kajetan Korszeń; adaptation: Bogna Świątkowska.

Żoliborz is a modernist, park-filled Warsaw district, with a very interesting history and a strong local identity. Here you’ll find the results of experiments in residential architecture by architects designing Warsaw last century. Those living in Żoliborz are very fond of their neighborhood – and small wonder! They have many beautifully designed places and one of the city’s coolest neon signs!

Plac Wilsona Metro station
For several years, this is where Warsaw’s first subway line ended its northern section. The station, along with a siding for trains to turn, began operating in 2005. In 2008 in Copenhagen’s MetroRail 2008 conference, its design won the award for the best station built in the 21st century. Platforms are dominated by concrete: from reinforced pillars to the concrete vault with lighting that changes color from yellow to blue to purple-pink – depending on the time of day. It’s certainly the most extravagant of Warsaw’s subway stations!
Wilson Square

Neon W
The neon sign set in Wilson Square is at the entry to Żoliborz via Krasiński St. just up from the Vistula River. With its location and design it refers to roadside welcome signs. The W shape is a typographic throwback to the old, long-gone neon sign of the nearby Vistula (Wisła) cinema. The sign’s designers, Konrad Smoczny, Kwiaciarnia Grafiki and Ludmiła Śnieżko, wanted to reference visual traditions of the square and its immediate vicinity. The new light installation was created as part of a city council budget dedicated for grassroot projects, the “Design and Build” category. Its name can be read ambiguously: W for Wilson, Wisła (the river) or Welcome. Żoliborz residents keep adding new meanings: W for wolność (freedom) or wakacje (holidays). Its makers encourage you to come up with your own interpretations and explore the possibilities.
Wilson Square

Housing of the Fenix Co-op
The Fenix (Phoenix) is among Warsaw’s oldest housing co-ops. It was founded in 1913 and officially registered in 1925 as the Warsaw Housing Cooperative “Fenix.” Three years later, the construction of a complex of five buildings was initiated: the tallest one of six stories stood alongside Wilson Square, others were sited alonġ Słowackiego and Mickiewicza Streets. The Phoenix buildings were characterized primarily by modern infrastructure: apartments were large, making use of the municipal gas supply. The six-story building had elevators (the first in Żoliborz).
Wilson Square

Alina – girl with a jug, Henryk Kuna (1936)
Stefan Żeromski Park was created at the initiative of the Society of Friends of Żoliborz on what had been grounds of tsarist fortifications from when Warsaw was under Russian occupation. The park plan’s central section is the fort bastion highlighted by an avenue lined with linden trees. It is complemented by a square across from the main Wilson Square entrance, where a fountain is adorned with a sculpturę. Alina, bronze-cast and ringed by yew trees, refers to the New Classicism style in which Henryk Kuna worked. The artist specialized in outdoor sculpture, a field dominated by depictions of women. In 1991, Alina was vandalized, stolen and buried near Olszynka Grochowska. It was restored thanks to efforts led by the actress Alina Janowska, and in 2000 was recognized as an official district symbol.
Stefan Żeromski Park

Fort Sokolnicki
In the 1850s and 1860s, the Warsaw Citadel’s fortifications were expanded with a system of five perimeter forts, including Fort Sergei. When Poland regained its independence in 1918, the Citadel buildings were taken over by the Polish Army. In 1921, the fort’s name became Fort Gen. Michał Sokolnicki. The structure has the form of a round three-story tower encircled by a dry moat. In the 1930s, the decision to build Stefan Żeromski Park around the fort was made and the moat was filled in. In 2003, district authorities repurchased the fort from the Military Property Agency. The structure was renovated and designated for cultural purposes.
Stefan Żeromski Park

Sunny Square
In terms of its layout and history, this is among Warsaw’s most interesting squares. The design was created in 1923. The plan for the circular square came from a reference to the layout of forts of the nearby Citadel (in particular the neighboring Fort Sokolnicki), and to be in keeping with the district’s development at the time. In 1925, terraced houses were erected near the square – originally there were to be 12, and the square, with a slender poplar in the middle, was to function as a sundial. However, 10 houses were built, and a maple tree was planted instead of the poplar.

Museum of Sport and Tourism
The museum is housed in the elegant new Olympic Center and displays a 3,000-piece collection of sports memorabilia and a history of Polish Olympic victories. If seeing all those gold and silver medals makes you feel like exercising, try the walking and cycling paths along the Vistula River and you’ll find plenty of spaces for engaging in various sports activities.
Wybrzeże Gdyńskie St. 4

Światłotrysk, Maurycy Gomulicki (2009)
Kępa Potocka Park attracts visitors year-round, but it’s especially beautiful in spring and summer. The park’s ornament and hallmark is a 17-meter installation of neon light forming a glass with pink bubbles of orangeade floating into the sky. As its maker, the artist Maurycy Gomulicki, points out, the work was created in “reference to the dynamics of the romantic urban vagabond,” and from a fascination with the aesthetics of pink and of soc-modernist design. It symbolizes fun and joy and also the transience of moments of happiness. The neon sign, which is referred to as “Warsaw’s monument to joy,” “the pink glass” and “the neon happiness sign,” is visible from Wislostrada and greets everybody entering Warsaw from the north.
Kępa Potocka Park

The Tęcza theater & cinema
In 1928, only Colony VI of the Warsaw Housing Cooperative, a very progressive design for its time, had its own boiler room. This prompted the designers to build a new boiler house to serve other parts of the development through a central-heating system. Construction was completed in 1929, and three years later during renovations, part of the building was used for the estate’s theater. This auditorium had the capacity for arranging the space for purposes from film screenings to theater performances due to its movable platforms. Transforming the boiler room into a movie theater showed what the concept of a social neighborhood could be. After 1945, the Tęcza (Rainbow) cinema moved into the building, and today it again awaits renovation to serve the district and city residents in a new form.
Suzina St. 2

The Sady Żoliborskie estate
This is one of Warsaw and Poland’s most famous housing estates. Built from 1960 to 1964, it has stood the test of time brilliantly and is a model of people-friendly urban design. The estate consists of 24 low-rise buildings, three- and five-stories high. On the Popieluszko St. side, the only tall building was set: an 11-story block of flats, housing two-story, glass-enclosed art studios on the ground floor and a terrace cafe on the top floor. All apartments had to meet the spatial norm of 11 sq. m per resident. From public consultations, a model was created for what are termed variable apartments for families with children. The estate;s designer, the architect Halina Skibniewska, also designed a system of convertible wall units, furniture and dziecińce, that is, expanded playgrounds. Skibniewska tried tǫ preserve existing vegetation of a fruit orchard, hence the estate’s name and the presence of fruit trees. All this made Sady I a model estate’s of that era, a backdrop for movie sets and a tour destination.

The Sady Milk Bar
Warsaw’s only detached milk bar and the only one that survives today in Żoliborz. The establishment, where 200 liters of soup are served every day, was part of Halina Skibniewskaya’s concept of a social estate, intended for residents of the estate and along with commercial pavilions alonġ Krasińskiego St. was integral to the original design premise. Established in 1966, as a perennial favorite of local students and retirees, it’s been in continuous operation ever since, serving the classic menu of a typical milk bar.
Krasińskiego St. 36

Texts based on Ilustrowany atlas architektury Żoliborza, published by Centrum Architektury; texts by Michał Krasucki and Monika Powalisz, selected by Kajetan Korszeń, adapted by Bogna Świątkowska.

This is a well-loved part of Warsaw. You’ll find wonderful examples of prewar modernist architecture here and one of the capital’s most beautiful parks. Walking the narrow streets is a great pleasure – you can forget the hustle and bustle of the city, slow down a bit and breathe easy. Join us for an architecture tour!

PGE National Stadium
The facility was built to prepare for the Euro 2012 Football Championship to replace the Dziesięciolecia Stadium, constructed here after the Second World War. The massive structure has completely changed the landscape in this part of the city. Its spire rises 100 meters above the football field below. The folding roof’s structure is mounted on sloping steel columns set around the stadium’s perimeter. In their backdrop lies the openwork metal-mesh facade. Intertwining stripes make the building resemble a wicker basket, with colors alluding to the white-red Polish flag. Along with these local references, the stadium’s architecture maintains a neutral global aesthetic informed by technology and functionality. Beneath the stands are exhibition and conference areas, offices and garages. Sports events and concerts are held here.
Fr. J. Poniatowski Ave. 1 

Dziesięciolecia Stadium remnants
The original stadium opened in 1955 during the World Youth and Students Festival, named to commemorate the People’s Republic of Poland’s tenth anniversary. Its grandstands, strewn with earth and rubble and seeded outside with grass, gently transitioned into the park around the stadium, blending the arena into the green Vistula Valley landscape, with its immense scale could only be felt from within. From 1989 to 2008, the decrepit stadium was home to Jarmark Europa, Europe’s largest open-air market. The new National Stadium was then built in its place, incorporating remnants to commemorate its predecessor incorporated: Adam Roman’s Relay Race sculpture and the entry frames. The pavilion originally housing locker rooms and offices is also preserved, decorated with a ceramic frieze.
Fr. J. Poniatowski Ave. 1 

Plon, Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz (1946)
During postwar modernization of the stadium’s surroundings, most fences were removed to create a single accessible public space with terraces, walls and benches, bountiful with greenery and without barriers, rich with artistic sculptures. Many of those sculptures have been removed or stolen or have simply fallen apart. Only Plon by Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz, whose works include the sculptural decor by the Castle Square escalator, has remained, registered on the monuments list in 2011 and renovated, thanks in part to fundraising by residents.
Zwycięzców St. 11

PROM Kultury in Saska Kępa
Situated on a triangular plot between Brukselska and Wersalska Streets, this building was designed with references to local architectural traditions yet it’s contemporary. On the roof is a terrace of an interesting design with an amphitheater from which one enjoys the view over the Saska Kępa rooftops. In 2016, it received the local Lachert and Szanajca architecture award.
Brukselska St. 23

YMCA Rowing Club
A lesser-known early work by the architects of Warsaw’s railroad stations: Arseniusz Romanowicz and Piotr Szymaniak. From 1947 to 1948, the Polish branch of the YMCA built a modern rowing club with financial assistance from that organization’s US headquarters, which even donated materials. The pavilion’s architecture also indicates American ties – it resembles Frank Lloyd Wright’s sprawling villa designs (often called prairie houses). Despite alterations (to insulate and partially change the facade’s color scheme, and removing an external spiral staircase), the building still impresses, due in particular to the beautiful layout of the masses with an extensive terrace and cascading stairs leading to the first-floor loggia. Under the terrace on the ground floor are hangars for boats (called sculls or shells), which run the risk of flooding when the Vistula’s waters are high.
Wał Miedzeszyński 397

Rhythm, Henryk Kuna (1929)
This sculpture’s first version, made of white marble, adorned the Polish pavilion’s courtyard in Paris in 1925 at the Exhibition of Decorative Arts and Design. It epitomized the art deco style: using the language of modern art sparingly, looking also to antiquity and to national tradition, cultivating traditional craftsmanship and noble materials. Not surprisingly, the sculpture gave the name to an entire art movement: the “Rhythm” Association of Polish Artists. Which brought together the creators of what is termed Polish decorative art.: a native variation on art deco that gained acclaim at the Polish pavilion in Paris then set the tone for years to come in official art here.
Ignacy Paderewski Skaryszewski Park

The chapel, Janusz Alchimowicz (1937)
Now near an artificial waterfall, the chapel was made for the Art and Technology World Exhibition in Paris in 1937. There it stood in on the approach leading to the Polish pavilion, against a trellis with a design recalling folk cut-outs. Inside was a Podhale-region image of the Virgin Mary, painted on glass. Made of whitewashed concrete, the chapel referred to the trend towards regionalism that then prevailed throughout Europe. Its iron cross was added later to crown it. During the Second World War, the chapel’s interior was used by the Polish underground as a contact drop.
Ignacy Paderewski Skaryszewski Park

Dancer, Stanislaw Jackowski (1927)
The sculpture is 165 cm tall, but despite its apparent lightness weighs about 235 kg (5.4 ft, over 500 lb). In a plaster version it was first shown at Zachęta in 1920, and seven years later the bronze cast was unveiled as the first sculpture in Skaryszewski Park by Warsaw’s mayor. The artist, Stanislaw Jackowski, an adherent of art nouveau, made other sculptures for Warsaw, including the Boy with an Alligator, which we can still admire in Dąbrowski Square.
Ignacy Paderewski Skaryszewski Park

Bathing, Olga Niewska (1929)
Olga Niewska was a popular artist making portrait and sports sculpture in the interwar period. Niewska represented Poland at world exhibitions and Olympic art competitions. For Bathing, she remained in the fashionable convention of art deco, and was awarded the Warsaw City Prize in 1928. A year later, this sculpture was placed in Skaryszewski Park.
In 1997, thieves tried to saw the sculpture from its pedestal, damaging its left foot.
Ignacy Paderewski Skaryszewski Park

Text based on Ilustrowany atlas architektury Saskiej Kępy; publisher: Centrum Architektury; authors: Grzegorz Piątek, Jarosław Trybuś; selection: Kajetan Korszeń; adaptation: Bogna Świątkowska.

Today the Wola district is synonymous with booming business: Warsaw’s “big city” and the growth of residential investment. However, Wola hasn’t always looked like this. Its history dates back to the late 14th century, when the first mention appeared of a princely village: Wielka Wieś Wola. In Polish history, Wola appears many times and gained special fame during the era of free elections, when the nobility and knights elected new rulers for the Polish throne. This happened from the 16th and 18th centuries, from the first to the last – the tenth – royal election.

Among the Wola landscape’s most characteristic elements were windmills (młyny), hence the part of the district called Młynów and Młynarska Street, still called this today. The beginning of Wola’s modernization came with railroad construction and industrial development in this part of the city. The nineteenth century’s second half was an industrial boom, during which big metallurgical, chemical and food industries were established, and a huge number of smaller manufactories were in operation. Wola grew from its great-village status into Warsaw’s industrial heart and in 1916 was incorporated into the capital’s borders, becoming an official district.

After the Second World War, Wola was rebuilt, like the rest of the capital, and once again became the city’s industrial backbone and one of the key industrial districts in the country up through 1989. Today the district’s industrial character is almost gone, with apartments, business and service centers and museums built into former factories. What is eye-catching now is the dense cluster of skyscrapers known as Warsaw’s “big city.” Here, ultra-modern architecture contrasts with old Warsaw’s remains, aged buildings and a few small factories, which adds color to the district. Wola isn’t only its architecture and industrial spirit. It was also a place of migration for people of different religions and nationalities. Here the Jewish, Ukrainian and Karaite diasporas were most numerous. While following the places indicated on the map, you’ll certainly come across remains and traces of Wola’s rich, complex history.

Kasprzaka St. sculptures
The First Biennale of Metal Sculpture opened in September 1968. Some 35 artists from Poland and abroad were invited to participate in this artistic event. A total of 60 outdoor sculptures were created. Most were placed along Kasprzaka St. and were to be viewed in motion, with a few smaller productions located in the Gen. Józef Sowiński Park. Most sculptures were abstract and geometric in style, but the event’s signature sculpture was Władysław Dariusz Frycz’s Giraffe. Nevertheless, most works had an ultra-modern look and were realized on a large scale. Today, only 10 sculptures can be seen in Col. Pacak-Kuźmirski square (between Wolska and Kasprzaka streets), including Frycz’s Giraffe, Avant-garde by Bronislaw Kubica, Composition by Tadeusz Sieklucki, Steel Etude by Jan Jaworski. Despite the small number of remaining sculptures, they constitute Warsaw’s single public-space sculpture gallery displaying how contemporary Polish sculpture looked in the late 1960s.
Płk. Pacaka-Kuźmirskiego square

The Wola Museum
Warsaw’s first district museum was established in 1974 in a neoclassical palace (built in 1880), the Sikorski Palace (named for its owner, Aleksander Sikorski). The museum is a branch of the Museum of Warsaw. You’ll see temporary exhibitions about social and cultural events related to environmental and climate issues. In addition, the museum offers numerous educational activities and workshops.
Srebrna St. 12

MURALS and GRAFFITI:

Gandzia Bandzia
This is the name of an inconspicuous Warsaw graffiti spot. However, it’s one of the city’s preeminent places for street art, and not only for the capital. Gandzia Bandzia was established in 1994 and has been maintained continuously to this day. On a small wall adjacent to the Wola Museum, new tags regularly appear, made by recognized teams from the “writers” community. It’s worth visiting this place regularly, for the impressive momentum and new style of the tags.
Srebrna St. 12, at the back of the Wola Museum

The Kamienico mural
The monumental Kamienico mural was created a ruined prewar tenement’s wall in 2009. Its maker is Wiktor Malinowski. The building at Waliców St. 14 had been within in the Warsaw Ghetto. A well-known Warsaw poet, Władysław Szlengel, lived there. The building was devastated by a bomb. The inscription “Kamienico” (tenement building) is made into a play on words, split into two terms to create an arrangement: “kamien” (stone) and “i co” (so what). The mural’s symbolic reference is to the tragedy of the place: the murderous liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto and the fighting in and defeat of the Warsaw Uprising.
Waliców St., 14

The Czystość jest? (Is It Clean?) mural
This was created on a wall of the Provincial Sanitary and Epidemiological Station building. It was created by the Twożywo Group (Krzysztof Sidorek, Mariusz Libel), a highly influential group in Polish art from the 1990s to the early 2000s and beyond. Characteristic features of this Żelazna St. mural are its play with typography and its geometry. Inscriptions and individual typographic signs build the whole composition. The mural was created as part of the Other City, Other Life program, which referenced the transformation processes that took place in the former Eastern Bloc. The title question about cleanliness can be read literally and also as a metaphor for the entire period of Poland’s political transformation.
Żelazna St. 79

Tibetan Gallery
This is a monumental street-art gallery set under an overpass at the Prymas Tysiąclecia and Marcin Kasprzak Streets’ intersection. The first murals were made in 2009 as part of the Graffiti Festival, which attracted the largest number of participants: more than 100 people over three days, from passersby and young people from nearby neighborhoods to Warsaw politicians. The mural was also inspired by the Dalai Lama receiving Honorary Citizenship from the City of Warsaw. Its unveiling took place a few days before the Tibetan leader’s arrival in Poland. Every year since then, new works inspired by Tibet have been created in the gallery.
Free Tibet roundabout at the Prymas Tysiąclecia Ave. and Marcin Kasprzak St. intersection

PUBLIC SPACE and PARKS:

Europejski Square
This is the youngest of Warsaw’s squares, opened in May 2016. It is nestled among high-rises of glass, aluminum and steel. It is a kind of enclave in the heart of Warsaw’s “big city.” And despite its surroundings, it’s a public square. In its contemporary form, it offers attractive small-park architecture, greenery and park furniture. Moreover, it’s an engaging place all year round due to various lively activities: concerts, screenings, art exhibitions.
Daszyńskiego roundabout, entrance from Prosta St.

Moczydło Park
Also known as Moczydlowa górka, it was created from 1962 to 1970 on what had been a garbage dump and clay pit. The first design work was begun by Alina Scholtz, a significant landscape architect in Warsaw and Poland. The park is in the Koło neighborhood and occupies 20 hectares between Deotymy, Górczewska, Prymasa Tysiąclecia and Czorsztyńska Streets. Within the park are four clean ponds where you can fish in the summer. The park’s value is in its diversity of terrain and vegetation. Playgrounds and outdoor gyms are located within it. This is one of Wola’s more scenic parks.

The Koło Forest
This park and forest area was being developed by the 1920s. The forest was created in the Rudawka River valley and on marshes and floodplains that once surrounded it. Two unique modernist housing estates are located next to Lasek na Kole: the TOR Estate (from the 1930s) and the BGK Building and Housing Exhibition Estate. When going for a walk in the park it’s a good idea to start from Obozowa St. The park is an interesting combination of planned and wild greenery.

Edward Szymański Park
Established in 1974, its architects were Kazimierz Kozlowski and Jakub Krzeczkowski. It’s adjacent to the Moczydło Park and the Gen. Józef Sowiński Park. It underwent extensive modernization and today is an attractive recreation area with a network of alleys, a promenade with an artificial river, bridges, fountains and overlooks. In addition, a pond has been formed here. You can also use new bike paths and a 1.5-kilometer rollerblade track with a cushioned surface. There’s also a roller-skating rink with a synthetic surface that’s used for launching model planes. From Elekcyjna St. you encounter a monument to the park’s patron, Edward Szymański, a left-wing poet and journalist associated with Wola.
Between Górczewska and Wolska St.

Gen. Józef Sowiński Park
Established in 1936 at the initiative of the Society of Friends of Wola on the grounds of Reduta Wolska (site of battles in the 1831 November Uprising) and the former Merenholtz clay and brickworks. Among the city’s largest newly created parks. Its designers were Zygmunt Hellwig and Kazimierz Kozlowski. A year after opening, a monument to General Sowiński, created by Tadeusz Breyer, was unveiled. In 1964, the park was enlarged and an amphitheater with more than 2,000 seats was built, which was covered with a tent roof on four masts in 2000. Concerts and festivals are held here. The park borders the Orthodox Cemetery and the grounds of the Saint John Klimak Orthodox Church.

PLACES OF CULTURE AND ACTIVITY:

Wolskie Centrum Kultury (WCK)
This is one of Wola’s intriguing places of cultural and social activity. Its headquarters is at Działdowska St. 6, but WCK includes as many as fourteen locations in the district. Among these are the Community House on Obozowa 85, the Open Colony on Górczewska 15, the Polish-Ukrainian Center Wolska and a Youth Club at Wolska 46/48. WCK conducts a wide range of artistic and cultural activities, and is active in the field of social integration, runs a workshop and a community garden and keeps bees.

STREET SPORT ON WOLA:

The Skate Park in Młynów on Żytnia St. and the KSS SkatePark at Elekcyjna 19 are some of Wola’s largest skateparks, where you can ride skateboards and rollerblades and can BMX. These spots are worth checking out. However, if you prefer more physical effort instead of doing stunts, check out the street workout at Ulrychów in Powstańców Warszawy Park.

Warsaw’s Praga is rich with character. Its own city for almost a century and a half, Praga was incorporated into Warsaw in 1791. It has always had its distinct ethos, rules and urban folklore. Today it’s a friendly, well-connected place via the M2 subway line. The space of Praga is changing very dynamically. More and more is being built here, interesting initiatives appear and pubs open, with historical industrial complexes being revitalized (from the former Koneser distillery to Centrum Artysztyczny Fabryka Trzciny and SWPS University). At the same time, Praga has retained its special atmosphere. Here more of the original prewar buildings have survived, which means that the old architecture with its characteristic courtyards called “wells” or courtyard shrines can be found alongside contemporary solutions. The cultural mix, the diversity of residents, remnants of still-vital backyard folklore, new artistic and social initiatives – all are part of Praga’s great wealth.
Praga is divided into two parts: the North and South. The first is more artistic, with independent art galleries, murals and the former city’s multicultural face. You’ll find the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy and Equal-to-the-Apostles Mary Magdalene with its onion-shaped domes, and St. Florian’s Cathedral with its twin spires, as well as the building of the Jewish house of prayer that houses the Praga Museum of Warsaw, and plenty of bars and music clubs. Praga Południe, on the other hand, is all about sports and recreation. Here we find the PGE National Stadium, which hosts matches and big concerts and operates an ice rink in winter. It’s here that the splendid Exhibition Canal begins its course, its flora and fauna in the midst of housing blocks. And here are the Vistula’s Poniatówka beach and atmospheric Saska Kępa, full of beautiful architecture and hidden curiosities.
Text: Aleksandra Litorowicz

Brine-graduation tower
Haller Square deserves a visit for many reasons: it’s one of Warsaw’s greenest squares, surrounded by monumental architecture. You’ll find cafes, the Pracownia Wschodnia art gallery, the Multicultural Center, and a friendly neighborhood spot: the brine-graduation tower. You can sit by it or better yet stroll around it, preferably on a windy, sunny day. The healthy microclimate radiates throughout the square – the graduation tower acts as a giant air filter, so the air here may be Warsaw’s cleanest! Visit from spring to autumn, for free.
Hallera Square

11 Listopada St. 22
Here’s the courtyard where the district’s party life is concentrated. You’ll visit bars, hear concerts, dance at a party, and gaze upon the walls’ ever-changing record of Warsaw street art.

Kijowska St. 11
Vis-à-vis the station exit from Warszawa Wschodnia (Warsaw East) you’ll face one of Warsaw’s longest apartment buildings, aka the “Długas”, “Tasiemiec”, “the Plank” or “Jamnik” (Dachshund). It’s 508 meters long and features 43 stairwells. In the 1970s, when it was built, it was hailed as the quintessence of modernity. On the other hand, legend has it that it was built to hide old Praga’s crumbling buildings from the sight of visitors leaving the station. The building entered the pop-culture annals of pop culture after its appearance in the video for Love Will Come Through (2003) by the Scottish rock band Travis.

The Praga Madonna shrine
This is among the many shrines in the Warsaw area (most of them in Praga!). These shrines were built mainly during the Second World War when residents of the occupied city sought support in faith. In many backyards of prewar buildings you’ll find statues of Mary or Jesus. Praga Madonna by Felix Giecewicz, however, isn’t set up in a yard but at a crossroads. Created in 1908 with contributions from Praga workers employed at an enamel- and metalware factory, it was meant to protect their plant from bankruptcy. Like many other shrines, it’s decorated with candles and flowers, their freshness taken care of by local residents. It’s listed in the register of relics.
Ząbkowska St. 54, at Korsaka St.

The Praga Museum of Warsaw
Praga is a district with character. It has its traditions and folklore. This museum is situated in a well-connected part of Warsaw’s right bank, on Targowa St. It is in a former Jewish house of prayer with original wall paintings that are preserved and respectfully kept. The terrace offers a panoramic view of the developing neighborhood. You’ll learn about Praga’s multicultural history and urban folklore. There’s a lot going on here! Workshops, educational walks, urban games, cinema, an open leatherworking workshop – these are just some of the attractions. Glance over the current lineup of events for families, young people and adults. Not just on weekends! Tickets can be purchased online. The museum organizes tours adapted to the needs of people with disabilities.
Targowa St. 50/52

Olszynka Grochowska Nature Reserve
This zone used to be considered very mysterious. It was called “the forest on islands” or “the forest on the water.” In the years between the world wars, a drainage canal was dug to prevent the area from turning into a floodplain. Today, the reserve can be reached from the center within 40 minutes by bus (521) or tram (9, 24). The forest stretches between Targówek Fabryczny and Gocławek. It contains a unique stand of deciduous trees, wet meadows, alder fen and carpets of herbs. In the reserve you also meet various birds, such as the green woodpecker, lesser spotted woodpecker and European serin. It’s a great place for family walks, educational tours, ornithological observation, jogging and cycling, or contemplative shinrin-yoku.

The Neon Museum
Today’s Soho Factory complex houses a museum that collects old neon signs that once lit up Warsaw streets. Look for it in building 73, in a former granary. During the transformation years, neon signs were being dismantled and destroyed or forgotten, while in our time the fashion for neon signs has begun to return, to which the museum has contributed significantly. It’s an attractive and very atmospheric place – you’ll see about 100 original neon signs that they have salvaged. Go and be inspired by the intense colors and beautiful fonts.
Mińska St. 25

Praga Park
This park has a rich history. It was opened in 1871. It was a modern place offering a lot of entertainment (cafes, an amusement park with a roller coaster, parachute tower and a theater). Today it’s more geared toward recreation and relaxation. It remains an interesting place that’s a vestibule to the Warsaw Zoological Garden. Off-road sculptures of animals have been installed in the park, including a phenomenal 13-meter giraffe in whose spotty body of stainless steel birds make their nests. There’s a playground, a much-liked and popular bandshell and a now-defunct enclosure for the nearby zoo’s brown bears.

Różycki Market
An iconic place for the atmosphere and folklore of Warsaw. The marketplace was founded in 1871 by a Praga entrepreneur, pharmacist and pharmacy owner. It concentrated the trade of multicultural Prague. Before the Second World War, its services came mainly from Jewish merchants. During the Warsaw Uprising, it burned down. During the Communist era, the On Różyc market was where you’d get much more than in regular stores. Some shady activities were also happening here, directly entwined with the entrepreneurial level. Today, some characteristic buildings have undergone redevelopment, but you still feel that old Praga atmosphere. While you’re here, do two more things: visit the Zmiana Foundation at Brzeska St. 21, which runs its Reading Room there, and be sure to eat pierogis, the iconic stuffed dumplings.
Targowa St. 54

Praga’s lakes
It’s worth getting underway at Balaton Park, blending picturesquely into the housing-block landscape, the main attraction of which is the lake and its relaxing infrastructure: a terrace, bridges, refreshment establishments, a park, walking paths, playgrounds and a volleyball court. You can also go boating. By way of the Gocław Canal, Balaton connects to another body of water between those blocks: Gocławskie Lake. Here the Exhibition Canal, a remarkably interesting and charming two-kilometer strip of water bringing a wealth of nature to the heart of residential neighborhoods, sets off on its course. Be sure to take a walk along its banks, with a detour to a broad stretch of beautiful family gardens! The canal links you to this list’s third lake: the Kamionkowski, where you’ll find water-equipment rentals, pubs, a rosarium, a park waterfall and the Skaryszewski Park’s ponds.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Aleksandra Litorowicz – president of the Puszka Foundation, cultural studies scholar, researcher, curator, academic lecturer (SWPS University and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw). Creator of the competition for Warsaw of the future FUTUWAWA, a website with Warsaw street art and art in public spaces Puszka.waw.pl and educational website Sztukapubliczna.pl. Co-founder of the SAS School of Community Architecture. Head of the nationwide study of monumental painting and the research project “Squares of Warsaw (to reclaim)”. Contributor to Magazyn Miasta and Notes na 6 tygodni. Author of the Miastozdziczenie.pl initiative investigating interspecies urban habitation.