Historic Castle Square in Warsaw, Poland is the entrance to the city’s Old Town (Stare Miasto). Between 85% and 90% of the city of Warsaw was destroyed during World War Two following the failed Warsaw Uprising, which infuriated Hitler. The castle at right and Sigismind’s Column at left were victims of the destruction. Both were rebuilt between 1971 and 1984, incorporating the remnants of the originals wherever possible. Most of the original column now lies in pieces on a lawn adjacent to the castle. The Castle, which was the historic residence of Polish kings, was restored in such perfect detail that it was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
coming to warsaw in September the place ofmy father and his family under german occupation. Wayne Lewan/Lewandowski/
I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I did, Wayne.
When my husband and I toured most of Europe over a ten month period some years ago, nothing impressed me more than this square in Warsaw. We saw photos showing its total devastation and we saw these perfectly recreated these buildings. The effort that went into creating the duplicates during the Soviet era deserves everyone’s admiration.
Libbie
Agreed Libbie – I’m sure that’s why it made it onto the UNESCO World Heritage list.
This is my favourite place in Warsaw as well. I went there in December and still it wasn’t deserted or gloomy. There were tourists and locals both. I went again at night to do some night photography but my hands were shivering badly. 🙂
Love this place.
So much of Warsaw was surprisingly beautiful, Nisha!