Warsaw Old Town

THE PLAN OF THE OLD TOWN IN WARSAW

1. Stone Steps Street 2. Historical Museum of the City Warsaw 3. Barbican 4. City walls 5. House Salvatore 6. Museum Guild of Handicrafts Leather

them. J. Kiliński 7. House at St. Anna8. House of Fukiers9. Museum of Literature 10. Museum of Arts and Precision Crafts11. Church of Sts. Martin 12. Gothic Bridge 13. House At Pelican14. Cathedral John the Baptist 15. Shrine of Our Lady of Grace 16. Kanonia Street 17. Royal Castle 18. Pod Blacha Palace of 19. Tunnel of route W-E 20. Dung Top 21. Mermaid monument 22. Zygmunt Column

Warsaw's Old Town (Polish: Stare Miasto, colloquially: Starówka) is the oldest historic district of the city. It is bounded by Wybrzeże Gdańskie, along the bank of the Vistula, and by Grodzka, Mostowa and Podwale Streets. It is one of Warsaw's most prominent tourist attractions.

Until 1817 the Old Town's most notable feature was the Town Hall built before 1429. In 1701 the square was rebuilt by Tylman of Gameren, and in 1817 the Town Hall was demolished. Since the 19th century, the four sides of the Market Square have borne the names of four notable Poles who once lived on the respective sides: Ignacy Zakrzewski (south), Hugo Kołłątaj (west), Jan Dekert (north) and Franciszek Barss (east).In 1918 the Royal Castle once again became the seat of Poland's highest authorities: the President of Poland and his chancellery. In the late 1930s, during the mayoralty of Stefan Starzyński, the municipal authorities began refurbishing the Old Town and restoring it to its former glory. The Barbican and the Old Town Market Place were partly restored. These efforts, however, were brought to an end by the outbreak of World War II.

During the Invasion of Poland (1939), much of the district was badly damaged by the German Luftwaffe, which targeted the city's residential areas and historic landmarks in a campaign of terror bombing. Following the Siege of Warsaw, parts of the Old Town were rebuilt, but immediately after the Warsaw Uprising (August-October 1944) what had been left standing was systematically blown up by the German Army. A statue commemorating the Uprising, "the Little Insurgent," now stands on the Old Town's medieval city wall.After World War II, the Old Town was meticulously rebuilt. As many of the original bricks were reused as possible. The rubble was sifted for reusable decorative elements, which were reinserted into their original places. Bernardo Bellotto's 18th-century vedute, as well as pre-World-War II architecture students' drawings, were used as essential sources in the reconstruction effort.

Warsaw's Old Town has been placed on the UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites as „an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century”

Market of Old Town

Old Market Place

Warsaw Mermaid at the Marketplace of Old city

Wąski Dunaj Street (Narrow Danube Street)tenement „Under Saint Anna"

Dziekania Street(Deans Street)

Kamienne Schodki Street (Stone Steps Street)

Zapiecek Street (Zapiecek means place behind the stove)

Sundial on Zapiecek

Contemporary Art Gallery "Zapiecek"

Tenement with the bas-relief of a lion, called "Under the Lion"

The narrowest tenement in Poland and Europe, at Canonry Street

Tenement "Under Christ„or „Salvator”

Queen Anna’s corridor connecting the Royal Castle with the St. John’s Catedral, 16th century.

Castle Square Column of King Zygmunt at the Castle Square

View of the Old Town from the terrace on Krakowskie Przedmiescie 68.Column of Sigismund, castle, in the depths of Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

and the Jesuit Church

St. John's Cathedral, facade

Appearance pre-World War II

Castle Square as seen from the Podwale street

Church of Sts Anne at Krakowskie Predmieście, right next to the Castle Square

Fragment of the Old Town fortifications

Warsaw Barbican

Tenement "Under the basilisk" with preserved neo-classical facade.

Inside is a stylish restaurant that resembles well-known legend about Basilisk.

Piwna Street (Beer Street) tenement "At the pigeons'

Tenement "Under pigeons" - architectural detail

Castle Square in the morning mist …

… at sunset

... and in the night illumination

Warsaw's Old Town at night

Nightly panorama of the Old Town

Music - song "Stone Steps" J. Kępski composer, sings Irena Santor

Illustrations from the web sites had chosen - Anna