Warsaw

Warsaw (in Polish, Warszawa; AFI: [var]ava]) is the largest capital and city in Poland since 1596. It is also the seat of the President of the Republic, the Parliament and the rest of the central authorities. It has a population of 1 745 000 (in 2014), which makes it the seventh most populous city of the European Union, and which has about 3 101 000 inhabitants in its metropolitan area.

The city's history dates back to the late 13th century century. At that time it was a small fishing village. In 1569, King Sigismund III transferred the court from him along with the Polish capital from Krakow to Warsaw. Once described as the "Paris of the North", Warsaw was considered one of the most beautiful cities in the pre-World War II world. Bombed at the start of the German invasion in 1939, the city held out. Deportations of the Jewish population to concentration camps sparked the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 and the destruction of the ghetto after a month of fighting. A general revolt in Warsaw between August and October 1944 led to further devastation. Warsaw acquired the new title of "Phoenix City" due to its long history and complete reconstruction after World War II, which had left more than 85% of the buildings in ruins.

Warsaw is the headquarters of Frontex, the European border guard and coastal agency. Warsaw is also one of the most dynamic metropolitan cities in Europe. In 2012, The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Warsaw as the 32nd most liveable city in the world. In 2017, the city ranked 4th in the "Business Friendly" and 8th in "Human Capital and Lifestyle". It has also been ranked as one of the most liveable cities in Central and Eastern Europe and is one of the main economic-financial and cultural centers of Europe.

Warsaw's Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. It is the oldest part of the city and is also the main tourist attraction with Sigismund's Column, the Barbican and the Royal Castle.

Warsaw is known for several treaties such as: the Warsaw Pact, the Warsaw Convention and the Warsaw Treaty.

Etymology

Warsaw Mermaid, the city symbol.

The name Warszawa comes from the possessive of the name Warsz ―that is, Warszewa or Warszowa―. According to popular etymology, the name comes from a poor fisherman named Wars and his wife, a mermaid named Sawa.

Since the second half of the XVII century century, the emblem of the city is said siren with a sword and shield in his hands, and represents the creature that, according to legend, ordered the founding of the city.

History

Early history

Towards the end of the X century and the beginning of the XI, there was a small trading settlement called Old Bródno on the edge of Warsaw. This small town competed commercially with Kamion and Jazdów, two nearby towns. Kamion is estimated to have been founded around the year 1065. The first historical record of Jazdów is from July 1262, when the town was razed to the ground by the Lithuanians. Duke Bolesław II then moved the town of Jazdów two miles north, where there was a small fishing village called Warszowa, and he built a castle. A wooden chapel was built near the fortification, but it was burned by the Lithuanians. would become the Cathedral of San Juan. Around 1300, the city received its municipal charter, which was later lost. In 1339 the city came under the jurisdiction of a bailío, and from 1376 it was administered by a council. By the end of the century, the city already had a double defensive wall.

The greatest amount of information about the city in its early days is contained in the court case against the Teutonic Knights, which took place in St. John's Cathedral in 1339. During the XIV Warsaw's economy was based on crafts and trade. In 1350, the Augustinian church and monastery were founded. In 1411, Princess Anna Mazowiecka ordered the construction of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Church of Santa Maria in the New District of Warsaw.

In 1413, Janusz I made Warsaw the official capital of the Duchy of Masovia, replacing Czersk. The estimated population on this date was 4,500 inhabitants. The reconstruction of the castle, the walls and the Town Hall began immediately. In addition, since 1408, the expansion of the city to the north of the original site had begun, the city being divided into the new town and the old town. The new town (Nowe Miasto) had its own municipal charter and its own laws. The aim of this was to regulate the presence of new settlements on the outskirts of the city, inhabited mainly by Jews.

The citizens, who at that time had the same nationality, were marked by a great disparity in their financial status. This differentiation and the contrasts of social development resulted in 1525 in the first revolt of the poor in Warsaw against the rich and the authority that governed them.

16th to 18th centuries

In 1526, with the extinction of the Mazoic ducal dynasty, King Sigismund I the Elder entered the city, and after the local government swore allegiance to the Polish king, the city, along with its province, was annexed to the Kingdom of Poland. The incorporation into the kingdom meant an acceleration in the development of the city, which became its main city. In 1529, Warsaw served as the seat of the Sejm for the first time, although without having a permanent seat. Already in the past, the meetings of the Mazoic Diet were held in the Church of San Martín.

A Barbecue (1540) and defensive walls of the historic center.

In 1526, with the arrival of the Polish king, intolerance towards Jews was decreed in a municipal ordinance. The first record of Jews in Warsaw dates from 1414, and it is known that in 1483 they had been expelled to the outskirts of the city, returning shortly thereafter. After the shock of learning of the return of the Jews to Warsaw, Warsaw rose up in arms, but the decree of 1526 had little effect, and the Jewish ghetto continued to grow in the center of the city.. After falling in love with a young Jewish woman in 1570, the king called off the attack on the Jews and allowed them to pass. Despite the continuous friction between the patricians, guilds and Jews, the rapid expansion of the economy allowed these groups to coexist. It is estimated that Warsaw began the century XIV with 4,500 inhabitants, its population rose to 20,000 by the end of the century. In 1544, the old city was damaged by fire.

A view of Warsaw in the centuryXVIwith St. John's Cathedral on the right.

In 1571 the union of Lublin was signed, where the Republic of Two Nations was declared and it was agreed to always hold Sejm meetings in Warsaw. Since 1573, royal elections have been held in the city. These elections meant the temporary entry into the city of some 50,000 or 100,000 armed nobles, and crime increased. That same year, the first permanent bridge over the Vistula River, which had been under construction since 1568 on the orders of Sigismund II, was completed. This bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1603.

In 1573, Warsaw gave its name to the Warsaw Confederation, formally establishing religious freedom in the Republic. During the reign of Sigismund II, the Royal Castle was remodeled by Giovanni Battista di Quadro, turning it into a Renaissance palace.

In 1595, a fire damaged the Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow. King Sigismund III decided to move the court to Warsaw a year later, due to its central location between the capitals of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Kraków and Vilnius respectively, and its proximity to the port of Danzig, which was always under Swedish threat. The royal architect, Santa Gucci, then began the renovation of the castle, and at the same time began a new period of prosperity for the city. However, Warsaw suffered some ravages of nature at the turn of the century XVII. In 1602, a hurricane destroyed the cathedral tower, and in 1607, a fire swept through the old town square.

In 1611, to commemorate a Polish victory at Smolensko and the capture of Tsar Basil IV, the king and court moved permanently to Warsaw, which became the Polish capital. However, the remodeling work was not finished, and it continued for another 20 years. In the following years, the city expanded into the suburbs. Various private and independent districts were established, owned by the aristocracy and the bourgeoisie, which were governed under their own laws. These were occupied by artisans and merchants. The development of the city was halted by the arrival of a wave of Swedish invasions. Between 1624 and 1625, and 1652 and 1653, Warsaw was struck by the plague. Three times between 1655 and 1658 the city was under siege, and each time it was taken and pillaged by Swedish, Brandenburg and Transylvanian forces. Many books, historical objects and works of art were stolen by the invaders. However, with the defeat of the Turks at the Battle of Kahlenberg in 1683, during the reign of John III Sobieski, the city returned to its former prosperity.

Warsaw Battle of 1656.

In 1700, the Great Northern War broke out and the city was taken several times. On May 12, 1702, Warsaw was captured by the Swedish troops of King Charles XII. In 1704, after the flight of the Polish king Augustus II, the Sejm appointed Stanislaus I Leszczynski, an ally of the Swedes, king. Augusto forged an alliance with Russia in Narva, in the summer of 1704, and entered the war, trying to take the city on July 21, 1705, to prevent the coronation of Stanislaus, without success. On October 21 of that year, the Russian-Saxon army besieged the city. In 1707, in a virtual peace given the peace treaty between Augustus II and Charles XII, allied Russian troops entered Warsaw. After two months, the Russian forces abandoned the city. Several times during that war the city was forced to pay high taxes.

The Baroque-style Visiting Church is one of the most beautiful churches in Warsaw. The organ stands out, which was the scene of the concerts and improvisations of the famous musician Chopin.

At the start of the War of the Polish Succession, the city again began to regress economically and culturally. In 1740, Stanislaus Konarski established the Collegium Nobilium, a school for noblemen's sons, a predecessor of the University of Warsaw. Seven years later, Józef Andrzej Załuski and his brother Andrzej Stanisław Załuski opened the first Polish public library. Since 1742, an Urban Commission under the command of Marshal Franciszek Bieliński began the paving of Warsaw streets, as well as the construction of drainages and pedestrian bridges over ravines. However, large sections of the city continued to grow outside of municipal control. Thanks to the efforts of the Mayor of Warsaw's Old Town, Jan Dekert, in 1767 the city was administered under a single municipality, divided into seven districts. In addition, in 1791, the liberties of the burghers were extended.

The second half of the 18th century and the first half of the XIX marked a new and characteristic stage in the development of the city. Warsaw became the main practicing city of early capitalism. During the reign of Stanislaus II Poniatowski, the Enlightenment reached Poland, with Warsaw being the nation's cultural, economic, political, and commercial center. In 1765, the Cadet Corps, the city's first secular college, was opened, and shortly thereafter installed the National Education Committee, the world's first Ministry of Education. The theater and printing presses flourished. The growth of political activity, the development of progressive ideas, political and economic changes all had an impact on the formation of the city. Indeed, the rise of banking, manufacturing, and other enterprises created a firm economic base, and experiments in urban planning began. The composition of Warsaw's population changed during the Enlightenment. Factories developed, the number of workers increased, the class of merchants, industrialists, and bankers expanded. At the same time there was a strong rural migration to the cities. In 1792, Warsaw had 115,000 inhabitants, compared to 24,000 in 1754. These changes brought about the development of the construction industry. New noble residences were settled, the middle class built their own houses which demonstrated a marked social differentiation. The residences of the representatives of the richest stratum, the great merchants and bankers accompanied by the magnates. A new type of city developed, with houses built responding to the needs and tastes of the bourgeoisie. All of them were marked by an outdated style.

New city of Warsaw in 1778. A painting by Bernardo Bellotto.

New City in 2018, north of the Stare Miastothe historic centre of Warsaw.

After the first partition of Poland, a parliamentary constitution was proclaimed in Warsaw on May 3, 1791, the first European constitution. However, these Polish civil gains were overshadowed by the advent of a second Polish partition. In 1794, during the Kościuszko revolt, the Warsawians supported Tadeusz Kościuszko by attacking the Russian forces stationed in Warsaw, defeating them. The Prussians came to the aid of Russia and besieged Warsaw, but the lack of heavy artillery and new Polish uprisings in the rear condemned the siege to failure. The arrival of Count Aleksandr Suvorov with reinforcements catalyzed the Polish defeat, and on November 4 Russian troops stormed the Warsaw suburb of Praga, massacring an estimated 10,000 people. On November 5, the Poles in Warsaw surrendered and this led to a Third Partition in 1795, which dissolved Poland as a state and reduced Warsaw to the level of a provincial town, integrated into the Kingdom of Prussia.

19th and 20th centuries

In 1806, the Russians were driven out of Warsaw, which was occupied by Napoleon Bonaparte's army. Following the terms of the Treaty of Tilsit, Warsaw became the capital of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. However, the fall of the First French Empire also brought the end of the Duchy and of this brief period of political and cultural revival in the city.

The bridge over the Vistula River seen from the district of Prague (in Warsaw) in 1852.

Following the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Warsaw became the seat of Congress Poland, a constitutional monarchy in personal union with the Russian Empire. The Royal University of Warsaw was established in 1816.

In 1830 the November Uprising began. Although the Polish forces had some victories, the revolt was defeated and Warsaw was stormed by Russia. Warsaw's autonomy in Congress Poland was extinguished, and a military government was established in its place. However, this did not stop the city from continuing to grow, and the textile and metallurgical industries prospered. Between 1840 and 1848, the city was built the first rail link with Warsaw, connecting it with Vienna. Between 1851 and 1855 the first drinking water system was built. This work was designed by Enrico Marconi, who also created a sculpture of a mermaid, one of the icons of the city.

Mariscal Street at the beginning of the centuryXX.. The grandeur of some buildings made Warsaw "North Paris".

In October 1860, stink bombs were thrown into the Grand Theater in Warsaw, where Tsar Alexander II and Emperor Franz Joseph I were present. On February 27, 1861, a Polish crowd protesting against the administration The tsarist was appeased by Russian troops, killing five people. In 1863 the January Uprising began, the defeat of which brought as an immediate consequence the dissolution of Congress Poland and its official annexation to the Russian Empire. The Russification of Poland intensified, leaving the public administration and schools under Russian control.

Warsaw experienced a period of flourishing at the end of the 19th century under mayor Sokrates Starynkiewicz (between 1875 and 1892), a Russian-born general appointed by Tsar Alexander III. Under his administration, Warsaw renovated the drinking water system and began the construction of the drainage system, which were designed and executed by the British engineer William Lindley and his son William Heerlein Lindley.In addition, new churches were built and the old ones were restored. In 1884, a new cemetery was built in Bródno and the telephone system was put into operation. In 1881 a public transport system based on horses was inaugurated, and new streets and sidewalks were planned. The gas lighting was also improved.

Around 1903, 756,000 people lived in Warsaw. Despite the increased underground revolutionary activities from 1905-1907, censorship of the press was eased. The establishment of Polish schools and cultural institutions was once again allowed, and a new stage of cultural revival began. In 1907 the electric tram also appeared.

World Wars

The bombing of Warsaw in 1914 by the German leader Schütte Lanz SL2.

In 1915, during World War I, Warsaw was occupied by the Second German Empire. With the Russian and German defeat, the German Social Democrats freed Józef Piłsudski, who arrived in the Polish capital on November 10, 1918. The next day he proclaimed the Second Polish Republic, and Warsaw regained its status as the national capital. During the course of the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, the Soviets managed to push the Poles back as far as Warsaw; however, the Battle of Warsaw, which took place on the eastern outskirts of the city, was won by the Poles, and the Red Army was driven out of the country, in an unexpected outcome popularly known as the Vistula miracle. Poland stopped to the Bolshevik forces, and with this episode the "expansion of socialism" towards Eastern Europe was postponed until the end of World War II. The deep enmity between the Russians and the Poles led to some unfortunate events, such as the demolition of the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky, located in what is now the large esplanade of Piłsudski Square.

Viscount d'Abernon, a member of the Inter-Allied Mission to Poland, later declared:

The history of contemporary civilization does not know an event of greater importance than the battle of Warsaw, 1920, and no other whose meaning has been more despised.

Sir Edgar Vincent d'Abernon

For his part, Vladimir Lenin declared two months after the battle:

(We learned) that near Warsaw is not only the centre of the Polish bourgeois government and the capital of the republic, but the center of the contemporary system of international imperialism, and that these circumstances would have allowed us to shake this system, and to drive policies, not only in Poland, but in Germany and England.

Vladimir Lenin

In 1925, Warsaw reached one million inhabitants. Despite the Great Depression, new industries such as automobiles and aircraft developed. Warsaw continued to be a cultural center, and from 1927 the Frédéric Chopin International Competition of Pianists began to be held, and from 1937, the Henryk Wieniawski International Competition of Violinists.

Warsaw in 1915: In front of the Saxon Gardens, destroyed during the war, the Orthodox Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevski was lifted, which the Poles themselves demolished after acquiring independence.

The beginning of World War II began one of the most traumatic experiences in this city. During the siege of Warsaw, some 10,000 people died and more than 50,000 were injured. The Germans carried out a cultural plunder of the city, and many inhabitants were sent to labor camps or concentration camps. The invaders also established a the Jewish population in a ghetto, known as the Warsaw Ghetto. Thousands died of hunger, disease and overcrowding before being sent to death camps, including Treblinka, from the end of 1941. When the news of the final fate of Polish Jews broke, the uprising began. Warsaw ghetto, which lasted almost a month. German troops under the command of Jürgen Stroop put an end to Jewish resistance, and after destroying the Great Synagogue, the symbol of Jewish Warsaw, they resumed deportations to Treblinka. Ludwig Fischer would be appointed governor of the Warsaw district, which carried out an administration completely composed of Germans. The Jews found themselves totally isolated in Warsaw in order to face the Nazi regime since this massacre was hidden from the rest of the world. Historians recount different cases of complicity, such as when in 1944 members of the German Red Cross guided visitors from the International Red Cross through the Theresienstadt concentration camp, for a "walk" default that hid the horrors of extermination.

The city would suffer further destruction in the following year. Coinciding with the approach of the Red Army to Warsaw, the Polish Underground Army launched a new uprising against the Germans. It is estimated that between 150,000 and 180,000 people died during the conflict. In total, it is believed that between 600,000 and 800,000 Varsovians died in World War II. 30% of the city was destroyed in the fighting, but after the war ended almost the entire city would be destroyed. Previously, both Hitler and Himmler had expressed their desire to destroy the Polish capital, with the railway system being the only surviving structure, as it was used to transport German troops. At the end of the German occupation, the Royal Castle was destroyed, the main libraries burned down, along with museums, churches, palaces and other cultural buildings. Warsaw, once known as "the Paris of the North", lost about 80% of its buildings.

Warsaw's view ended World War II.

Modern Times

In January 1945, the Soviets entered Warsaw, and on February 1, the Polish People's Republic was proclaimed. An urban reconstruction office was immediately created. Large prefabricated housing projects were erected in Warsaw to address housing shortages, along with other buildings typical of an Eastern Bloc city, such as the Palace of Culture and Science. The city resumed its role as the capital of Poland and the center of the country's political and economic life. Many of the historic streets, buildings and churches have been restored to their original form. In 1989, Warsaw's Old Quarter was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. On May 14, 1955, the Warsaw Pact was signed, which would serve as the military organization of the Soviet Union and its satellite countries, until its disappearance after the fall of the Berlin Wall, in 1989.

Pope John Paul II's visits to his native country in 1979 and 1983 provided support for the fledgling Solidarity Movement, fueling the growth of anti-communist fervor. In 1979, less than a year after becoming pope, John Paul II celebrated a mass in the Victory Square (or Piłsudski Square) in Warsaw and concluded his sermon: "Let the Spirit come down and renew the face of this earth". These words had a great impact on Polish citizens, who they understood it as an incentive for democratic changes.

In 1995, the Warsaw Metro was inaugurated. With Poland's entry into the European Union in 2004, Warsaw experienced the highest economic growth in its history.

Geography

Overview of new development areas.

It is located in the center of the country, in the region of the Masovian voivodeship (it is also its capital), on the banks of the Wisła (Vistula) river, about 100 meters above sea level, 350 kilometers from the Carpathian Mountains and 523 kilometers from Berlin.

Warsaw satellite view.

Warsaw lies in two main geomorphological forms: the flat moraine plateau and the Vistula Valley with its asymmetrical pattern of different terraces. The Vistula River is the axis of Warsaw, dividing the city into two parts, left and right. The left part is located on the moraine plateau (between 10-25 meters above the Vistula level) and on the banks of the same river (max. 6.5 m above the Vistula level). The important feature of relief in this part of Warsaw is the edge of the moraine plateau, known as the Warsaw Escarpment. This is 20-25 m high in the Old Town and Central District and about 10 m in the north and south of Warsaw. It passes through the city and plays an important role as an attraction of Warsaw.

The flat moraine plateau has a few natural and man-made ponds, as well as groups of mud pits. The design of the Vistula terraces are asymmetrical. The left side mainly consists of two levels: the upper one is an old floodplain terrace and the lower one is a flat floodplain terrace. The contemporary flood plain still has visible valleys and depressions with water supply systems from old Vistula channels. They are made up of still quite a few natural streams and lakes, as well as the design of drainage ditches. The right side of Warsaw has different models of geomorphological forms.

Climate

Warsaw according to the Köppen classification, is in the continental humid climate (Dfb). Where the winters are cold and the summers are cool. The average temperature is –2.4 °C in January and 19.1 °C in July. They can often reach temperatures of 30°C in the summer. The annual average rainfall is 500 millimeters of precipitation and the rainiest month is July. Spring and fall are usually nice seasons.

Average temperature parameters of Warsaw (1991-2020)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	13.8	18.3	22.9	30.4	32.8	35.3	35.9	37.0	34.5	25.9	19.2	15.4	37.0
Average temperature (°C)	1.0	2.6	7.4	14.5	19.8	23.1	25.2	24.7	19.1	12.9	6.5	2.3	13.3
Average temperature (°C)	-1.5	-0.4	3.2	9.2	14.3	17.7	19.7	19.1	14.0	8.7	3.8	-0.1	9
Temp. medium (°C)	-4.0	-3.3	-0.6	4.0	8.8	12.4	14.5	13.8	9.5	5.0	1.3	-2.5	4.9
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	- 30.7	-27.6	-22.6	-6.9	-3.1	1.8	4.6	3.0	-1.6	-9.6	-17.0	-24.8	- 30.7
Total precipitation (mm)	31.0	29.8	29.0	35.1	55.5	63.9	82.2	60.6	50.4	40.2	36.0	36.1	549.8
Nevadas (cm)	126.1	135.0	55.0	5.8	0	0	0	0	0	0.7	16.9	61.2	400.7
Days of rain (≥ 1 mm)	8.3	7.7	7.8	6.8	9.1	9.1	9.4	8.2	8.0	7.6	8.1	8.4	98.5
Days of snowfall (≥ 1 mm)	14.7	13.9	6.4	0.6	0	0	0	0	0	0.2	3.2	9.2	48.2
Hours of sun	44.5	66.5	139.3	210.1	272.4	288.8	295.4	280.2	193.6	122.6	50.6	33.6	1997.6
Relative humidity (%)	86.8	83.6	75.8	67.6	68.3	69.3	70.9	71.6	78.9	83.6	88.5	88.6	77.8
Source: Average and total monthly

Average climate parameters of Bielany, Warsaw (1991-2020)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	13.5	18.4	23.1	30.5	32.9	36.2	36.9	38.0	34.3	26.4	19.2	15.4	38.0
Average temperature (°C)	1.4	3.1	7.9	15.1	20.4	23.5	25.6	25.1	19.5	13.3	6.9	2.7	13.7
Average temperature (°C)	-1.1	-0.1	3.6	9.7	14.8	18.2	20.2	19.4	14.2	8.9	4.2	0.3	9.4
Temp. medium (°C)	-3.3	-2.6	0.2	4.9	9.3	12.9	14.9	14.5	10.2	5.7	2.0	-1.8	5.6
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-27.9	-28.0	-18.1	-5.5	-2.6	2.8	6.5	5.1	-1.3	-8.3	-15.9	-24.8	-28.0
Total precipitation (mm)	35.6	34.4	34.2	36.8	58.1	67.8	81.5	63.3	50.9	42.6	40.8	41.7	587.7
Nevadas (cm)	134.8	145.6	69.6	9.0	0	0	0	0	0	0.9	17.7	72.9	450.5
Days of rain (≥ 1 mm)	9.4	8.6	8.6	7.1	9.5	9.8	10.3	8.3	7.9	8.1	8.7	9.1	105.4
Relative humidity (%)	85.0	82.5	75.8	66.5	66.5	66.9	69.9	70.9	79.5	83.1	86.4	86.4	76.6
Source: Average and total monthly

Flora and fauna

Green spaces make up a quarter of Warsaw's area, including a wide range of related structures; from small neighborhood parks, green spaces along streets and in backyards; to large historic parks, nature conservation areas, and urban forests on the city fringe.

The peacock, one of the animal species of Łazienki park.

Saxon Garden.

There are 82 parks in the city, which cover a total of 8% of its area. The oldest are part of very representative palaces of the city such as; Krasiński Palace Garden, Łazienki Park, Wilanów Palace Park, Królikarnia Palace Park and the Saxon Garden (with an area of 15.5 hectares) which used to be a royal garden, in which there are more than a hundred different species of trees and whose avenues are a place to walk and relax.

Łazienki Park dates back to the 1780s. Within its central area you can still see old trees dating from that period: ginkgo, black walnut, Turkish hazel, etc. Complemented by its benches, flower carpets, duck puddle and children's playground, Łazienki Park is a popular destination for Warsawians for a walk. The park covers an area of 76 hectares. The unique character and history of the park is reflected in its architecture: pavilions, sculptures, bridges, waterfalls, ponds, and in its vegetation: vernacular and foreign species of trees and shrubs. What makes this park different from other green spaces in Warsaw is the presence of peacocks and pheasants, which can be seen walking freely, and royal carp in the pond.

The Wilanów Palace Park dates from the second half of the 17th century century. This covers an area of 43 hectares. Its central area of French style, corresponds to the old baroque style of the forms of the palace. The eastern section of the park, closest to the palace, is a two-tiered garden with a terrace facing the pond.

The park surrounding the Królikarnia Palace, situated on the old escarpment of the Vistula River, has paths running over levels deep into the ravines on either side of the palace.

A greenhouse in the New Orangerie, the centuryXIX.

Other green spaces in the city include the Botanic Gardens and the University Library garden, both of which hold extensive botanical collections of rare plants, both endemic and foreign, while a greenhouse in the New Orangerie features subtropical plants of all kinds. parts of the world.

The flora of the city is made up of a great variety of species. Its richness is due in large part to the location of Warsaw on the edges of large floral regions that comprise substantial proportions of areas delimited to human activity (natural forests, swamps to the Vistula lagoon) as well as arable land, meadows and forests.. The Bielany Forest, located in the limits of Warsaw, is the remaining part of the primitive Masovian Forest. Its nature reserve connects with the Kampinos forest. It is home to a rich fauna and flora. Within the forest there are three trails for biking or walking.

15 km from Warsaw, the environment of the Vistula River changes the environment surprisingly and constitutes a perfectly preserved ecosystem, with a habitat for animals including, among others, the otter, the beaver, and hundreds of species of birds.

The Warsaw Zoo covers an area of 40 hectares, with around 5,000 animals representing around 500 species. Although it was officially created in 1929, its origins lie in the 17th century private preserves often open to the public.

Districts

Warsaw is a powiat ('county') and is divided into a total of 18 urban districts, known in Polish as dzielnica (map), each with its own administrative body. Each of these districts is in turn made up of different neighborhoods that lack legal or administrative status. Warsaw has two historic neighborhoods that make up the heart of this city. These are known as the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and the New Town (Nowe Miasto), both in the Śródmieście district.

Demographics

Historically, Warsaw has been the destination of internal and foreign emigration, more specifically from all over Europe. For some three centuries, it was known as "Old Paris" or "The second Paris". Poland had 20% of the population foreign-born or Jewish. Demographically, Warsaw was the most cosmopolitan city in the country and before the war the Jewish population reached the figure of 350,000, which constituted around 30% of the population that the city housed. In 2006 its population was estimated at 1.8 million. inhabitants, and some 3.101 million residents in the metropolitan area.

Warsaw's evolution figure between 1700 and 2020

Source: Ludność Warszawy

Economy

Business and Commerce

The central financial district near the Palace of Culture and Science.

The Złote Tarasy Shopping Center ("Golden terraces").

The new building of the Warsaw Stock Exchange.

Warsaw, especially its center (Śródmieście), is home not only to numerous institutions and government agencies, but also to many national and international companies. In 2006, 304,016 companies were registered in the city. The financial participation of foreign investors in the city was estimated in 2002 at about 650 million euros. Warsaw produces 12% of the national income which, per capita, is estimated to be around 290% of the Polish average. The nominal GDP (PPP) per capita in Warsaw was in 2005 of 25,500 euros. This was one of the fastest economic growths, with growth of 6.5% in 2007 and 6.1% in the first quarter of 2008. At the same time, the unemployment rate is minimal.

The taxation of the same city produces around 8,741 million Polish złotys in taxes and direct government revenue.

Warsaw, along with Frankfurt am Main, London, Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, Moscow, Brussels and Milan is one of the cities with the tallest buildings in Europe. Eleven of the tallest skyscrapers in Poland, of which nine are office buildings, are located in Warsaw. The tallest structure is the Palace of Culture and Science, which is itself the seventh tallest building in the European Union.

Skyscrapers in Warsaw's financial area are numbered from tallest to shortest in the following list.

The OSCE and Frontex have headquarters in the city.

Warsaw Stock Exchange

Warsaw's first stock market was established in 1817 and continued to operate until World War II. It was reestablished in April 1991, following the end of post-war communist rule and the reintroduction of a free market economy. Today, the stock market is, by many measures, the largest market in the region. It is currently the largest stock market in the city, with more than 300 member companies. From 1991 to 2000, this institution was located, ironically, in what had previously been the headquarters of the Polish Communist Party, the Workers' Party Polish States. The capitalization obtained was 440.92 million dollars (as of December 28, 2007). The Stock Exchange offers cash and derivative products under one roof. of the most attractive businesses in Europe.

Industry

During the reconstruction of Warsaw after World War II, the communist authorities decided that the city would become the largest industrial center in the country. Reputed large factories were built in the city or in its immediate limits. The largest of these was the Huta Warszawa, steel works and two car factories. Today, the Arcelor Warszawa Steel Mill (formally Huta Warszawa) is the only remaining large factory. The Fabryka Samochodów Osobowych automobile company produces most of the automobiles for export. The number of public companies continues to decrease while the number of companies operated with foreign capital increases. The largest foreign investors are Daewoo, Coca-Cola Amatil and Metro AG. Warsaw has the highest concentration of electronics and high-tech industries in Poland and the growth of the food market perfectly promotes the development of the food processing industry.

Politics

Polish Parliament Building (Sejm).

The Potocki Palace, in the Rococo style, is the headquarters of the municipal government.

Chancellery of ministers.

National Government

As the capital of Poland, Warsaw is the political center of the country. All state agencies are located here, including the Sejm (Parliament of the Republic of Poland), or the Office of the President, and the Supreme Court. The city and its metropolitan area are represented in the Sejm by 31 deputies out of 460. It is the seat of the President of Poland and national law.

Municipal government

Prior to the signing of the Warsaw Act (Ustawa warszawska), on October 27, 2002, Warsaw was a municipal association of 11 districts, Centrum district was the head, it was divided into 7 sub-districts and surrounded by 10 other districts. Warsaw's districts were largely independent: they managed their own budgets, made their own accounts of their investment policies, and had their own councils and boards. The city as a whole was governed by a mayor, and the administration of the entire city was in charge of tasks that transcended the municipal limits, such as communications, roads, water, the sewage system or the promotion of the city. Apart from the districts and the municipal association, there was the Warsaw County, which ruled over schools and cultural institutions, was responsible for sanitation, construction and commercial inspection.

The situation changed with the signing of the Warsaw Act, referring to the structure of the city. The old districts and those of the Centrum district were transformed into auxiliary district units of the city of Warsaw.

The electoral system also changed, becoming a direct election. The first mayor was Lech Kaczyński, a law professor, former justice minister and former president of the Central Audit Office (NIK). In his election campaign, Kaczyński announced more excessive transformations in the management of Warsaw than other candidates.

Legislative authority in the brand-new structure was vested in the Warsaw City Council (called Rada Miasta, City Council), reduced to 60 councillors. Council members are directly elected every four years. Like most legislative chambers, the Rada Miasta is divided into committees charged with various functions of government. Bills are approved by a simple majority and are sent to the mayor (called the President of Warsaw) who will be in charge of promulgating them. If the president vetoes a bill, the Council has 30 days to override that veto by a 66% majority.

Each of the 18 districts has its own council (Rada dzielnicy). Its functions are to help the president and the City Council, in addition to supervising different municipal companies, heritage and schools. The head of each district council receives the title of burgomaster (burmistrz) and is elected by the members of the district council from among the candidacies proposed by the president of Warsaw.

The President of Warsaw and the Warsaw City Office were entrusted with tasks concerning the city in general and coordinating the work of the districts. As before the reform, the role of districts serving the population locally, such as local roads, schools, kindergartens, issuing driver's licenses, resident registration, etc., was maintained. However, its powers now derive from the City Council and the President of Warsaw, and its budgets and financial policies must be in line with those of the rest of the city.

Architecture

The Palace on the Water.

The President's Palace.

Warsaw's palaces, churches and mansions are rich in color and architectural detail. The buildings are representative of almost all styles and periods of European architecture. The city has wonderful examples of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical architecture, all of which are located just a short walk from the city centre. Gothic architecture is represented in the majestic churches, but also in the fortifications. The most significant constructions are the cathedral of San Juan (from the XIV century), the church of Santa María (1411), current cathedral^{[citation required]}; a house in the city of the Burbach family (XIV century), the gunpowder tower and the royal castle Curia Maior (1407-1410). The most notable examples of the Renaissance style are the Barczyko house (1562), a building called "The Black" (early 17th century) and the Salwator tenements (1632). The most interesting examples of Mannerist architecture are the Royal Castle and the Jesuit church (1609-1626) in the old quarter. In turn, the first Baroque-style structures are the church of San Jacinto (1603-1629) and the Zygmunt column (in honor of King Sigismund III), from 1644.

Patio built from the Polytechnic University of Warsaw.

Construction focused mainly on numerous noble palaces and churches during the last decades of the 17th century. Some of the best examples of this current are the Krasiński Palace (1677-1683), the Wilanów Palace (1677-1696) and the Church of St. Casimir (1677-1692). The most impressive examples of Rococo architecture are the Czapski Palace (1713-1718), the Palace under the Four Winds (1730) and the Visitationist Church (1728-1761 façade). The neoclassical style in Warsaw can be described by its simplicity and by its geometric shapes combined with great inspiration from Roman culture. Some of the best examples of neoclassical are the Łazienki Palace or the Palace on the Water (rebuilt between 1775 and 1795) both located in Łazienki Park, Królikarnia (1782-1786), the Carmelist Church (1761-1783 façade) and the Evangelist Church of the Holy Trinity (1777-1782). Economic growth during the early years of Congress Poland brought with it a short-lived architectural boom. The neoclassical revive affected all aspects of architecture, the most notable being the Gran Teatro (1825-1833) and the constructions on the Plaza de la Banca (1825-1828). Also from this era is the Warsaw Citadel, a fortress built by order of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia.

Bajorrelieve de un herrero en la Plac Konstytucji (Plaza de la Constitución), one of the most relevant examples of socialist realism.

Exceptional examples of bourgeois architecture of later periods (such as the aforementioned Kronenberg Palace and the Rosja Insurance Company building) were not restored by the bourgeois authority after the war. Some, on the other hand, were rebuilt in a realist style with a socialist edge (such as the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, a building originally inspired by the Opera Garnier in Paris). Despite this, the Warsaw Polytechnic University, built between 1899 and 1902, is the most interesting architecture of the late XIXth century< /span>. The Warsaw municipal government authorities rebuilt the Brühl Palace and there is an initiative to rebuild the Saxon Palace, the most distinctive pre-war buildings in Warsaw.

Some notable examples of contemporary architecture are the 10th Anniversary Stadium which used to be the largest open-air market in Europe and Constitution Square with its monumental Socialist Realism architecture. The most controversial of this era It is the Palace of Culture and Science (1952-1955), a huge building of Russian realistic architecture, which constitutes a legacy of Russian communism to the people of Poland, a situation that bothers many citizens and the Minister of Foreign Affairs himself, who spoke in favor of the demolition of this magnificent building. It was a direct gift from Stalin to the Polish people in 1955 with a height of 230.7 meters, being the second tallest skyscraper in Warsaw (in 2012 it will be the fourth) and one of the tallest in Europe. Its style imitates the Russian university and houses the city's center of culture and art. Contrary to the controversy, in 2007 it was declared a National Heritage and symbol of the city.

Symbols of modern architecture in Warsaw are the Metropolitan Office Building on Piłsudski Square, built by renowned architect Norman Foster; and the Library of the University of Warsaw (BUW) built by Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski, characteristic for a garden on its roof and a view of the Vistula river. The Rondo 1 office, the work of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill; and the Golden Terraces, consisting of seven overlapping domes and a shopping center, are also examples of this style.

Monuments

Among the remarkable sites to see in Warsaw:

• The Plaza Mayor del Barrio Antiguo
• The Castle Square, in the Old Town.
• The Royal Castle, in the Old Quarter.
• The street "Krakowskie Przedmieście"
• The Warsaw Uprising Museum of 1944
• The Palace of Culture and Science
• The Great Theatre
• The Wilanów Palace
• Łazienki Park

Education

Warsaw is home to some of the most important institutions of higher education in Poland. It is home to the 4 largest Polish universities and 62 smaller higher education schools. The total number of students in all grades of education in Warsaw is almost 500,000 (or 29.2% of the population in 2002). The number of university students is approximately 280,000. Most of the most reputable universities are public, but in recent years there has also been an increase in the number of private universities.

The Czapski Palace, in the Romanco style, houses the Academy of Fine Arts of the city.

The University of Warsaw was founded in 1816, when the partitions of Poland separated Warsaw from Poland's oldest and most influential academic center, in Kraków. Warsaw University of Technology is the second highest school of technology in the country, and one of the largest in Central and Western Europe, employing 2,000 professors. Other higher education institutions include the Warsaw Medical University, the largest medical school in Poland and one of the most prestigious, the National Defense University, the largest military academic institution in Poland, the Fryderyk Chopin Music Academy, the largest and oldest music school in Poland, and one of the largest in Europe, the Warsaw School of Economics, the oldest and most renovated school of economics in the country, and finally the University of Life Sciences, the largest agricultural university founded in 1818.

University Library of Warsaw.

Warsaw has numerous libraries, many of which hold vast collections of historical documents. The most important library, in terms of collections of historical documents, is the National Library in Warsaw. It houses 8.2 million volumes in its collection, formed in 1928 and sees itself as a successor to the Załuski Library, the largest in Poland and one of the first and largest libraries in the world.

Another important library is the university library, founded in 1816 and is home to about 2 million books. The building was designed by architects Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski and opened on December 15, 1999. It is surrounded by of green spaces. Its garden was designed by Irena Bajersjka and inaugurated on June 12, 2002. It is one of the largest and most beautiful roof gardens in Europe and an area of more than 10,000 m², with plants covering 5,111 m² of its surface. As university garden, is open to the public every day.

Culture

Cervantes Institute in Warsaw.

Candidature to be the European Capital of Culture (2016)

The application entitled "Warsaw - New Energies for Europe" had to compete against four other candidate cities from Poland, a country chosen together with Spain for one of its cities to be a representative in 2016 of the European cultural capital, which was finally awarded to the cities of Wroclaw in Poland and San Sebastián in Spain.

With the title of European Capital of Culture 2016, Warsaw had the opportunity to become a city known for the transition from "urban squalor" in the era of the "urban renaissance". The main themes of Warsaw's bid were: Vistula: river of possibilities, City of Talents and Warsaw under construction.

Theater

The Grand Theatre, home of the Polish National Theatre and Opera House.

Teatr PolskiA Polish theatre by Arnold Szyfman.

Warsaw is home to thirty of the country's major theaters, spanning the entire city, including the National Theater (founded in 1765) and the Grand Theatre, established in 1778.

From 1833 until the outbreak of World War II, Plac Teatralny (Theater Square) was the cultural focus of the country and home to several theatres. The main building housed the Grand Theater from 1833 to 1834, the Rozmaitości Theater from 1836 to 1924 and then the National Theatre, the Reduta Theater from 1919 to 1924, and from 1928 to 1939 the Nowy Theater, which staged contemporary poetic theater productions, including those directed by Leon Schiller.

Nearby, in the Ogród Saski (Saxon Garden), the Summer Theater was in operation from 1870 to 1939, and during the interwar period. The theater also included Momus, the most important of Warsaw's literary cabarets, and the musical theater Melodram, by Leon Schiller. The Wojciech Bogusławski Theater (1922-1926) was the best example of the monumental Polish Theatre. Since the mid-1930s, the Grand Theater building has housed the State Institute of Dramatic Art, Poland's first state-run art academy, with an Acting Department and a Stage Management Department.

Plac Teatralny and its surroundings were the site of numerous festivals, celebrations of state holidays, carnival balls and concerts. Today, Warsaw in turn attracts many young and avant-garde directors and producers who add to the theatrical culture of the city. Its production can be seen mainly in the smaller theaters and Houses of Culture (Domy Kultury), especially outside the center. Warsaw hosts the International Theater Meetings.

In addition, there is also the Jewish Theater in Warsaw, popular due to the European Yiddish Theater for all the Jewish communities in the country.

Music

Thanks to its many musical venues, including the Wielki Theater or Grand Theatre, home of the Polish National Opera, the Opera House, the National Philharmonic Hall and the National Theatre, as well as the musical theaters of Rome and Buffo and the Congress Hall in the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw is home to numerous events and festivals. Some of the most prestigious are: The "Frédéric Chopin" International Piano Competition, the Warsaw Autumn International Festival of Contemporary Music, the Jazz Jamboree, the Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, the Stanisław Moniuszko International Vocal Competition, and the old music festival

The Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra has its headquarters and its concert season in Warsaw.

Museums and art galleries

Zachęta Art Gallery.

POLIN Museum of History of Polish Jews

The events in Warsaw during the war left deep holes in the city's historical collections.

Well, despite the fact that a considerable amount of treasures had been piled up in the city without imagining the disasters that would occur in 1939, it is also true that a large number of collections from palaces and museums on the periphery of the country were sent to Warsaw at the time when the capital was considered a safer space for them instead of some remote castles on the borders of Poland.

National Museum of Warsaw

Ostrogski Castle, centuryXVIIheadquarters of the Chopin Museum.

So the losses were very heavy. However, Warsaw still has wonderful museums. As interesting examples of exhibitions the most notable are: the world's first Poster Museum possessing one of the largest collections of poster art in the world, the Museum of Hunting and Riding and the Railway Museum. Among the 60 museums in Warsaw, one of the most prestigious is the National Museum, with a wide collection of works whose origin varies in time from ancient times to the present day, as well as one of the best collections of paintings in the country, and the Museum of the Polish Army, whose work portrays the history of weapons.

The collections at Łazienki Palace and Wilanów Palace (both in good shape despite the war) are excellent, as are those at the Royal Castle. The Natolin Palace, the former rural residence of the Duke of Czartoryski, has an interior park accessible to tourists.

A beautiful tribute to the fall of Warsaw and the history of Poland can be found in the Warsaw Uprising Museum and the Katyń Massacre Museum, both of which preserve the memory of the crime. Pawiak Prison, a notorious SS detention center during the war, now functions as a memorial center for the victims of Nazism. The Independence Museum houses sentimental and patriotic paraphernalia related to these fateful times, as well as some priceless art collections. Dating back to 1936, the Warsaw Historical Museum contains 60 rooms that house a permanent display of Warsaw's history from its origins to the present day.

The Royal Castle Ujazdów, from the 17th century, is home to the Center for Contemporary Art, with both permanent and temporary exhibitions, concerts, shows and creative workshops. The Zachęta National Art Gallery is the oldest exhibition site in Warsaw, with a strong tradition dating back to the mid-19th century. The gallery organizes shows of modern art by both Polish and international artists and promotes art in many other ways.

The city also has some wonderful curiosities such as the Caricature Museum (the only one of its kind in the world) and a Motorization Museum, which has, among its strongly varied proposals, classic cars from 1930s worn by Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe.

Media and films

The new building of the Telewizja Polska.

Warsaw is the media center of Poland. Telewizja Polska, the largest public broadcaster in Poland, has its headquarters on Woronicza street in Warsaw. There are also numerous radio and TV stations, both local and national, located in Warsaw, such as the Polish TVN branch, Polsat, TV4 Poland, TV Puls, Canal+ Poland, Cyfra+ and MTV Poland.

From May 1661, the first Polish newspaper, the Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny (‘Ordinary Mercury of Poland’), was printed in Warsaw. The city is also the printing capital of all of Poland with a wide variety of national and foreign magazines expressing different opinions, while national newspapers are very competitive. Rzeczpospolita, Gazeta Wyborcza, Dziennik Polska-Europa-Świat are the largest national daily newspapers in Poland, with their headquarters in Warsaw.

Warsaw also has a growing film and television industry. The city is home to numerous companies and studios. Film companies include TOR, Czołówka, Zebra and Kadr, which is behind several international film productions.

Since World War II, Warsaw has been the most important center of film production in Poland. The city has also been featured in numerous films, both Polish and foreign, for example: Kanal and Korczak, by Andrzej Wajda, The Decalogue by Krzysztof Kieślowski, as well as the 2002 Oscar winner The Pianist, by Roman Polański.

Sports

On April 9, 2008, Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz obtained from Stuttgart Mayor Wolfgang Schuster a commemorative plaque by virtue of Poland being the European capital of sport in 2008.

The National Stadium and the Most Świętokrzyski Bridge from Wisła.

The National Stadium, a football stadium, was built in Warsaw on the site of the dilapidated former 10th Anniversary Stadium (Stadion Dziesięciolecia). The national stadium hosted the opening match, the rest of the group 2 matches, a quarter-final match and a semi-final match at UEFA Euro 2012, co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine.

The Olympic center of Warsaw.

There are many other sports centers in the city. Many of the most seen are the swimming pools and sports halls, many of them built by the municipality in recent years.

The best of the city's swimming centers is in the Warszawianka park, 4 km south of the center on Merliniego street, where there is an Olympic-sized pool as well as aquatic devices and an area for children. The The most successful soccer team is Legia Warszawa. In 1994 he played in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League. Army team, with fans all over the country, play at the Polish Army Stadium, just southeast of the center on Łazienkowska street. Their biggest rival is Poland from Warsaw, League champions in 2000, their headquarters are on Konwiktorska street, 10' walk north of the Historic Quarter.

Other activities are tennis, squash, water sports, horse riding, cycling, climbing or fitness, practicable in many clubs. Near the center of the city there are golf courses, swimming pools, aquaparks, artificial rivers and devices and children's pools. Other clubs in the city are the Warsaw Eagles, an American football team and one of the best clubs in Poland.

Soccer Teams

• Legia de Warsaw
• Poland Warsaw
• Gwardia Warsaw
• Hutnik Warsaw

Basketball Teams

• Poland Warbud Warszawa
• Legia Warszawa (Legia Warsaw)

Handball teams

• KS Warszawianka
• AZS AWF Warszawa

American Football Teams

• Warsaw Eagles
• Warsaw Spartans
• Królewscy Warszawa

Others

• AZS Politechnika Warszawa – volleyball
• Legia Warszawa (Legia Warsaw) – boxing
• Poland GSM Warszawa – chess
• Warsaw Marathon – annual marathon

Infrastructure

Although many streets and avenues were widened in the 1950s and new roads were built, the city has numerous traffic problems. Public transport extends throughout the city, and is made up mainly of buses, trams and a metro system.

Roads and highways

The city lacks an effective ring road, so most of the traffic going from one district to another tends to go through the city center. parking and municipal maintenance works daily. At present, the construction of roads that do not cross the center of Warsaw is planned, and it is estimated that by 2014 a system of three rings that surround the city will be ready.^{[update ]} The municipal authorities have also studied the possibility of restricting the traffic of private vehicles to certain parts of the city.

S8 in Warsaw.

The high influx of vehicles is not the only cause of traffic. It is estimated that between 15 and 20% of vehicle movement is due to finding a place to park.

One of the systems under construction is called Obwodnica Etapowa Warszawy, and will have a length of 10 km, starting in the center of the city, and crossing two new bridges. By 2005, the city had 800,000 vehicles, giving a ratio of one vehicle for every 2.5 inhabitants. Another new system will be part of the A-2 highway, which in turn will be part of the European E30, and the S-7 highway. This road will cross the south of the city through a tunnel located in the Ursynów district of Warsaw, located to the south. Construction is expected to be completed before 2012.^[update]

The E30 motorway connects Berlin with Warsaw, a 5-hour drive, and with Brest in Belarus. The E77 communicates with Gdansk to the north, and Krakow to the south. The E67 leads to Wroclaw, to the southwest.

The conditions of Warsaw's 2,600 km of streets are not optimal. By 2004, the average life of European shock absorbers was 30,000 to 40,000 km, while in Warsaw it was reduced to between 15,000 and 20,000 km. The ZDM is the office responsible for the streets of Warsaw, and They are obliged to pay compensation if it is shown that the suspension of a car suffered damage due to the poor condition of the tracks.

Warsaw-Frederic Chopin Airport.

Air transportation

Warsaw has one international airport, Warsaw-Frederic Chopin Airport (usually called Okęcie Airport), located just 10 kilometers from the city center. With around 100 international and domestic flights per day and more than 9.27 million passengers in 2007 it is by far the main airport in Poland. Immediately adjacent to the main terminal, the Terminal 1 complex, is the Etiuda Terminal, which serves low-cost flight routes. A new Terminal 2 opened to the public in March 2008, to alleviate the usual overcrowding and to expand the airport's capacity by another 6 million passengers. Terminal 2 serves domestic and international flights operated only by Star Alliance airlines. Terminal 2 was built by a Spanish company.

Since July 2012, Warsaw has a second airport in Modlin, 35 kilometers north of the city center. At the second Warsaw-Modlin Airport, operating mainly with low-cost airlines and in the future with CARGO.

There are also long-term plans to build a new international airport. Its location has not yet been decided.

Public transport

Pendolino high-speed trains connect Warsaw, Krakow, Breslavia, Triciudad and High Silesian Urban Area.

Public transportation includes the bus, tram, subway, and light rail systems for inter-urban routes and another for extra-urban routes. All these systems are controlled by the Municipal Transport Authority, except for the extra-urban, or regional, train, which is operated by Szybka Kolej Miejska Sp. z o.o. and Koleje Mazowieckie (Mazovian Railways). There are three tourist routes: "T", an old tram that runs between the months of July and August; the bus "100" which runs on weekends (it is the only double-decker bus owned by the city) and the "180", a regular bus service that follows the "Ruta Real" of the war from the Northern Cemetery, near the old town, passing through the most important streets of the city such as Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Nowy Świat and Aleje Ujazdowskie, and ending at the Wilanow Palace.

During the 1990s, the popularity of public transportation fell dramatically, reaching 64% use of Warsaw in 1998. By the 1970s, public transportation had reached its highest peak, 90% usage. To counteract this trend, the authorities began to renew the fleet of trams and buses, most of which have been in service for thirty years. In addition, construction of the second metro line began. In 2009, 67% of Warsawians use this type of transport to get around the city.

Authorities have started to build bike lanes, but Warsaw residents have been reluctant to use them, and in winter it's common to see these lanes empty.

Bus

Bus.

The bus service covers the entire city, with approximately 170 routes out of a total length of 2,603 kilometers and with around 1,600 vehicles. Between midnight and 5 in the morning, the city and its suburbs are served by night lines. The same ticket, with the inscription "ZTM Warsaw" it is valid for all municipal means of transport, including metro lines in and around the city. Tickets can be purchased at kiosks, but can be purchased from tram and bus drivers.

Tram

Tram.

The first tram line opened in Warsaw on December 11, 1866. The last horse-powered tram completed its run on March 26, 1908. In the interwar period (World War I and World War II), the tram network was greatly expanded. After the German invasion in September 1939 the service was halted for approximately three months due to damage caused by the conflict. It returned to service in 1940. A year later, in 1941, the current colors of the cars (yellow and red, the colors of the Warsaw Flag) were introduced. Previously, the trams were painted white and red, or totally red).

During the Warsaw Uprising, the tram system was destroyed. The first tram line was reopened on June 20, 1945. After World War II, the tram network in Warsaw underwent rapid development. Tracks reached all major parts of the city. However, in the 1960s, the official policy of the Soviet authorities in Poland and the promotion of the use of Soviet oil, led to the purchase of more buses and the tram network was significantly reduced.

Currently, the company Tramwaje Warszawskie has 863 cars. Around twenty lines run through the city with additional lines available on special occasions (such as All Saints' Day). The progressive rapprochement with the European Union has also facilitated subsidies that have been allocated to improving the infrastructure and vehicles of the tramway network.

Subway

Metro Line 1, Wilson Square Station.

Metro Line 2, The Nowy Świat-Uniwersytet Station.

Plans for the construction of the Warsaw Metro (Metro warszawskie, in Polish) date back to 1925. The Great Depression caused it to be postponed indefinitely. Studies on the metro project were reactivated in 1938, but, this time, the Second World War was to blame for a new postponement. From 1955, the possibility of a surface metro network began to be considered again. However, the planning phase was carried out at a very slow pace and the economic situation prevented the successive communist governments from carrying out the plans for the execution of the metro. As early as 1985, the program was approved by the government and the tunnels were built. Lack of funds, poor planning, and tedious bureaucracy meant that the work progressed very slowly, at a speed of no more than 2 meters a day.. After 70 years, the metro was inaugurated in 1995 with a total of 11 stations. The line currently has 21 stations along its approximate 23 kilometers of tracks. Initially, all the trains were of Russian construction. In 1998, 108 new carriages were ordered from the French corporation Alstom. The Warsaw Metro has only one line, which is being extended at the northern end. The northernmost station is called Metro Młociny, and through the city center it reaches Ursynów, a district located to the south. This underground system receives 14% of the city's public transport users. To decrease the use of the vehicle, stations with vehicle parking have been established, which have been successful. The second line will cross Warsaw from west to east, after crossing the Vistula it will turn north.

Taxi

The city has an extensive network of taxis that you can hail directly on the street. Taxi service is also available at the airport and main stations. Taxi prices are quite affordable compared to other European capitals.^{[citation needed]}

Railway

The main train station is Warszawa Centralna, whose structure is linked to that of underground transport. There are also five other railway stations and a smaller number of commuter train stations.

Szybka Kolej Miejska (Quick Urban Train), Chopin Airport Station.

Koleje Mazowieckie, Mazovian Railways, National Stadium Station.

In 1845, the Warsaw-Vienna line, the first railway in Warsaw, was opened.

The main railway line that crosses the city does so through a tunnel (the średnicowy, built in 1933) approximately 2.3 kilometers long that passes through the center of the city. of an east-west line, connecting the stations Warszawa Zachodnia, Warszawa Centralna and Warszawa Wschodnia by means of the tunnel and the railway bridge over the Vistula river.

Healthcare system

The first hospital in Warsaw was established in 1353 by Duke Siemowit III and his wife Euphemia and called the Holy Spirit intra muros. In 1571 the famous Wojciech Oczko, an author of extensive treatises on balneology and syphidology he became a doctor at the hospital. Its headquarters were first located at Piwna, Przyrynek and Konwiktorska streets, but it was barbarically destroyed during the 1939 siege of Warsaw.

Warsaw Medical University, the largest medical school in Poland, has 16 affiliated hospitals including Poland's largest teaching hospital, the Public Central Educational Hospital on Banacha Street, where students are trained in almost all fields of medicine.

Warsaw is home to the Children's Memorial Health Institute, the highest reference hospital in Poland, as well as an active center for education and research. It was founded by Poles residing in Poland and opened in 1968. In a huge complex of constructions of new design, with the most up-to-date equipment, has a group of authorities in pediatrics and their collaborators. Currently, the hospital covers an area of 20 hectares and employs almost 2,000 people, making it the largest pediatric center in Poland. Its funding comes from the state, health insurance and other resources.

The Maria Skłodowska-Curie Institute of Oncology is one of the largest and most modern cancer institutions in Europe. Its clinical section is located in a 10-story building with 700 beds, 10 operating rooms, an intensive care unit, several diagnostic departments and an outpatient clinic. Each floor forms a separate department with its own surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy wards. Each department provides the full range of combined treatment in a particular branch.

Although healthcare systems in Poland are free for people covered by health insurance, they are sometimes slow. For those who want to avoid the queues at public hospitals, there are many private medical centers and hospitals in Warsaw.

Featured Characters

Twin cities

The twin cities with Warsaw are:

In addition, the city has cooperation agreements with:

• Paris, France

Cities of the same name

• Warsaw, Illinois, USA. U.S.
• Warsaw, Indiana, USA. U.S.
• Warsaw, North Carolina, USA. U.S.
• Warsaw, Ohio, USA. U.S.
• Varsovria, Virginia, USA. U.S..
• Warsaw, Meta, Colombia