Old Town, Warsaw

For other uses of "Old Town", seeOld Town (disambiguation).

"Stare Miasto, Warsaw" redirects here. For a municipal neighbourhood in Warsaw, seeOsiedle Staromiejskie.

Old Town
NeighbourhoodandCity Information Systemarea
Stare Miasto
TheCastle Square,located in Old Town, in 2018
The location of the neighbourhood of Old Town in the district ofŚródmieście,in accordance to theCity Information System
Coordinates:52°14′59″N21°0′44″E
Country	Poland
Voivodeship	Masovian Voivodeship
City county	Warsaw
District	Śródmieście
Municipal neighbourhood	Staromiejskie
Time zone	UTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2(CEST)
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Official name	Historic Centre of Warsaw
Criteria	Cultural: (ii), (vi)
Designated	1980 Minor boundary modification inscribed year: 2014
Reference no.	30bis
UNESCO region	Europe
Area	25.93 ha (64.1 acres)
Buffer zone	666.78 ha (1,647.6 acres)

Warsaw Old Town,also known asOld Town,and historically known asOld Warsaw,is aneighbourhood,and an area of the City Information System, in the city ofWarsaw,Poland,located within the district ofŚródmieście.It is the oldest portion of the city, and contains numerous historic buildings, mostly from 17th and 18th centuries, such as theRoyal Castle,city walls,St. John's Cathedral,and theBarbican,the Old Town Market Square and the Warsaw Mermaid Statue.The settlement itself dates back to between the 13th and 14th centuries, and was grantedtown privilegesc. 1300.

DuringWorld War II,the Old Town was nearly totally destroyed, and subsequently reconstructed. The project was the world's first attempt to resurrect an entire historic city core and was included on theUNESCO World Heritagelist in 1980.The reconstruction efforts were again recognized in 2011 when all its documents and records were added to UNESCO'sMemory of the World Programme.

History

Masovian Dukestenement, built 1466

The Old Town was established in the 13th century. Initially surrounded by an earthwork rampart, prior to 1339 it was fortified with brickcity walls.The town originally grew up around the castle of theDukes of Mazoviathat later became theRoyal Castle.The Market Square (Rynek Starego Miasta) was laid out sometime in the late 13th or early 14th century, along the main road linking the castle with theNew Townto the north.

Rococotenementportaldepicting agalleonat Świętojańska Street, early 18th century

Old Town during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944

Ruins of the Old Town in 1945

Until 1817 the Old Town's most notable feature was the Town Hall built before 1429. In 1701 the square was rebuilt byTylman Gamerski,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 the early 1910s, Warsaw Old Town was the home of the prominentYiddishwriterAlter Kacyzne,who later depicted life there in his 1929 novel "שטאַרקע און שוואַכע"(Shtarke un Shvache,"The Strong and the Weak" ). As depicted in the novel, the Old Town at that time was a slum neighborhood, with poor families—some Jewish, other Christian—living very crowded in subdivided tenements that had once been aristocrats' palaces. Parts of it were bohemian, with painters and artists having their studios, while some streets were aRed-light districthousingbrothels.

In 1918 theRoyal Castleonce again became the seat of Poland's highest authorities: thePresident of Polandand his chancellery. In the late 1930s, during themayoraltyofStefan 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 ofWorld War II.

During theInvasion of Poland (1939),much of the district was badly damaged by the GermanLuftwaffe,which targeted the city's residential areas and historic landmarks in a campaign ofterror bombing.Following theSiege of Warsaw,parts of the Old Town were rebuilt, but immediately after theWarsaw Uprising(August–October 1944) what had been left standing wassystematically blown upby theGerman Army.A statue commemorating the Uprising, "the Little Insurgent,"now stands on the Old Town's medieval city wall.

AfterWorld War II,the Old Town was meticulously rebuilt.In an effort atanastylosis,as many as possible of the original bricks were reused. However, the reconstruction was not always accurate to prewar Warsaw, sometimes deference being given to an earlier period, an attempt being made to improve on the original, or an authentic-looking facade being made to cover a more modern building.The rubble was sifted for reusable decorative elements, which were reinserted into their original places.Bernardo Bellotto's 18th-centuryvedute,as well as pre-World War IIarchitecture students' drawings, were used as essential sources in the reconstruction effort; however, Bellotto's drawings had not been entirely immune toartistic licenceand embellishment, and in some cases this was transferred to the reconstructed buildings.

Squares

TheOld Town Market Place(Rynek Starego Miasta), which dates back to the end of the 13th century, is the true heart of the Old Town, and until the end of the 18th century it was the heart of all of Warsaw.Here the representatives of guilds and merchants met in theTown Hall(built before 1429, pulled down in 1817), and fairs and the occasional execution were held. The houses around it represented theGothic styleuntil the great fire of 1607, after which they were rebuilt in late-Renaissance style.

Castle Square(plac Zamkowy) is a visitor's first view of the reconstructed Old Town, when approaching from the more modern center of Warsaw. It is an impressive sight, dominated bySigismund's Column,which towers above the beautiful Old Town houses. Enclosed between the Old Town and the Royal Castle, Castle Square is steeped in history. Here was the gateway leading into the city called theKrakówGate (Brama Krakowska).It was developed in the 14th century and continued to be a defensive area for the kings. The square was in its glory in the 17th century when Warsaw became the country's capital and it was here in 1644 that KingWładysław IVerected the column to glorify his fatherSigismund III Vasa,who is best known for moving the capital of Poland from Kraków to Warsaw.TheMuseum of Warsawis also located there.

Canon Square (plac Kanonia), behindSt. John's Cathedral,is a small triangular square.Its name comes from the 17th-century tenement houses which belonged to the canons of the Warsaw chapter.Some of these canons were quite famous, likeStanisław Staszicwho was the co-author of theConstitution of 3 May 1791.Formerly, it was a parochial cemetery, of which there remains aBaroquefigure of Our Lady from the 18th century.In the middle of the square, is the bronze bell of Warsaw, thatGrand Crown TreasurerJan Mikołaj Daniłowicz,founded in 1646 for the Jesuit Church inJarosław.The bell was cast in 1646 by Daniel Tym—the designer of Sigismund's Column. Where the Canon Square meets the Royal Square is a covered passage built for QueenAnna Jagiellonin the late 16th century and extended in the 1620s afterMichał Piekarski's failed 1620 attempt to assassinate KingSigismund III Vasaas he was entering the cathedral.Also the narrowest house in Warsaw is located there.

Recognition

In 1980, Warsaw's Old Town was placed on theUNESCO's list ofWorld Heritage Sitesas "an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century.

The site is also one of Poland's official nationalHistoric Monuments(Pomnik historii), as designated 16 September 1994. Its listing is maintained by theNational Heritage Board of Poland.

In 2011, the Archive of Warsaw Reconstruction Office was added to UNESCO’sMemory of the World Programme.

Gallery

• 
  1:300 model of Warsaw Old Town in 2nd half of 18th century, in Museum of Warsaw
• 
  Palace Square
• 
  Warsaw old town wide (Rynek Starego Miasta)
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  Reconstructed townhouses
• 
  Road to the Old Town
• 
  Market Square
• 
  An alley
• 
  Old Town Market Square
• 
  Medieval basements at theMuseum of Warsaw
• 
  Historical houses around Castle Square
• 
  Old Town Market Place with tourists
• 
  Statue of the mermaid (Old Town)
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  Jan Kilińskimonument
• 
  Warsaw Old Town surrounded by the old medieval defensive walls
• 
  Defensive walls and the Barbican
• 
  Old Town street
• 
  Old Town
• 
  St. John's Cathedral,14th century
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  Jesuit Church,1609
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  St. Martin's Church,1353–1752
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  Warsaw Barbican,1548
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  Gunpowder Tower, after 1379
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  Defensive walls, detail
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  Szeroki Dunaj Street
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  Piwna Street
• 
  QueenAnna'scorridor connecting theRoyal Castlewith theSt. John's Cathedral,16th century. KingSigismund IIIwas attacked by an assassin in the corridor before attending mass.
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  Canonicity Square
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  St John Street
• 
  Deanery of St. John's Cathedral

See also

• New Town, Warsaw

External links

• Royal Castle website
• Old Town Photos