Warsaw Post-War Reconstruction to Present

[Urbanista1]

Warsaw - beehive of development activity. Wola, the most devastated part of Warsaw (about 98%) is rapidly becoming the new business and high density mixed use centre of the city. A year from now this picture will change even motre, if all goes to plan:

[Urbanista1]

Fascinating article about a firm - Fenix - involved in a number of very high quality restorations and additions in some cases in left bank and right bank (Praga) Warsaw. Sorry article only in Polish. Try google translate. The president of the firm talks about projects mainly in Warsaw, his relationship with the Warsaw conservator and problems in getting restorations underway - mainly other local residents who block projects for the sake of blocking them, a chronic problem in Poland where the older generation feels threatened by any change and abuse the justic system to those ends (reforms have been made and more underway).


http://www.thecity.com.pl/Rynek/Wiad...la-cierpliwych

[Amrafel]

Those renovations in Praga are a good sign of possible gentrification in the area. If the building stock is in so terrible condition and it is also a "twilight zone", the prices for flats are probably pretty low. I see, that there is also a metro line under construction in Praga. I think that gentrification and revitalization of this area will start soon.

[rychlik]

I can't wait for Praga to become even more amazing.

[Urbanista1]

Friends, Varsavians and varsavophiles lend us your vote. I'm providing a link below for anyone to vote on what they believe is the best restoration/reconstruction initiative of the year (Sorry, only in Polish but you can figure it out). Cheers.

http://ngo.um.warszawa.pl/konkurs-s3...ie-mieszkancow

[Oslo2022]

Originally Posted by Urbanista1

Friends, Varsavians and varsavophiles lend us your vote. I'm providing a link below for anyone to vote on what they believe is the best restoration/reconstruction initiative of the year (Sorry, only in Polish but you can figure it out). Cheers.

http://ngo.um.warszawa.pl/konkurs-s3...ie-mieszkancow

Saski 2018

[Urbanista1]

Very nice pic by Piotrek00

[rychlik]

"A movie about the 1944 Warsaw Uprising began filming today under the interim title City 44. It is one of the largest Polish film projects yet and set to premier next year on the 70th anniversary of the national uprising—when over 50,000 Polish freedom fighters rose against their Nazi German occupiers."

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

[TimothyR]

That looks interesting.

[TimothyR]

Originally Posted by Urbanista1

Very nice pic by Piotrek00

It looks like lower Manhattan.

It will be interesting to watch Warsaw's progress in the coming years. Poland is well placed geographically between western Europe and the Baltic states and Russia.

This is probably the first time in centuries that an independent Poland has existed at a time of prolonged peace in central and eastern Europe. If that remains true I can see a period of prosperity coming after the long, slow EU crisis is finally resolved one way or the other.

[rychlik]

They certainly still have enough plots of land to fill with nice skyscrapers.

[sophie.canaris]

Hi there!
I'm studying architecture in Australia, I'm actually writing a thesis about the reconstruction of Muranow. I was wondering if you had references for these arial photographs of pre-war and post-war? I love the thread, great stuff!

[Oslo2022]

Originally Posted by sophie.canaris

Hi there!
I'm studying architecture in Australia, I'm actually writing a thesis about the reconstruction of Muranow. I was wondering if you had references for these arial photographs of pre-war and post-war? I love the thread, great stuff!

Pre-war:

Ulica Nalewki/Nalewki street - An introduction to Jewish Warsaw (This street no longer exist in post-war Warsaw)



Before World War II, Warsaw was a major center of Jewish life and culture in Poland. Warsaw's prewar Jewish population of more than 350,000 constituted about 30 percent of the city's total population. The Warsaw Jewish community was the largest in both Poland and Europe, and was the second largest in the world, second only to New York City.

If Warsaw (Muranow borough) was the Jewish capital of Europe, then Nalewki street was making up its heart. If you wanted to feel the pre-war jewish spirit of Warsaw, then you had to visit jewish Warsaw´s answer to the Royal way. Cafees, shops in backyard streets, hotels, small and large synagogues, Kosher restaurants and jewish museums. This and much more could be found in the most bustling and important street in Jewish Warsaw.

Film about Jewish Warsaw in 1939


The street was stretching from Simons passage and Warsaw´s Arsenal (Dluga Street) going along the Krasinski garden and passing the most important landmarks of jewish Warsaw and stretching all the way up to Plac Muranowski (Muranowski Square).

Stretch Dluga - Krasinski gardens

http://naszastolica.blox.pl/resource/Nalewki_2b.jpg


http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/86/b4/bc/z123...z-Simmonsa.jpg

Warsaw Arsenal

http://www.warszawa1939.pl/zdjecia/d...dluga_1938.jpg

Stretch along the Krasinski gardens

http://www.warszawa1939.pl/zdjecia/n...alewki_012.jpg

Krasinski gardens


http://www.studiop2.pl/starawarszawa...inskich_02.jpg


http://www.studiop2.pl/starawarszawa...inskich_03.jpg


http://www.studiop2.pl/starawarszawa...inskich_04.jpg

Backyard "shopping street"

http://fotopolska.eu/foto/220/220380.jpg


http://www.stacjamuranow.art.pl/files/nalewki.jpg


http://www.ushmm.org/lcmedia/photo/l...e/05/05543.jpg


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tYnOYXx4Td...1-G-5867-4.jpg

Moving further up Nalewki street.

Stretch Nowolipy - Gesia street

http://www.warszawa1939.pl/zdjecia/n...alewki_013.jpg


http://fotopolska.eu/foto/129/129874.jpg

Stretch Gesia street - Franciszkanska street

http://fotopolska.eu/foto/26/26560.jpg

Stretch Franciszkanska sreet - Plac Muranowski (Muranowski square)

http://www.warszawa1939.pl/zdjecia/n...nalewki_05.jpg

Plac Muranowski - Muranowski square

It was the most regular square in pre-war Warsaw. On the four sides of buildings tightly around, until 1914 it was a bustling marketplace. As in the films of Fellini - between the stalls, embossing with people at a snail's pace pushed from trams.

The Square was some kind of an extension of the Nalewki street flowing like a river into the sea. Today, it is difficult to even determine where it is located - is more or less where Anders street connects with the Stawki street.

Jewish Warsaw. Muranowski square

In 1686 near present-day monument to the Fallen and Murdered in the East, once stood the baroque palace Murano - owned by architect Joseph Simon Bellotti. In 1761 it became the property of architect James Fontana, and in the 80s in the Eighteenth century the Crown I.M. metrykanta Słomińskiego and from that moment the palace began to fall into disrepair. With time, the palace is laid out in front of a rectangular square. In the words of historian Eugene Szwankowski, in the early years of the last century there where tenement houses, a brewery and a few wooden mansions. In 1818 the square became a horse market, and here serveral circus performances where played by the Jewish theater.

The square was connected directly with Mila street, Muranowska street, Pokorna Street, Sierakowska street and Przebieg street. The area around Sierakowska and Pokorna were mainly inhabited by wealthier business owners engaged in the leather industry (manufactures of small leather goods, artificial flowers etc.)

In the mid-nineteenth century, the horse market was replaced by a bazaar.

Prior to 1914, the marketplace, ironically located right next to a police station, was taken over by criminals. Merchants complained that "gangs of thieves were forcing on them fixed charges, threatening to otherwise beaten and destroy their garnishment.

In 1909, the square was connected with the Muranow tram line, which soon caused problems as it had to squeeze way between the market stalls. Muranowski Square, which gradually grew to the rank of the central point of the Jewish district, ceased to exist – like the whole area itself – in 1943 after the fall of the Ghetto Uprising. A few houses which survived were burned down during the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. The last traces of the square disappeared in 1950s.


http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/48/3e/bd/z124...u-usunieto.jpg


http://kolejkamarecka.pun.pl/_fora/k...1212669430.jpg


http://www.kolejkamarecka.pun.pl/_fo...1288900916.jpg


http://i38.tinypic.com/aqqyo.jpg


http://i33.tinypic.com/358cfnb.jpg


http://www.sztetl.org.pl/getfile2.ph...y=800&id=20530

[Urbanista1]

Originally Posted by sophie.canaris

Hi there!
I'm studying architecture in Australia, I'm actually writing a thesis about the reconstruction of Muranow. I was wondering if you had references for these arial photographs of pre-war and post-war? I love the thread, great stuff!

I believe Oslo2022 has graciously answered some of your questions, but which aerila photos are specifically referring to. btw, another great site with a huge library of references is this site:

http://www.warszawa1939.pl

if you read Polish or can manage with google translate on the Polish site there is a great discussion thread on warsaw books/references:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1568802

it would be great if you could do a map of Muranow superimposing what is there now with what was there and hopefully you can share that with us, we would really appreciate it. It's very hard to locate such places as Plac Muranowski since the street layout has changed considerably.

[sophie.canaris]

Thanks very much Oslo, and that film is great! It really shows the vibrancy of the life on the streets!

The aerials I was looking at are these:

[IMG]http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/860/fm931344a.jpg/[/MG]



Also I actually do have a map from a book called Ilustrowany Atlas Dawnej Warszawy I'm not sure how to upload it as I'm not very good at using blogs .. But if you tell me how I can put it up for you

My thesis will be finished in a few more weeks, after that hopefully I will be able to share some more of my resources!