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114-580: According to Poland's Central Statistical Office, the Polish Reformed Church has 3,461 members (2015). The majority of church members live in central Poland; in 2014 out of a total number of 3464 adherents, 1800 lived in Łódź Voivodeship and 1000 in the city of Warsaw . There are eight congregations in Poland: Furthermore, emerging congregations exist in some other cities, including Poznań , Wrocław , and Gdańsk . In 2003,

228-515: A castellany dates to 1313. With the completion of St John's Cathedral in 1390, Warsaw became one of the seats of the Dukes of Masovia and was officially made capital of the Masovian Duchy in 1413. The economy then predominantly rested on craftsmanship or trade, and the town housed approximately 4,500 people at the time. During the 15th century, the population migrated and spread beyond

342-477: A personal union with Imperial Russia . The Royal University of Warsaw was established in 1816. With the violation of the Polish constitution , the 1830 November Uprising broke out against foreign influence. The Polish-Russian war of 1831 ended in the uprising's defeat and in the curtailment of Congress Poland's autonomy. On 27 February 1861, a Warsaw crowd protesting against Russian control over Congress Poland

456-525: A different pattern of geomorphological forms. There are several levels of the Vistula plain terraces (flooded as well as formerly flooded), and only a small part is a not-so-visible moraine escarpment. Aeolian sand with a number of dunes parted by peat swamps or small ponds cover the highest terrace. These are mainly forested areas ( pine forest ). Warsaw experiences an oceanic ( Köppen : Cfb) or humid continental ( Köppen : Dfb) climate, depending on

570-720: A great inspiration from the Roman period. The best-known architect who worked in Warsaw at the time was Domenico Merlini , who designed the Palace on the Isle . Other significant buildings from this period include Królikarnia , Holy Trinity Church , St. Anne's Church, Warsaw . Also in the first half of the 19th century, neoclassicism dominated the architecture of Warsaw. Old buildings were rebuilt and new ones were built in this style. The neoclassical revival affected all aspects of architecture;

684-802: A half of the Upper Houses of Parliament. The Calvinists opened schools in Pińczów , Leszno , Kraków , Vilnius , Kėdainiai and Słuck . They also printed the first complete Bible in Polish , commissioned by Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł in 1563 in Brest-Litovsk .and translated by Jan Łaski. Radziwiłł also worked to change state laws to bring equal rights for reformers, as well as creating several churches in his estates. Though grouping mainly nobles and aristocrats, it managed to have some following among

798-399: A height 75.6 m (248 ft) (at the right bank of the Vistula, by the eastern border of Warsaw). There are some hills (mostly artificial) located within the confines of the city – e.g. Warsaw Uprising Hill (121 m (397 ft)) and Szczęśliwice hill (138 m (453 ft) – the highest point of Warsaw in general). Warsaw is located on two main geomorphologic formations:

912-655: A major cultural, political and economic hub, and the country's seat of government. It is also the capital of the Masovian Voivodeship . Warsaw traces its origins to a small fishing town in Masovia . The city rose to prominence in the late 16th century, when Sigismund III decided to move the Polish capital and his royal court from Kraków . Warsaw served as the de facto capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, and subsequently as

1026-424: A more westward position. In 1945, after the bombings, revolts, fighting, and demolition had ended, most of Warsaw lay in ruins. The area of the former ghetto was razed to the ground, with only a sea of rubble remaining. The immense destruction prompted a temporary transfer of the new government and its officials to Łódź , which became the transitional seat of power. Nevertheless, Warsaw officially resumed its role as

1140-476: A noticeable mark on its architecture and urban form. Unlike most Polish cities, Warsaw's cityscape is mostly contemporary – modern glass buildings are towering above older historical edifices which is a common feature of North American metropolises. Warsaw is among the European cities with the highest number of skyscrapers and is home to European Union's tallest building . Skyscrapers are mostly centered around

1254-646: A seniorate of its own separate from those for the Lutherans. During the 19th century the number of Polish Reformed parishes shrank from 4 to just one in Kraków. There, the Calvinists shared the parish with Lutherans, and these became so dominant that from 1828, only Lutheran pastors were called to the pulpit , though a handful of Calvinists survived. Polish Calvinism was maintained in land taken by Russia. The Warsaw congregation led by outstanding members dominated

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1368-573: A separate synod, as well as by mission to Ukrainians and Belarusians . Despite repeated attempt to unite themselves, the two churches remained separate, and in the 1930s even hostile after the Wilno Consistory engaged itself into a lucrative yet dubious business of granting easy divorces. Union talks were resumed in 1939 but were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. By 1939, the Warsaw Brethren had over 20,000 members, and

1482-727: A union was signed between the Polish Reformed and Lutherans, and the Union of Sandomir was once again reaffirmed. A common consistory was established with six members, in equal number from the Calvinists and Lutherans, two being clergy, two being burghers and two being nobles. Though this union was short-lived (dissolved in 1782), the Protestants in Poland continued to grow and expand, especially in Warsaw, whose congregation soon overshadowed any other church centre. This optimistic period

1596-660: A variety of European architectural styles, was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1980. Other landmarks include the Royal Castle , Sigismund's Column , the Wilanów Palace , the Palace on the Isle , St. John's Archcathedral , Main Market Square , and numerous churches and mansions along the Royal Route . Warsaw is a green capital, with around a quarter of the city's area occupied by parks. In sports,

1710-474: Is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 3.27 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 7th most-populous city in the European Union . The city area measures 517 km (200 sq mi) and comprises 18 districts , while the metropolitan area covers 6,100 km (2,355 sq mi). Warsaw is classified as an alpha global city ,

1824-588: Is one of the cities with the highest number of skyscrapers in Europe. Although contemporary Warsaw is a fairly young city compared to other European capitals, it has numerous tourist attractions and architectural monuments dating back centuries. Apart from the Warsaw Old Town area, reconstructed after World War II, each borough has something to offer. Among the most notable landmarks of the Old Town are

1938-804: Is represented by the Metropolitan Office Building at Pilsudski Square and Varso tower, both by Norman Foster , Warsaw University Library (BUW) by Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski, featuring a garden on its roof and view of the Vistula River, Rondo 1 office building by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill , Złota 44 residential skyscraper by Daniel Libeskind , Museum of the History of Polish Jews by Rainer Mahlamäki and Golden Terraces , consisting of seven overlapping domes retail and business centre. Jointly with Moscow, Istanbul, Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rotterdam, Warsaw

2052-483: Is represented in the majestic churches but also at the burgher houses and fortifications. The most significant buildings are St John's Cathedral (1390), a typical example of the so-called Masovian Brick Gothic style; St Mary's Church (1411); the Burbach townhouse (14th century); Gunpowder Tower (after 1379); and Royal Castle 's Curia Maior (1407–1410). The most notable examples of Renaissance architecture in

2166-532: The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . The amount means a tenth of the Polish capital's population of 1.8 million — the second-largest single group of Ukrainian refugees. Warsaw lies in east-central Poland about 300 km (190 mi) from the Carpathian Mountains and about 260 km (160 mi) from the Baltic Sea , 523 km (325 mi) east of Berlin, Germany. The city straddles

2280-834: The Domestic Economy Bank , the directorate of the Polish State Railways , the Supreme Audit Office , and the campus of the Warsaw School of Economics . New districts were also established in Żoliborz , Ochota , and Mokotów , often designed around a central square with radiating streets ( Narutowicz Square , Wilson Square ). Examples of new large urban projects are the Staszic and Lubecki colonies in Ochota . Exceptional examples of

2394-647: The East End of London and London Docklands . Poorer religious and ethnic minorities, such as the Jews, settled in the crowded parts of northern Warsaw, in Muranów . The Imperial Census of 1897 recorded 626,000 people living in Warsaw, making it the third-largest city of the Empire after St. Petersburg and Moscow as well as the largest city in the region. Grand architectural complexes and structures were also erected in

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2508-693: The General Government , a German Nazi colonial administration. All higher education institutions were immediately closed and Warsaw's entire Jewish population – several hundred thousand, some 30% of the city – were herded into the Warsaw Ghetto . In July 1942, the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto began to be deported en masse to the Aktion Reinhard extermination camps, particularly Treblinka . The city would become

2622-726: The Gestapo after the Christmas Eve service in 1940, deported to the Dachau concentration camp where he was murdered. The congregation was suppressed and services ceased. The same happened to congregations in Toruń, Poznań and Lublin. The Warsaw parish survived under the leadership of General Superintendent Stefan Skierski, but, following the Warsaw Uprising , it was dispersed. Deportations, executions and forced labor decimated

2736-554: The Ghetto Uprising in 1943, the general Warsaw Uprising in 1944, and systematic razing . Warsaw is served by three international airports, the busiest being Warsaw Chopin , as well as Warsaw Modlin and Warsaw Radom Airport . Major public transport services operating in the city include the Warsaw Metro , buses , commuter rail service and an extensive tram network . The city is a significant economic centre for

2850-492: The January Uprising (1863) in which many Reformed nobles were implicated and active, the church remained Polish and slowly absorbed and Polonised new immigrant groups that settled in the country. The growth of the church would have been more impressive, had it not suffered from an acute shortage of ministers: for example in the 1880 there were just 5 pastors serving 10 congregations. Things were not going so well for

2964-715: The Red Army was deep into Polish territory and pursuing the Nazis toward Warsaw. The Polish government-in-exile in London gave orders to the underground Home Army (AK) to try to seize control of Warsaw before the Red Army arrived. Thus, on 1 August 1944, as the Red Army was nearing the city, the Warsaw uprising began. The armed struggle, planned to last 48 hours, was partially successful, however, it went on for 63 days. Eventually,

3078-614: The Royal Castle , Sigismund's Column , Market Square , and the Barbican . Further south is the so-called Royal Route , with many historical churches, Baroque and Classicist palaces, most notably the Presidential Palace , and the University of Warsaw campus. The former royal residence of King John III Sobieski at Wilanów is notable for its Baroque architecture and eloquent palatial garden. In many places in

3192-550: The Vistula River. It is located in the heartland of the Masovian Plain , and its average elevation is 100 m (330 ft) above sea level. The highest point on the left side of the city lies at a height of 115.7 m (380 ft) ("Redutowa" bus depot, district of Wola), on the right side – 122.1 m (401 ft) ("Groszówka" estate, district of Wesoła, by the eastern border). The lowest point lies at

3306-793: The Vistula escarpment were constructed. In the architecture of Catholic churches, the Counter-Reformation type became a novelty, exemplified by the Church of St. Anthony of Padua , the Carmelite Church and the Holy Cross Church . Warsaw Baroque from the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries was characterized by building facades with a predominance of vertical elements close to the wall and numerous ornaments . The most important architect working in Warsaw at that time

3420-516: The Wedel factory and the extensive Municipal Gasworks complex . In the architecture of the 1920s, national historicism and other historical forms were dominant. Art Deco forms also appeared, and towards the end of the decade, avant-garde functionalism emerged. The creation of urban plans for the capital of Poland can be traced back to 1916, when, after the retreat of the Russians from Warsaw and

3534-571: The bourgeois architecture of the later periods were not restored by the communist authorities after the war or were remodelled into a socialist realist style (like Warsaw Philharmonic edifice originally inspired by Palais Garnier in Paris ). Despite that, the Warsaw University of Technology (Polytechnic) building. is the most interesting of the late 19th-century architecture. Some 19th-century industrial and brick workhouse buildings in

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3648-634: The government went into exile by the end of the month. Both the Nazis and Soviets instigated a true reign of terror in the conquered territory. These measures affected the Reformed denominations. In the Nazi sector the entire Anglican Synod of the Wilno Brethren (ca. 1000 members) was wiped out. In Łódź, the pastor was first forbidden to preach in Polish. When he started to do so in Czech, was arrested by

3762-463: The Śródmieście district, with many located in the commercial district of Wola . A concentric zone pattern emerged within the last decades; the majority of Warsaw's residents live outside the commercial city centre and commute by metro , bus or tram. Tenements and apartments in the central neighbourhoods are often reserved for commercial activity or temporary (tourist, student) accommodation. The nearest residential zones are predominantly located on

3876-515: The 19th century that had survived in a reasonably reconstructible form were nonetheless demolished in the 1950s and 1960s, like the Kronenberg Palace . The Śródmieście (central) region's urban system was completely reshaped; former cobblestone streets were asphalted and significantly widened for traffic use. Many notable streets such as Gęsia, Nalewki and Wielka disappeared as a result of these changes and some were split in half due to

3990-550: The 880-meter Piaseczyński Canal on the axis of Ujazdów Castle , the Ujazdów Calvary and the Saxon Axis . The Visitationist Church also dates from this period. The neoclassical architecture began to be the main style in the capital's architecture in Warsaw in the second half of the 18th century thanks to King Stanisław August Poniatowski . It can be described by the simplicity of the geometrical forms teamed with

4104-550: The Church ordained its first female minister and two more female students are in training. The Polish Reformed Church is a minority church in Poland , where roughly 87% of the people were Catholics in 2021. The Polish Reformed movement goes back to the half of the 16th century when the teachings of Swiss Reformers like Zwingli and Calvin began to make their way to Poland. Earlier, Lutheranism had made way to Poland, especially in

4218-675: The Confession of Sandomir (Konfesja Sandomierska), which was an irenic translation of the Second Helvetic Confession and in theory formed one, united, Protestant church. The strength of the Polish Protestants was shown when in 1573 a law was passed foreboding any persecution based on religion, an act unprecedented in Europe of that time. The Protestants formed also over 65% members of the Lower and just about

4332-922: The European Union. The city's primary educational and cultural institutions comprise the University of Warsaw , the Warsaw University of Technology , the SGH Warsaw School of Economics , the Chopin University of Music , the Polish Academy of Sciences , the National Philharmonic Orchestra , the National Museum , and the Warsaw Grand Theatre , the largest of its kind in the world. The reconstructed Old Town , which represents

4446-606: The Home Army fighters and civilians assisting them were forced to capitulate. They were transported to PoW camps in Germany, while the entire civilian population was expelled. Polish civilian deaths are estimated at between 150,000 and 200,000. Hitler, ignoring the agreed terms of the capitulation, ordered the entire city to be razed to the ground and the library and museum collections taken to Germany or burned. Monuments and government buildings were blown up by special German troops known as Verbrennungs- und Vernichtungskommando ("Burning and Destruction Detachments"). About 85% of

4560-485: The Lithuanian Brethren (Jednota Litewska) came into being. In 1556, John a Lasco (Jan Łaski) returned from Western Europe to help with the organisation of the Polish Reformed church. Seeing that the new king Sigismund II Augustus was sympathetic to the Calvinist cause, he tried to write a confession that would be agreeable not only to all the three Calvinist churches but to the Lutherans as well. Unfortunately, exhausted from overwork, he died in 1560, having achieved only

4674-430: The Lithuanian Brethren ca. 5,000 members. Apart from these two churches, the United Evangelical Church in Poland (Kościół Ewangelicko-Unijny w Polsce), which had assumed independence from the Church of the old-Prussian Union, had ca. 3,000 Calvinists, and the Evangelical Church of Augsburg and Helvetian Confession in Lesser Poland (Kościoł Ewangelicki Augsburskiego i Helweckiego Wyznania w Małopolsce), having emerged from

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4788-436: The Lithuanian Brethren. Its estates were confiscated in 1841 and after 1866 the church was forced to conduct its administrative business and synods in Russian. The number of congregations went down to 12, though 2 new were founded in the course of the 19th century by Czech settlers from Zelów. The church managed to avoid any nationalistic conflict between its Lithuanian peasant members and the still predominant Polish nobles. At

4902-405: The Lithuanians signed a Union agreement with the Lesser Poland Brethren. A huge number of converts were attracted from Orthodox nobility. While the nobles used Polish in church services, an effort was made to convert the Lithuanian-speaking peasants and serfs, but since Lithuanian did not have a written form till the second half of the 19th century, Polish stayed as the official church language. Thus,

5016-400: The Polish Diet reluctantly reinstated political rights to the Polish nobility, as well as granting nearly full freedom of worship and religion - only the prohibition of abjuring from Catholicism was maintained. Under the enlightened king Stanisław August Poniatowski (1764–95), the Calvinists quickly began to rebuild themselves from ruins. New churches in Poznań, Piaski etc. were constructed. In

5130-426: The Polish Reformed two years before they met in a Synod (1947). The old Rev. Skierski was chosen again as superintendent but he died exhausted and broken by the atrocities of the war. The situation of the church was dramatic: only three ministers were in Poland; the churches in present-day Lithuania and Belarus were lost to Soviets; the church in Sielec, and Tabor were seized as "German" by the Catholic population; Warsaw

5244-422: The Polish part of the old united Austrian Church, had ca. 2,000, thus bringing the total number of Reformed in Poland to ca. 30,000 members. These included Poles of Polish, Czech, Lithuanian, German, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Jewish backgrounds. On 1 September 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland and on 17 September, so did the Soviet Union . After a desperate fight, Poland was occupied by Russia and Germany and

5358-426: The Posen ecclesiastical province as general superintendent. Under constant pressure from the Prussian government by the mid-19th century, the United Church abandoned Polish in its liturgy and most of the old Calvinist nobles chose to convert to Catholicism rather than to become Germans. In Austria too, the parishes were incorporated to the Evangelical Church of Augsburg and Helvetian Confession in Austria , but forming

5472-602: The Praga district were restored, though many have been poorly maintained or demolished. Notable examples of post-war architecture include the Palace of Culture and Science , a soc-realist and art deco skyscraper based on the Empire State Building in New York. The Constitution Square with its monumental socialist realism architecture (MDM estate) was modelled on the grand squares of Paris, London, Moscow and Rome . Italianate tuscan-styled colonnades based on those at Piazza della Repubblica in Rome were also erected on Saviour Square . Contemporary architecture in Warsaw

5586-452: The Vistula terraces is asymmetrical. The left side consists mainly of two levels: the highest one contains former flooded terraces and the lowest one is the floodplain terrace. The contemporary flooded terrace still has visible valleys and ground depressions with water systems coming from the old Vistula – riverbed. They consist of still quite natural streams and lakes as well as the pattern of drainage ditches. The right side of Warsaw has

5700-415: The Warsaw Brethren allowed women full voting rights in church assemblies, congregations and synods. Until the 1930s both churches grew rapidly. The Warsaw Brethren organised new congregations in Toruń , Poznań, Lwów (today Lviv in Ukraine) and Kraków. Due to missionary activity, a few thousands of Ukrainians were converted to Calvinism from Eastern Orthodoxy and organised into a semi-independent synod within

5814-562: The Warsaw Brethren. In 1926, the church started to publish a two-weekly church newspaper "Jednota" (Brethren) which still exists today. The Lithuanian Brethren suffered huge loses, when the Lithuanian parishes formed themselves into a separate church in independent Lithuania, as well as they lost to Soviet Russia the old church centres such as Słuck, Kojdanów , Minsk etc. The Brethren, now left with only 4 congregations (Wilno, Izabellin, Niepokojczyce, Michajłówka) rebuilt itself by incorporating Polish Anglicans (mainly converts from Judaism) into

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5928-413: The architectural landscape of the city only began in the mid-1920s. The forming state structures needed headquarters, leading to the construction of many monumental public buildings, including the buildings of the Sejm and the Senate , the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education , the Ministry of Public Works , the National Museum , the State Geological Institute , the State Agricultural Bank,

6042-435: The artists from the court circle of King Sigismund III Vasa (the early Warsaw Baroque is referred to as Vasa Baroque). Among the first structures of the early Baroque, the most important are St. Hyacinth's Church and Sigismund's Column , the first secular monument in the form of a column in modern history. At that time, part of the Royal Castle was rebuilt in this style, the Ujazdów Castle and numerous Baroque palaces on

6156-423: The banks of the Vistula river. One hypothesis states that Warszawa means "belonging to Warsz", Warsz being a shortened form of the masculine Old Polish name Warcisław, which etymologically is linked with Wrocław . However the ending -awa is unusual for a large city; the names of Polish cities derived from personal names usually end in -ów/owo/ew/ewo (e.g. Piotrków, Adamów). Folk etymology attributes

6270-419: The beginning of the 20th century, a number of Polish Calvinists from Żyrardów , Kuców , and Zelów emigrated to the United States and in 1915, a Polish Presbyterian parish was formed in Baltimore, Maryland ; this parish existed until 1941. Immediately after Poland regained its independence, both the Warsaw and Lithuanian Brethren expressed joy at the occasion and a desire to unite into one church. In 1918,

6384-440: The beginnings of the German occupation, the territories of the surrounding municipalities were annexed to the city. Even before Poland regained its independence, parallel to the creation of the administration of the future state, the first urban visions were emerging. These included, among others, the construction of a representative government district in the southern part of Śródmieście . However, major changes in urban planning and

6498-405: The capital Warsaw, a new congregation organised itself and erected a new church (1776). This congregation had a multicultural outlook, as apart from Polish nobles it consisted of merchants of Scottish, English, Swiss, Huguenot , Dutch and German origin. Services were held in Polish, German and French. Church organisation also consolidated and in 1777, in the Lesser Poland's congregation of Sielec,

6612-415: The capital of Poland and the country's centre of political and economic life. After World War II, the "Bricks for Warsaw" campaign was initiated and large prefabricated housing projects were erected in Warsaw to address the major housing shortage. Plattenbau -styled apartment buildings were seen as a solution to avoid Warsaw's former density problem and to create more green spaces. Some of the buildings from

6726-400: The capitals of the Commonwealth's two component parts, Poland and Lithuania, which were Kraków and Vilnius respectively, Warsaw became the capital of the Commonwealth and the Polish Crown when Sigismund III Vasa transferred his royal court in 1596. In the subsequent years the town significantly expanded to the south and westwards. Several private independent districts ( jurydyka ) were

6840-438: The centre of urban resistance to Nazi rule in occupied Europe. When the order came to annihilate the ghetto as part of Hitler 's " Final Solution " on 19 April 1943, Jewish fighters launched the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising . Despite being heavily outgunned and outnumbered, the ghetto held out for almost a month. When the fighting ended, almost all survivors were massacred, with only a few managing to escape or hide. By July 1944,

6954-660: The charge of the Consistory in Warsaw. This new church was called (unofficially) the Warsaw Brethren. The Lithuanian Brethren was spared dissolution, though its schools were taken away by the Russian state. The rest of the 19th century saw a slow growth of the Reformed movement in Poland, though proportionally to the rest of the Polish population their percentage declined. New congregations were established in Lublin (1852), Seirijai (1852), Suwałki (1852). The Czechs from Zelów migrated to other parts of Poland and there they formed new congregations: in Kuców (1852), Żyrardów (1852) and Łódź (1904). Despite severe Russian repression after

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7068-625: The church members found the Czechs to be too hierarchical and undemocratic, and in the end the Lesser Poland Brethren became a strongly synodal structure, while the Greater Poland church became more Presbyterian . The Reformation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (today's Lithuania , Belarus , and Ukraine ) date to 1552 when the local aristocrat Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł received a Reformed preacher, although some of Reformation ideas were known in Sigismund II Augustus palace because of returned educated Lithuanian Abraomas Kulvietis , who had founded school and taught children in Lutheran manner. He

7182-423: The church. Persecution persisted under the Soviet Union, with the Ukrainian Protestant population subject to deportations and nearly completely wiped out. The Wilno congregation was first subjected to the Lithuanian synod, and then Polish services were ordered to cease. The nobility and intelligentsia were hunted down and either executed or deported to Siberia . By 1945 the Wilno Brethren ceased to exist. It took

7296-459: The cities. A great boost to the Calvinist Reformation movement happened when in 1525, the devout Catholic king Sigismund I the Old (1506–48) accepted as his vassal in Ducal Prussia , the Lutheran prince Albert I, Duke of Prussia , thus creating the first Protestant country in the World. Though the king opposed "new thought", humanists all across the Polish-Lithuanian union began studying Calvinist theology. The most celebrated and influential group

7410-401: The city across the Vistula . Warszawa Główna railway station (1932–1939) was not completed due to the outbreak of the Second World War . Stefan Starzyński was the Mayor of Warsaw between 1934 and 1939. After the German Invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 started the Second World War, Warsaw was defended until 27 September. Central Poland, including Warsaw, came under the rule of

7524-405: The city are the house of the Baryczko merchant family (1562), a building called "The Negro" (early 17th century), and Salwator tenement (1632), all situated on the Old Market Place . The most interesting examples of Mannerist architecture are the Royal Castle (1596–1619) and the Jesuit Church (1609–1626). Baroque architecture arrived in Warsaw at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries with

7638-438: The city centre, including the Warsaw Philharmonic , the Church of the Holiest Saviour and tenements along Marszałkowska Street . During World War I , Warsaw was occupied by Germany from 4 August 1915 until November 1918. The Armistice of 11 November 1918 concluded that defeated Germany is to withdraw from all foreign areas, which included Warsaw. Germany did so, and underground leader Józef Piłsudski returned to Warsaw on

7752-426: The city in a style similar to Dresden . The year 1727 marked the opening of the Saxon Garden in Warsaw, the first publicly accessible park. The Załuski Library , the first Polish public library and the largest at the time, was founded in 1747. Stanisław II Augustus , who remodelled the interior of the Royal Castle , also made Warsaw a centre of culture and the arts. He extended the Royal Baths Park and ordered

7866-425: The city is home to Legia Warsaw football club and hosts the annual Warsaw Marathon . Warsaw's name in the Polish language is Warszawa . Other previous spellings of the name may have included: Warszewa , Warszowa , Worszewa or Werszewa . The exact origin and meaning of the name is uncertain and has not been fully determined. Originally, Warszawa was the name of a small fishing settlement on

7980-532: The city name to Wars and Sawa . There are several versions of the legend with their appearance. According to one version, Sawa was a mermaid living in the Vistula with whom fisherman Wars fell in love. The official city name in full is miasto stołeczne Warszawa ("The Capital City of Warsaw"). A native or resident of Warsaw is known as a Varsovian – in Polish warszawiak , warszawianin (male), warszawianka (female), warszawiacy , and warszawianie (plural). The first fortified settlements on

8094-416: The city the Jewish culture and history resonates down through time. Among them the most notable are the Jewish theater , the Nożyk Synagogue , Janusz Korczak 's Orphanage and the picturesque Próżna Street. The tragic pages of Warsaw's history are commemorated in places such as the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes , the Umschlagplatz , fragments of the ghetto wall on Sienna Street and a mound in memory of

8208-695: The city was destroyed, including the historic Old Town and the Royal Castle. On 17 January 1945 – after the beginning of the Vistula–Oder Offensive of the Red Army  – Soviet troops and Polish troops of the First Polish Army entered the ruins of Warsaw, and liberated Warsaw's suburbs from German occupation. The city was swiftly freed by the Soviet Army, which rapidly advanced towards Łódź , as German forces regrouped at

8322-546: The city, and the Saxon Palace underwent a complete reconstruction, where the central body of the building was demolished and replaced by a monumental 11-bay colonnade . In the mid-19th century, the industrial revolution reached Warsaw, leading to the mass use of iron as a building material. In 1845, the Warsaw-Vienna Railway Station was opened. Another important aspect of the developing city

8436-556: The classes in the two precincts led to a minor revolt in 1525. Following the sudden death of Janusz III and the extinction of the local ducal line, Masovia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland in 1526. Bona Sforza , wife of Sigismund I of Poland , was widely accused of poisoning the duke to uphold Polish rule over Warsaw. In 1529, Warsaw for the first time became the seat of a General Sejm and held that privilege permanently from 1569. The city's rising importance encouraged

8550-878: The consolidation of the Lesser Reformed Brethren, which shortly afterwards was weakened by the split of the Unitarians (1563). In the same year, the Second Helvetic Confession was translated to Polish and was adopted by the Lithuanian and Lesser Poland Brethren. Łaski has been called the ‘Father of the Polish Reformed Church’. In a posthumous tribute to John a Lasco, the Czech Brethren, the two Calvinist and Lutheran churches in Poland agreed in 1570 to

8664-502: The construction of Plac Defilad (Parade Square), one of the largest of its kind in Europe. Much of the central district was also designated for future skyscrapers. The 237-metre Palace of Culture and Science resembling New York's Empire State Building was built as a gift from the Soviet Union. Warsaw's urban landscape is one of modern and contemporary architecture. Despite wartime destruction and post-war remodelling, many of

8778-506: The construction of a new set of defenses, including the landmark Barbican . Renowned Italian architects were brought to Warsaw to reshape the Royal Castle , the streets and the marketplace, resulting in the Old Town's early Italianate appearance. In 1573, the city gave its name to the Warsaw Confederation which formally established religious freedom in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . Due to its central location between

8892-523: The construction or refurbishment of numerous palaces, mansions and richly-decorated tenements. This earned Warsaw the nickname Paris of the North . Warsaw remained the capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795 when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia in the third and final partition of Poland ; it subsequently became the capital of the province of South Prussia . During this time, Louis XVIII of France spent his exile in Warsaw under

9006-546: The country, and conversion from Catholic Christianity was punishable by death. Finally, in 1717 the Protestant nobility were stripped of all their political rights, which were only reinstated to them in 1768. Though a small number of Huguenots settled in Poland at the end of the 17th century (Gdańsk, Warsaw), the numbers dwindled. By 1768, the number of Reformed churches has dwindled to 40 from 500 by 1591. In 1768, under pressure from Orthodox Russia and Protestant Prussia ,

9120-667: The end of the 1950s. Some Polish Reformed stayed in the West rather than come back to a Communist regime and formed the London Reformed Polish Church, that existed till 1991. International churches Warsaw Warsaw , officially the Capital City of Warsaw , is the capital and largest city of Poland . The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population

9234-444: The expansion and modernisation of trams, street lighting, and gas infrastructure. Between 1850 and 1882, the population grew by 134% to 383,000 as a result of rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. Many migrated from surrounding rural Masovian towns and villages to the city for employment opportunities. The western borough of Wola was transformed from an agricultural periphery occupied mostly by small farms and windmills (mills being

9348-542: The face" of Poland. These words were meaningful for Varsovians and Poles who understood them as the incentive for liberal-democratic reforms. In 1995, the Warsaw Metro opened with a single line. A second line was opened in March 2015. On 28 September 2022, three new Warsaw metro stations were opened, increasing the number of Warsaw Metro stations to 36 and its length to 38.3 kilometers. In February 2023, Warsaw's mayor, Rafał Trzaskowski , announced plans to more than double

9462-795: The first Calvinist synod in Lesser Poland was held in 1554 in Słomniki , close to Kraków. Thus, the Lesser Poland Brethren (Jednota Małopolska) was formed. In the meantime, in the North of Poland, another Calvinist church was formed. The Czech Brethren , persecuted by the Czech king Ferdinand I Habsburg fled to Greater Poland (1548), where they settled in the estates of the local aristocrats whom they very quickly converted to their faith. The number of their congregations quickly swelled from 20 in 1555 to 64 in 1570. Their main centre

9576-471: The historic streets, buildings, and churches were restored to their original form. John Paul II 's visits to his native country in 1979 and 1983 brought support to the budding "Solidarity" movement and encouraged the growing anti-communist fervor there. In 1979, less than a year after becoming pope, John Paul celebrated Mass in Victory Square in Warsaw and ended his sermon with a call to "renew

9690-837: The isotherm used; although the city used to be humid continental regardless of isotherm prior to the recent effect of climate change and the city's urban heat island . Meanwhile, by the genetic climate classification of Wincenty Okołowicz , it has a temperate "fusion" climate, with both oceanic and continental features. The city has cold, sometimes snowy, cloudy winters, and warm, relatively sunny but frequently stormy summers. Spring and autumn can be unpredictable, highly prone to sudden weather changes; however, temperatures are usually mild, especially around May and September. The daily average temperature ranges between −1.5 °C (29 °F) in January and 19.7 °C (67.5 °F) in July and

9804-543: The main cities of Poland (Kraków, Poznań, Lublin) with the important exception of Wilno. The Unitarian split seriously weakened the church, and in 1595, the Calvinist-Lutheran Union fell apart. The new staunchly Catholic king, Sigismund III Vasa , refused to promote any Protestants and from the beginning of the 17th century the church found itself in a serious defensive, with all three Brethren losing churches and followers. The brief respite they got during

9918-511: The mean year temperature is 9.0 °C (48.2 °F). Temperatures may reach 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer, although the effects of hot weather are usually offset by relatively low dew points and large diurnal temperature differences. Warsaw is Europe's sixth driest major city (driest in Central Europe ), with yearly rainfall averaging 550 mm (22 in), the wettest month being July. Warsaw's long and eclectic history left

10032-713: The most notable examples are the Great Theater , buildings located at Bank Square , headquarters of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Sciences ( Staszic Palace ), St. Alexander's Church , the Belweder . Many classicist tenement houses were built on Senatorska Street and along Nowy Świat Street . After the outbreak of the November Uprising , the Warsaw Citadel was constructed in the north of

10146-432: The namesake of Wola's central neighbourhood Młynów ) to an industrial and manufacturing centre. Metallurgical , textile and glassware factories were commonplace, with chimneys dominating the westernmost skyline. Like London , Warsaw's population was subjected to income segmentation. Gentrification of inner suburbs forced poorer residents to move across the river into Praga or Powiśle and Solec districts, similar to

10260-480: The northern city wall into a newly formed self-governing precinct called New Town . The existing older settlement became eventually known as the Old Town . Both possessed their own town charter and independent councils. The aim of establishing a separate district was to accommodate new incomers or "undesirables" who were not permitted to settle in Old Town, particularly Jews . Social and financial disparities between

10374-586: The outskirts of the inner borough, in Ochota , Mokotów and Żoliborz or along the Vistula in Powiśle . A seat of Polish monarchs since the end of the 16th century, Warsaw remained a small city with only privately owned palaces, mansions, villas and several streets of townhouses. These displayed a richness of color and architectonic details. The finest German, Italian and Dutch architects were employed, among them Tylman van Gameren , Andreas Schlüter , Jakub Fontana , and Enrico Marconi . The buildings situated in

10488-579: The peasantry as well. In some regions the number of Reformed parishes completely outnumbered the Roman Catholic ones, though in proportion the movement probably never exceeded 20% of the total population and 45% of nobility. At the same time the movement was rising in strength, there were signs of Catholic revival. Jesuits were invited to Poland by the clergy in 1565, and these friars soon advocated more stringent methods of combating ‘heresy’. Religious riots followed, which managed to expel Protestants from

10602-489: The plain moraine plateau and the Vistula Valley with its asymmetrical pattern of different terraces. The Vistula River is the specific axis of Warsaw, which divides the city into two parts, left and right. The left one is situated both on the moraine plateau (10 to 25 m (33 to 82 ft) above Vistula level) and on the Vistula terraces (max. 6.5 m (21 ft) above Vistula level). The significant element of

10716-667: The property of aristocrats and the gentry, which they ruled by their own laws. Between 1655 and 1658 the city was besieged and pillaged by the Swedish, Brandenburgian and Transylvanian forces. The conduct of the Great Northern War (1700–1721) also forced Warsaw to pay heavy tributes to the invading armies. The reign of Augustus II and Augustus III was a time of great development for Warsaw, which turned into an early-capitalist city. The Saxon monarchs employed many German architects, sculptors and engineers, who rebuilt

10830-482: The pseudonym Comte de Lille . Warsaw was made the capital of a newly created French client state , known as the Duchy of Warsaw , after a portion of Poland's territory was liberated from Prussia, Russia and Austria by Napoleon in 1806. Following Napoleon's defeat and exile, the 1815 Congress of Vienna assigned Warsaw to Congress Poland , a constitutional monarchy within the easternmost sector (or partition) under

10944-659: The region, with the Warsaw Stock Exchange being the largest in Central and Eastern Europe . It is the base for Frontex , the European Union agency for external border security, and ODIHR , one of the principal institutions of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe . Warsaw has one of Europe's highest concentrations of skyscrapers , and the Varso Place is the tallest building in

11058-543: The reign of king Wladyslaw IV Vasa (1632–48) was followed by civil wars, wars with Sweden , Russia and Turkey which ravaged the country for latter half of the century. By then, only a handful of faithful remained in all three Brethren, with the Lithuanian one now leading the other three. Nearly all the aristocrats converted to Catholicism, and the last Protestant in the Senate (a Lutheran) died in 1668. The rise of intolerance began in 1658, when Unitarians were expelled from

11172-429: The relief, in this part of Warsaw, is the edge of moraine plateau called Warsaw Escarpment. It is 20 to 25 m (66 to 82 ft) high in the Old Town and Central district and about 10 m (33 ft) in the north and south of Warsaw. It goes through the city and plays an important role as a landmark. The plain moraine plateau has only a few natural and artificial ponds and also groups of clay pits . The pattern of

11286-519: The rump Lesser Poland Brethren and became a leader of the denomination. The Lithuanian Brethren maintained its synodal structure and Polish outlook, and in the beginning of the 19th century erected a monumental church in Vilnius . The number of Reformed were growing too: in 1803, a colony of Czech settlers founded a town and congregation of Zelów . Under the energetic Superintendent Karol Diehl (who died in 1831) in 1829 another administrative union

11400-671: The same day which marked the beginning of the Second Polish Republic , the first truly sovereign Polish state after 1795. In the course of the Polish–Soviet War (1919–1921), the 1920 Battle of Warsaw was fought on the eastern outskirts of the city. Poland successfully defended the capital, stopped the brunt of the Bolshevik Red Army and temporarily halted the " export of the communist revolution " to other parts of Europe. The interwar period (1918–1939)

11514-412: The seat of Napoleon 's Duchy of Warsaw . The 19th century and its Industrial Revolution brought a demographic boom, which made it one of the largest and most densely populated cities in Europe. Known then for its elegant architecture and boulevards, Warsaw was bombed and besieged at the start of World War II in 1939. Much of the historic city was destroyed and its diverse population decimated by

11628-466: The site of today's Warsaw were located in Bródno (9th/10th century) and Jazdów (12th/13th century). After Jazdów was raided by nearby clans and dukes, a new fortified settlement was established on the site of a small fishing village called "Warszowa". The Prince of Płock , Bolesław II of Masovia, established the modern-day city in about 1300 and the first historical document attesting to the existence of

11742-415: The size of the city's metro system by 2050. With the entry of Poland into the European Union in 2004, Warsaw is experiencing the large economic boom. The opening fixture of UEFA Euro 2012 took place in Warsaw and the city also hosted the 2013 United Nations Climate Change Conference and the 2016 NATO Summit . As of August 2022, Warsaw had received around 180,000 refugees from Ukraine, because of

11856-533: The vicinity of the Warsaw Old Town represent nearly every European architectural style and historical period . Warsaw has excellent examples of architecture from the Gothic , Renaissance , Baroque and Neoclassical periods, all of which are located within walking distance of the centre. This architectural richness has led to Warsaw being described by some commentators as a " Paris of the East ". Gothic architecture

11970-616: Was Tylman van Gameren . His projects include the Krasiński Palace , Palace of the Four Winds , Ostrogski Palace , Czapski Palace , Brühl Palace , and St. Kazimierz Church . The most significant Baroque building of this period is the Wilanów Palace , built on the order of King John III Sobieski . The late Baroque era was the epoch of the Saxon Kings (1697–1763). During this time, three major spatial projects were realized:

12084-489: Was a time of major development in the city's infrastructure. New modernist housing estates were built in Mokotów to de-clutter the densely populated inner suburbs. In 1921, Warsaw's total area was estimated at only 124.7 km with 1 million inhabitants–over 8,000 people/km made Warsaw more densely populated than contemporary London. The Średnicowy Bridge was constructed for railway (1921–1931), connecting both parts of

12198-626: Was completely destroyed by the Germans , although the church managed to survive. The number of members was estimated to be at 5000, or nearly 1/6 the 1939 number. Still, it was dropping even more, as the German and Czech Calvinists were emigrating from Poland. Old Calvinist churches in West Poland were taken over by the Catholics who refused to give them back; the lack of pastors was acute till

12312-593: Was cut short by the three Partitions of Poland by Prussia, Russia and Austria (1772, 1793, 1795) which led to the disappearance of Poland for over a century from the map of Europe. The beginnings were not easy. The Greater Poland Brethren was incorporated in 1817 to the Prussian Evangelical Union Church as a separate district (Kirchenprovinz Posen, i.e. ecclesiastical province of Posen) but without any autonomy . Between 1829 and 1853, Bishop Carl Andreas Wilhelm Freymark (1785–1855) led

12426-407: Was ensuring access to water and sewage disposal. The first modern Warsaw water supply system was launched in 1855, designed by one of the most outstanding architects of that period – Enrico Marconi , who designed also All Saints Church . The dynamic development of the railway became a factor that enabled equally dynamic development of Warsaw's industry. Among the establishments built at that time were

12540-588: Was fired upon by Russian troops. Five people were killed. The Underground Polish National Government resided in Warsaw during the January Uprising in 1863–64. Warsaw flourished throughout the 19th century under Mayor Sokrates Starynkiewicz (1875–92), who was appointed by Alexander III . Under Starynkiewicz Warsaw saw its first water and sewer systems designed and built by the English engineer William Lindley and his son, William Heerlein Lindley , as well as

12654-474: Was found in the country's capital Kraków , where they flocked around the book printer and vendor Jan Trzecielski grouping nobles, burghers , professors, priests. The first Calvinist church service was held in 1550 in Pińczów a little town nearby Kraków , where the local noble owner converted to the Reformed Faith, expelled the monks , ’purging’ the city church. Other nobles soon followed suit and

12768-556: Was generally unpopular among the Catholic hierarchy because of his Lutheran beliefs, and when the queen was away in 1542 Abraomas was forced to leave the country. Soon he (Radziwiłł "The Black") was followed by his cousin Mikołaj "the Red" Radziwiłł and other aristocrats. The reformer Jan Łaski worked for King Sigismund II from 1556 onwards. The first synod was held in 1557, and two years later

12882-581: Was signed with Lutherans. The predominance of the more numerous Lutherans in the new consistory of the Calvinists, as well as the unsuccessful November Uprising in 1830 led the Tsar Nicolas I of Russia to dissolve the Union in 1849. Under the new decree separate Lutheran and Reformed churches were formed. The Lesser Poland Brethren was dissolved its six parishes merged into one (in Sielec) and now put under

12996-561: Was the city of Leszno , where they were settled under the patronage of the devotedly Reformed Leszczyński family. Thus the Czech Brethren, also called the Greater Poland Brethren (Jednota Wielkopolska), was formed. The Greater Poland and the Lesser Poland Brethren did try to cooperate more closely and even signed in 1555 a Union agreement but the Lesser Poland's Reformed nobles who formed the bulwark of

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