Warsaw Day I

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I began my visit on Saturday by walking from the hotel to the Stare Miasto (Old Town). Most of the route took me along the scenic Krakowskie Przedmiescie street, which was absent of cars given the early hour and provided nice views of some churches and other buildings.

 

According to the guidebook, the old town area was absolutely decimated by the Nazis toward the end of WWII. In fact, the following quote is attributed to Eisenhower during his tour of the area following the war:

“I have seen many towns destroyed, but nowhere have I been faced with such destruction.”

As a result, I didn’t expect it to really have an “old town” feel but ended up being very surprised. Apparently, a considerable amount of effort was devoted to meticulously restoring the old town area during the 50s and 60s based on pre-war sketches, paintings and photographs.

Here are some pictures from the main square (Rynek), which I thought was very nice.

And to demonstrate the extent of the rebuilding effort, here are a couple of pictures taken just after the war that were on display near the entrance of the square.