Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly 260 kilometers (162 mi) from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometers (186 mi) from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of June 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,785,000. The city area is 516.9 square kilometers (199.6 sq mi), with an agglomeration of 6,100.43 square kilometers (2,355.4 sq mi) (Warsaw Metro Area – Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy). Warsaw is the 9th largest city in the European Union by population.
Warszawianka (1831) is widely considered the unofficial anthem of Warsaw. On 9 November 1940 the City of Warsaw was awarded the supreme military decoration for courage in the face of the enemy – Order Virtuti Militari for the heroic defence in 1939. The Warsaw Ghetto (German: Warschauer Ghetto, officially Jüdischer Wohnbezirk in Warschau Jewish Residential District in Warsaw) was, after Łódź Ghetto, the second largest of all the Jewish ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II. Warsaw is also known as the “phoenix city”, as it recovered from extensive damage during World War II (during which 80% of its buildings were destroyed), being rebuilt with the effort of Polish citizens. Warsaw has given its name to the Warsaw Confederation, Warsaw Pact, the Duchy of Warsaw, Warsaw Convention, Treaty of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising.
In 1945, after the bombing, the revolts, the fighting, and the demolition had ended, most of Warsaw lay in ruins. After the war, under a Communist regime set up by the conquering Soviets, large prefabricated housing projects were erected in Warsaw to address the housing shortage, along with other typical buildings 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 country’s centre of political and economic life. Many of the historic streets, buildings, and churches were restored to their original form. In 1980, Warsaw’s historic Old Town was inscribed onto UNESCO’s World Heritage list. In 1995, the Warsaw Metro opened. With the entry of Poland into the European Union in 2004, Warsaw is currently experiencing the biggest economic boom of its history. The opening match of UEFA Euro 2012 is scheduled to take place in Warsaw.
To inform you about latest news most of the city, town or tourism websites offer a newsletter service and/or operate Facepage pages/Twitter accounts. Read more on City of Warsaw, Warsaw Skyscraper Diagram, Wikipedia History of the Jews in Poland (already during the time of the Soviet Union, but also after its collapse, the Polish governments tried to whitewash Poland of the taint of collaboration with the Nazi regime in the wake of the Holocaust. There is now even a law in Poland that criminalizes those who do not subscribe to this deep-seated, historical revisionist view. This is one of the reasons why there is always considerable disagreement between the Jewish communities and the Israeli government on the one hand and the Polish government, in particular the anti-democratic and ultra-nationalist PiS government, on the other hand, especially since numerous eyewitness testimonies and reports contradict the wishful thinking of the Polish governments clearly), Haaretz, 3 October 2019: Is the Polish Government Holding a Jewish Museum Hostage for Being ‘Disobedient’?, Times of Israel, 5 October 2019: Wikipedia page on Warsaw death camp where 200,000 were killed was 15-year fake, Wikitravel Warsaw and Wikipedia Warsaw. Learn more about the use of photos.
