Warsaw

Warsaw , (in Polish: Warszawa , in German: Warschau ) is since 1596 the Capitale of the Poland and also since 1999 the chief town of the Voïvodie of Mazovie. Located on the the Vistula at approximately 370 km of the the Baltic and the Carpates. The population of Warsaw was of 1.702.139 inhabitants in 2007 what makes of it more the big city of Poland and 7th the larger of the European Union. Surface of the east city of 516,9  km ² and by taking account of its metropolitan region (Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy) of 6100,43  km ². Warsaw is divided into eighteen districts ( dzielnice )

The city gathers a whole range of industries (manufacturing, automobile, of steel, electronic engineering, new technologies, etc), sixty-six establishments of higher education of which the Université of Warsaw, the Polytechnic school of Warsaw, the National college of business of Warsaw and the Académie of medicine. The city is also an important arts center and shelters the philharmonic orchestra and more than thirty theaters of which the National theater and the national Opera.

History

See also: History of Warsaw

Become capital of the Poland in 1596, Warsaw was destroyed by conflicts and was on several occasions rebuilt.

During the Second world war, Warsaw was illustrated by its sadly celebrates ghetto Jewish carried out by the Germans on the occupied territory, of which there remains today only two sections of wall red. The Jewish population which was most numerous of all Europe before 1939 was entirely decimated by the Nazis. Today, of many tourists, especially those of the Diaspora, visit the Cimetière of Powązki and the Jewish cemetery of Warsaw.

The Nazis shaved 84  % of the city, during and after the Insurrection of Warsaw (1944). The old center town ( Stare miasto ) and the royal Castle, in ruins after war, had to be entirely rebuilt. This immense work of restoration was a success, because the old Warsaw was allowed with the world heritage of UNESCO.

Stalin also wanted to show the power of the the USSR and Poland by offering to the discussed Pole the Palais of the Culture and the Science ( Palac Kultury I Nauki ), which constitutes another attraction of the city today.

Economy

Since 1989, Warsaw saw an economic boom, accelerated with the entry of Poland in the European Union in 2004. It is relatively privileged within its area of Mazovie (which has an unemployment rate of 14,8  % in 2005, Warsaw announces a Chômage 13,5  %). This persistent unemployment pushes many Poles (in particular graduates) to be exiled in Europe and elsewhere: according to the estimates, 1,1 to 2 million Pole would have emigrated in 2004-2005. Traditional industries and those of new technologies are omnipresent there. GDP per capita is by far highest in Poland, implying a deep economic fracture between the capital and the remainder of the country. All this results in a change of image of the city. Several companies and international agencies choose Warsaw like site for their investments in Central Europe. The town hall set up tax credits in order to facilitate the development of the small and medium-size companies. Was the financial participation of foreign investors estimated at nearly 700?? Euro S in 2003. The city produces more 15  % of GDP of Poland. The town hall collected more 8  262  325 Złoty S of tax and governmental appropriations. New Gratte-ciel S is built with the downtown area, which takes part in the change of image of the city.

Transport

Airport

The largest airport of Poland Aéroport Frederic Chopin of Warsaw is located at the south-west of the city, in Okęcie. It ensures of the direct flights towards more than 50 countries out of 4 continents and also of the flights towards 10 other national destinations. New Terminal 2 was recently open. The Etiuda terminal ensures the flights of the companies at low prices.

Public transport

Public transport is of very good quality. The shipping company of Warsaw ( Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego ) is divided into four branches: Bus, Tram S, Subway and Suburban train. Other services are ensured by private conveyers and the national company of railroads ( PKP ). Moreover, there exist three roads of tram specifically designed for the tourists. The buses serve 176 roads during the majority of the year. The buses circulate 5 a.m. until midnight. Between midnight and 5 hours of morning, 14 lines of bus of night are in service. The first tram line was open in 1866, at present Warsaw is served by 863 cars out of 29 daily lines and 470 kilometers of way. The Trolleybus served Warsaw until 1995 when two last lines were closed. The subway of Warsaw opened its doors in 1995 and is among newest of Europe. Until now, a line was opened and another is in the process of construction. 17 stations serve especially the downtown area and the district of the south of the city. The construction of a third line is also planned. The suburban trains serve the districts in the east and the west of the city as well as the suburbs. They also stop on the most important stations of the city.

Roads

Warsaw does not have a circular highway and the major part of circulation is carried out by the downtown area. Currently, two circular roads are in construction. The first, Obwodnica Etapowa Warszawy , distant from roughly 10 km of the downtown area, will make it possible to reduce the traffic, especially with the construction of two new bridges in the north of the city. The second will belong to a-2 highway (Berlin - Moscow) and of S-7 (Gdańsk - Cracow) and will pass by the district Ursynów to the south of the city. Constructions will finish respectively in 2008 and 2010.

Railroads

The railroads of Warsaw, separately the suburban trains, are managed by the national company of railroads ( PKP ). The first railroad was open in 1845. At present, one can go directly from Warsaw towards all the corners of Poland but also worms of many European capitals: Berlin, Bratislava, Brussels, Budapest, Kiev, Minsk, Moscow, Prague, Rīga, Vienna and Vilnius. There are on the whole 44 stations on the territory of the town of Warsaw, however only 5 play a big role.
  • Warszawa Centralna - the largest railway station of the city, serves the most important railway lines of which all international lines.
  • Warszawa Zachodnia - serves the destinations of the west and the south of Poland.
  • Warszawa Wschodnia - serves the destinations of the east of the country as well as old the Soviet Union.
  • Warszawa Gdańska - serves the north of the country.
  • Warszawa Wileńska - serves the North-East of the country, the Lithuania and the Latvia.

Monuments and places of tourist interest of Warsaw

  • Old city of Warsaw: oldest historical quarters of Warsaw.
  • Royal palace of Warsaw: official residence of kings de Pologne in Warsaw. It is located in the old city
  • Hôtel Krasinski of style baroque, formerly the most beautiful hotel among the private mansions of Warsaw on the place of the same name.
  • Place of the Theater: large masonries in the traditional style were built there among which the Large Theater, the largest building of the place.
  • Place Pilsudski
  • Place Bankowy
  • Krakowskie Przedmiescie: street along which the houses and the fields of the nobility were built.
  • Which occurred Ujazdowskie: one of the most elegant streets of Warsaw.
  • Łazienki Królewskie
  • Palate of Wilanów: the royal residence of Jan III Sobieski and August II.

Town planning

The district of businesses of Warsaw east among most modern of Europe and all the downtown area of Warsaw east being reorganized. The absence of project of overall town planning and the deficiency of the public services transformed the downtown area into true far-west where all the authorizations are negotiated. New Gratte-ciel continues to be built to meet the needs for the companies seeking of spaces of offices. The eleven larger skyscrapers of Poland are located at Warsaw (Panorama). Last nines of them have a financial function what reaffirms the position of Warsaw as being the economic capital of Poland. This prevalence on the other big cities of the country increases the social fracture.
  1. Palate of the Culture and Science (1955) 231 Mr. (the 6th larger building of Europe and 4th largest in European Union)
  2. Warsaw Stock Exchange (Warsaw Trade Center) (1999) 208 Mr. (8th the largest of Europe)
  3. Intercontinental Warsaw (Hotel) (2003) 164 Mr.
  4. financial Center of Warsaw (1999) 144 Mr.
  5. Centrum LIM (1989) 140 Mr.
  6. Intraco 2 (1978) 139 Mr.
  7. Turn TP SA. (2001) 122 Mr.
  8. Turn FIM (1996) 115 Mr.
  9. Millenium Plaza (1999) 115 Mr.
  10. Intraco 1 (1975) 107 Mr.
  11. Łucka City (2004) 106 Mr.

Administrative division

The town of Warsaw has the statute of Powiat and is divided into 18 districts (Polish: dzielnice ) each one having their own mayor of district and a council of district (elected). Each one of these districts is divided in an official or not-official way (according to the district) into districts of which most known are Stare Miasto (the Old-city) and Nowe Miasto (the News-city) belonging to the district Śródmieście

Suburbs of Warsaw

The suburbs of Warsaw play a part almost exclusively residential and continue to develop, increasing the transport needs. The majority of the commuters work in Warsaw and the economic activity is generally local there. After the fall of the Soviet Bloc, the networks of Mafia of Pruszków and Wołomin competed between them for the control of the market of illegal Prostitution and of the drug trafficking as much in the suburbs that in Warsaw. These networks were dismantled by the police force towards 1998 and with the installation of a criminal Code more severe did not re-appear. Because of the brutal increase of the prices of land and real estate for a few years, much of Varsovian employees have moved in suburbs to build houses there, increasing the population of the suburbs. Suburbs of the North-East Ząbki and Marki as well as south: Piaseczno lives a true boom of construction.

Most important peripheral cities

Photographic gallery

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