Square, Plaza sights in Warsaw
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Old Town
The Old Town was rebuilt from the foundations up because after the war it was nothing but a heap of rubble. The monumental reconstruction, which took place between 1949 and 1963, aimed at restoring the appearance of the town in its best times, the 17th and 18th centuries. Every authentic architectural fragment found among the ruins was incorporated in the restoration.
In 1945, the Old Town Square was just the walls of two houses sticking out of the rubble, today it is a harmonious blend of Renaissance, baroque and Gothic elements. It's alive and atmospheric, doesn't feel contrived, and is replete with open-air cafés and art stalls. The Historical Museum of Warsaw occupi…
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B
Plac Bankowy
Like most of Warsaw's squares, Plac Bankowy is too big and busy to be appealing. It was once the financial district of 19th-century Warsaw, but the only reminder of this is spread along the western side of the square; here you'll see the imposing City Hall (Ratusz; M0570) and the former stock exchange and Bank of Poland building, both grand neoclassical buildings designed by Antonio Corazzi in the 1820s. The eastern side of the square was redeveloped after WWII and is now dominated by a blue skyscraper built on the site of a synagogue destroyed by the Nazis. The story goes that a local rabbi placed a curse on the site and, sure enough, the skyscraper was dogged by problem…
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C
Old Town Square
The partially walled Old Town (Stare Miasto) is centred on Old Town Square, which, for those with an eye for historical buildings, is the loveliest in Warsaw. It's lined with tall houses exhibiting a fine blend of Renaissance and Baroque with Gothic and neoclassical elements - aside from the façades at Nos 34 and 36, all were reconstructed after WWII. An 1855 statue of the Mermaid (Syrena), the symbol of Warsaw, occupies the square's central position, the site of the city's original town hall demolished in 1817.
On almost any given day, the square is swamped with tourists enjoying the pretty surrounds and numerous cafés and restaurants.
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D
New Town
The New Town is a bit of a misnomer, considering it was founded at the end of the 14th century and since 1408 has commanded its own jurisdiction and administration. It exudes similar architectural styles to those found in the Old Town, but lacks any defensive walls, probably due to the fact that historically it was inhabited by poor folk. Ul Freta is the New Town's main street, leading north from the Barbican towards New Town Sq (Rynek Nowego Miasta).
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E
Castle Square
A natural spot from which to start exploring the Old Town is triangular Castle Square. Attracting snap-happy tourists by the hundreds each day is the square's centrepiece, the Sigismund III Vasa Column (Kolumna Zygmunta III Wazy; M0560).
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F
Plac Grzybowski
Plac Grzybowski is the centrepiece of Warsaw's current Jewish community. Here, behind the Teatr Żydowski (Jewish Theatre; ) is the Nożyk Synagogue, the city's only synagogue to survive WWII.
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