Warsaw Old Town
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Warsaw's Old Town (Polish: Stare Miasto, Starówka) is the oldest historic district of the city. It is bounded by Wybrzeże Gdańskie on the shores of the Vistula, Grodzka, Mostowa and Podwale Streets. It is the oldest part of the city of Warsaw and one of its most prominent tourist attractions. The heart of the area is the Old Town Market Place, with its unique traditional Polish restaurants, cafés and shops. Surrounding streets feature mediaval architecture such as the city walls, barbican and St. John's Cathedral.
History
Warsaw's Old Town was established in the 13th century. Initially surrounded by an earthwork rampart, prior to 1339 it was strengthened by brick-made city walls. The town originally grew around the castle of the Dukes of Mazovia that later became the Royal Castle. The Market Square (Rynek Starego Miasta) was delimited some time in late 13th or early 14th century, in the middle of the main road linking the castle with the New Town to the north. Until 1817 the most notable feature of the place was a Town Hall built before 1429. In 1701 the square was rebuilt by Tylman of Gameren and in 1817 the Town Hall was demolished. Since 19th century the sides of the Market Square bear the names of four notable Poles to live there: Ignacy Zakrzewski (southern), Hugo Kołłątaj (western), Jan Dekert (northern) and Franciszek Barss (eastern).In 19th century, in the period of fast growth of the town, the Old Town lost its significance as the commercial and administrative centre of the city. Consistently, most of it was neglected and became populated mostly by the poorer classes of Varsovians. It was not until Poland regained her independence in the aftermath of the Great War that the local authorities started to care for the area. In 1918 the Royal Castle was yet again made the seat of the highest authorities of Poland - this time of the President of Poland and his chancellery. In late 1930s, during the presidency of Stefan Starzyński, the municipal authorities started extensive works on refurbishing the Old Town and restoring it to its former glory. The Barbican and the Old Town Market were partially restored. However, these efforts were brought to an end by the outbreak of World War II.
During the Polish Defensive War of 1939 much of the area was badly damaged by the German Luftwaffe targeting the residential areas and historical landmarks in a campaign of terror bombing. Following the Siege of Warsaw parts of the old town were rebuilt, but in the aftermath of the Warsaw Uprising all of the area was completely flattened and destroyed during by the Germans. A telling statue commemorating this, called Mały Powstaniec, is standing on the ramparts of the Old Town.
After the war the area was yet again meticulously rebuilt by the Polish. Rubble was screened for any reusable items such as decorative elements, and reinserted into its original place during reconstruction. Bernardo Bellotto's vedutas were used for the reconstruction effort. It was listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site as "an outstanding example of a near-total reconstruction of a span of history covering the 13th to the 20th century".
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