Warsaw - it's not what you expect

Warsaw – it’s not what you expect!

Warsaw is imagined by many people to be grey and gritty. It is inevitably associated with the Jewish Ghetto extermination/uprising of 1943, the Warsaw uprising/massacre of 1944, and the Warsaw Pact cementing the Cold War. (Our guidebook notes wryly that Warsaw’s image isn’t helped by the name of its river, the Vistula, “which sound like a painful medical condition”.) Many first time visitors here expect to see, if not piles of war ruins, at least unrelenting rows of decrepit communist-era tenements and grim government buildings.

A city with many beautiful buildings and parks, with lots more under development - and with a new sense of optimism, and a real buzz

What a surprise, then, to find a city with many beautiful buildings and parks, with lots more under development - and a city with a new sense of optimism, and a real buzz. Warsaw has new skyscrapers, and beautifully rebuilt or renovated buildings from past centuries. Among the new buildings is the innovative Golden Terraces office, shopping and entertainment complex (Złote Tarasy), with its immense glass wave-like roof. Celebrity international architect Daniel Libeskind has launched his curved beauty Zlota 44, bound to become a major Warsaw landmark, with over 250 luxury apartments on 54 floors.

Echoes of Warsaw’s past include picturesque medieval market squares (in its Old Town),

handsome baroque churches such as those lining Nowy Swiat (New World) Street, imposing theatres, and ornate palaces and residences of kings and aristocrats. These old buildings have all been reconstructed since Warsaw was systematically demolished by the Nazis as punishment for the 1944 Uprising. This determination to rebuild their heritage continues to this day: in a large central square, work is getting underway (currently at the stage of conducting an extensive archaeological excavation) on rebuilding the 18^th C Saxon Palace (Palac Saski), which served as a royal residence.

Extensive parks, often following the traces laid out by the nobility, provide attractive green space throughout the downtown area. Parks too are benefiting from the general sprucing up of the urban fabric. Some which had run down during the communist era have been or are being renovated, such as the delightful Ujazdowskie Park behind the French and Canadian Embassies, with its classical sculptures, stream, duck pond, marvellous children’s play area, young mothers or care-givers pushing prams, and beds of red roses in bloom through the middle of October. Lazienki Park, with its peacocks, 18^th C Palace on the Water, and “orangeries” is immensely appealing.

Since Poland’s first free elections in 1989, and its admission to the European Union (EU) in 2004, there has been a massive inflow of investment and an unleashing of energy and economic activity in Warsaw (a city of 1.7 million). Its eyes are firmly fixed on Europe now.

While the prevailing sense is of a city in transformation and creating its future, Warsaw is far from forgetful of its past, including the vast suffering in the 20^th Century. Hundreds of monuments to the dead are located all over the city. Most commemorate those executed by the Nazis during the 1944 Uprising - often innocent civilians swept up in reprisals. Flowers and candles are placed at many of these monuments. There are moving monuments associated with the Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising.

There is such a contrast between the horrors that have occurred in this city and today’s peacefulness. Seeing families stroll happily through the parks on Sundays and going about business on weekdays invites the reflection that Varsovites no longer live in fear of invasion by a neighbouring country. In the past, Poland has been invaded or occupied by forces from the west (Germans), the east (Russians and Tartars), the north (Swedes), and the south (Austro-Hungarians). I joked with our guide that the only invasion Warsaw need fear now is by tourists. He replied that such an invasion would be welcome. Largely because of its image problem, Warsaw is not yet a major tourist destination, but this is starting to change.

While modern Warsaw has many attractions, and is clearly on the upswing, there are many dreary examples of Socialist Realist or “Stalinist” architecture, including gloomy streetscapes, bleak government buildings, oversized and soulless squares, and unappealing public housing. One such building symbolizes Warsaw’s recent transformation: the previous headquarters of the Communist Party, for decades the most important building in the country, is a grim monolith which now houses the Warsaw Stock Exchange! Plainly and cheaply built when Poland was impoverished following the devastation of WW II, these buildings have aged poorly. They are faithful to the image of grey, run-down Warsaw. Local people evidently dislike them, to judge from the amount of graffiti defacing many of them, and from the fact that when they are renovated, they are painted in cheery bright pastels, mainly yellow – anything to relieve the grey.

Over time, these drab buildings are being replaced. Whether office buildings or housing, the new construction is obviously of much better quality than the originals. The trend in new downtown housing is for attractive mid-rise condos, clad in honey-coloured stone. A significant number of the new condos are being bought by foreign investors/speculators, mainly from Western Europe. Warsaw’s current property boom had meant a sharp escalation of prices, so that downtown living is now beyond the means of many Varsovites, requiring them to live in distant suburbs.

This and the increase in the standard of living over the last decade or so have led to a huge increase in the number of automobiles. The road infrastructure has not kept pace. Polish acquaintances complain of the growing traffic jams during rush hour and the lack of downtown parking. And as the authorities struggle to improve the roads, there are frequent lane closures for construction, aggravating the traffic jams – the price of progress. The EU is to pour 70 billion Euros into Poland’s infrastructure. Freeways are to be constructed across the country, including a ring road around Warsaw, and an expansion of Warsaw’s metro, at present consisting of a single line.

New construction is also occurring in the suburbs, such as Wilanow, where attractively designed mid-rises are sprouting up. Although there are some wealthy gated communities, single-family dwellings remain rare here. Foreign developers see a big potential. Further signs of new construction and of the remarkable increase in standard of living are the new shopping centres and hypermarkets. The new Arkadia Shopping Centre, in central Warsaw, is very large (the biggest in Central Europe) and glitzy. It would be a plum for any city in North America. And it has some features that are superior to those in North America. It has numerous good quality coffee shops, and an E. Wedel café with incredibly rich hot chocolate. And Arkadia has more stores offering men’s clothing than are found in North American shopping centres. In Wilanow, we were taken soon after our arrival to an oversized Géant hypermarket. It has vast quantities of food, as well as household stuff and clothing, à la Wal-Mart – and 66 cashiers. This and the rival French chain Carrefour have expanded aggressively in Poland.

And as members of the EU, consumers in Poland now have ready access to all European products, including food. Poland’s agricultural sector, though experiencing shocks and adjustments from being part of the EU, is on balance benefiting from it. Polish food products seem high quality, plentiful and very affordable. Under communism, there were food shortages; now,16 years later, there are surpluses.

Because Warsaw is in transition, there are many contrasts. For every new shopping centre and hypermarket, and every luxury jeweller and clothing store such as Escada, Zegna and Karl Lagerfeld, there are old communist-era stores, with unappealing store window displays, and gritty exteriors. One in our neighbourhood keeps its steel security grill down even when the store is open – possibly to obscure the shapeless sweaters and cotton G-strings they sell. And there are the many merchants eking out a living in small news kiosks or diminutive fruit and vegetable outlets. Near us is a street vendor selling a few bouquets of flowers and boot laces.

No doubt a positive legacy of communism, Warsaw’s public transit system is very extensive and inexpensive, mainly based on buses, but also including trams and the metro. Contrasts are evident here as well: while there are elegant, well-build modern buses, there are many more that date from another era, which were not well-built to begin with and have seen many better days.

The people here are remarkably homogeneous; there are almost no minorities. This is “thanks” to WW II and the mass expulsions that followed it. Peoples’ dress is similar to North America. While people are generally pleasant to the foreign visitor, there are instances (e.g. at post offices, some cashiers in stores) of the baleful influence of communism, when the customer was definitely NOT king or queen…The flip side is that Poles say of themselves that they speak their minds, are direct, and certainly are not known for being obsequious. Once one gets beyond casual, tourist encounters, with a little luck and perseverance, one gets to know charming, affable and generous people.

One stereotype that seems to correspond to reality is that of a devout, church-going people. On a grey blustery Sunday afternoon last fall, we went to visit the Three Crosses Church, one of many fine churches in central Warsaw. A Mass was underway – and we could not get into the church as it was full to overflowing. A dozen people were participating in the service from outside, pressed to the glass door which allowed a view of the interior, and listening via the small exterior loud-speakers. This was one of several Masses on Sunday (albeit not as many as the 12 offered by St. Mary’s Church in the old Market Square in Krakow). The congregation consisted of people of all ages, including many in their 20s and 30s. (They say, however, that church-going is in fact now somewhat in decline in Poland.)

But devout does not seem to denote strait-laced. There is an abundance of lingerie shops in Warsaw, and we have never seen in any other city so many young couples kissing throughout the city.