Warszawa – a mystical bond between past and present
Description
Day 1: Warszawa
Arrival in Warszawa. In the evening we will take you to a local restaurant where you can enjoy trying Polish specialties at a dinner with folk music.
Overnight stay in Warszawa.
Day 2: Warszawa – tour of city
Today we offer you a full-day sightseeing tour of Poland’s biggest city. Walking along the Royal Way you will see the most beautiful sites in the Old Town, including St. John’s Cathedral and the Royal Castle - once home to the Polish royal family and seat of the Polish parliament it now houses the Castle Museum. The castle was completely destroyed by German troops in the aftermath of the Warszawa Uprising, and its reconstruction was completed in 1974. The castle was at one time the official residence of Poland’s kings, and also housed the Polish Parliament from the early 17th until the late 18th Century. Although the building is a replica, many of its furnishings are originals worth seeing. You will also visit the History Museum where you can see a documentary film showing scenes from both pre-war Warszawa and the years of destruction in 1939 – 1945. In the afternoon we invite you to visit Łazienki (“Royal Baths Park”) – one of the most beautiful parks in Warszawa city centre. Formerly a hunting ground, in the 18th Century it was turned into an English-style park with formal gardens, and a neoclassical Łazienki Palace was built on the park’s lake. Other sites include the Orangery, Myślewicki Palace, the Observatory, Belvedere Palace and a Greek-style amphitheatre. One of its most important attractions is the Frederic Chopin Statue, where Chopin concerts are held every summer. After Łazienki you will head for Wilanów Palace and Park. In the early 17th Century this Baroque palace and garden was turned into summer royal residence. After the war it became a museum with a rich collection of Polish portraits, original furniture and interior decor. Next to the Palace is the Poster Museum, the first of its kind in the world. The palace is surrounded by an English-style park and landscape gardens, just perfect for a break in your visit.
Overnight stay in Warszawa.
Day 3: Warszawa - Żelazowa Wola – Brochów – Warszawa (approx. 150 km)
Today will be devoted to places associated with the life and work of the great Polish composer Frederic Chopin whose biography has strong connections with the Polish capital. We will take you to Żelazowa Wola and Brochów. Żelazowa Wola is a small village west of Warszawa and a well-known destination for many visitors to Poland. It is where Frederic Chopin, the famous Polish composer and national hero, was born and lived. The museum includes some original furniture and other personal items, and it also serves as a concert hall during the summer. Every Sunday summer concerts are held in the manor house and park. Lying 11 km from Żelazowa Wola is the village of Brochów with its imposing brick Parish Church where Chopin’s birth certificate is on display. In the evening you will be able to listen to a recital of Chopin’s music in one of Warszawa’s palaces.
Overnight stay in Warszawa.
Day 4
Departure.
Warszawa
Warszawa is the capital of Poland and its main transport hub. After its almost complete destruction during World War II the city was reborn out of the ashes and has today developed into modern city, a centre of culture, science and business. It attracts millions of travellers keen to discover another European Union capital, visit sites important in modern World history, attend festivals, concerts and fairs, and also do some shopping. The city is a perfect weekend getaway destination and also one of the starting points of any journey around Poland. Your sightseeing tour of the city includes the Old Town, which was carefully reconstructed after the World War II according to original plans, and today is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The central place is the Market Square – formed at the end of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th Centuries at the time of the city’s foundation. Until the 18th Century it was the most important square in Warszawa and the focal point of city life. During the Warszawa Uprising of 1944 the Old Town’s tenements and town houses were razed to the ground. In 1949-1953 it was lovingly and meticulously restored. The narrow streets lead to medieval defensive walls, the Barbican, St. John’s Cathedral and the Royal Castle. The Castle is a splendid example of the art of reconstruction. Once the residence of kings and the seat of the Sejm of the Most Serene Commonwealth of the Two Nations, today it is both a museum and a centre of education, culture and art. It is open to the general public and is often a venue of important state ceremonies. The Castle’s apartments have been restored according to the functions they performed during the reign of King Stanisław August. The restoration work was possible thanks to donations from Poles both at home and abroad. The interiors are furnished with, among other things, works of art rescued from the old Castle.
Warszawa is full of royal residences lining the Royal Way, which leads through the most beautiful and fashionable streets and avenues of the city, including Krakowskie Przedmieście, Nowy Świat Street, and Ujazdowskie Avenue, which boast numerous monuments, churches and burgher houses with baroque facades, each telling its own story. It passes by Łazienki Królewskie – a palace-garden complex whose history dates back to the 13th Century. Its present shape was bestowed on it in the 18th Century by King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who turned it into his summer residence, one of the most beautiful places in Warszawa. The park includes numerous palaces, pavilions, statues and works of sculpture. The best known and most characteristic of Łazienki’s monuments is the Frederic Chopin statute, which in the summer season serves as the venue for open-air concerts every Sunday. Warszawa’s Royal Way ends in Wilanów. The Palace is one of a small number of monuments in Warszawa which survived the Second World War for the most part unscathed. Wilanów Park forms an integral part of the palace garden complex. It is the favourite place for a stroll for Varsovians looking for a place to relax and take a breather from life in the big city.
The history of the city is the history of all its inhabitants, and that of the Jewish community was also important to Warszawa. The Jewish community accounted for one third of the city’s population before World War II and occupied a large area of the city. However in November 1940 they were sealed off from the rest of the city in a small ghetto area. Today a few traces of Jewish Warszawa remain, including the Nożyk Synagogue, the Jewish Theatre, the Ghetto Heroes Monument, Umschlagplatz, the Jewish Cemetery, the Jewish Historical Institute and the Ghetto Wall.
Praga district (half-day tour)
Praga is one of Warszawa’s oldest districts, which was incorporated into the city at the end of the 18th Century. Its central part is Old Praga, which still contains buildings dating back to the beginning of the 20th Century and the inter-war period. Old Praga offers a rare example in Warszawa of well-preserved architecture from before 1939. The district is gaining in popularity and one of its better known thoroughfares - Ząbkowska Street – is today regarded as a magical place. It is also home to the historic Koneser vodka factory. Praga’s old tenement buildings and the abandoned walls of its factories now provide a home for art galleries, centres and workshops. The central point in the district is Wileński Square, nearby which stands St. Mary Magdalene'sRussian OrthodoxChurch. Old Praga also includes the neo-Gothic St. Michael’s Church and St. Florian’s Church. Another of Praga’s many attractions is the Różycki Bazaar, founded at the end of the 19th Century.
Niepokalanów Sanctuary (half-day trip), 40 km from Warszawa
This is one of the biggest Franciscan monastic complexes devoted to the cult of St. Maximilian Kolbe. It was a place of work for the Franciscan saint who came here in 1927 with a group of 20 brothers. It is also a Marian shrine and a focal point for numerous pilgrimages every year.
Nieborów and Arkadia museum (half-day trip), 80 km from Warszawa
The museum in Nieborów and Arkadia forms part of Radziwiłł Palace together with the regular French garden and sentimental-romantic English garden established by Helena Radziwiłłowa in Arkadia. Nieborów is one of the best-maintained aristocratic residences in Poland and blessed with a beautiful park and gardens. Until World War II it was privately owned before becoming part of the National Museum. The exhibits include 18th and 19th Century furniture, a fine collection of globes, a staircase clad with Delft tiles and other items showing the elegance and lavish lifestyle of its occupants before the War.
Łowicz and its surroundings (half-day trip), 80 km from Warszawa
Łowicz is a well-established centre of folk arts and craft. Locally produced handicrafts, hand-woven materials, carved wood ornaments and coloured paper cut-outs are popular throughout the country. An interesting exhibition of such artefacts can be found in the Local Museum. The town’s Collegiate Church and Parish Church are also worth visiting.
Copyright © JAN-POL 2006 | Wykonanie INVENTOR Multimedia