JUNE 8 - Find a place nearby our room on Marszałkowska Street to have breakfast and hit the historical core of Warsaw. This is an area stretching north to south along the western bank of the Wisła River. Start at the north end with the old fortress walls, which now house military infrastructure.
Such lush vegetation here, you would not know you were in the middle of the city.
Just at the south end of the fortress is the sobering Katyn Museum, dedicated to the memory of all the people executed by Stalin’s NKVD forces, in western Russia, in Spring of 1940.
A quick history on that, since it is a rather strange twist to the normal narrative on WWII:
In accordance with the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (discussed in the Lithuania chapter), Germany and Russia agreed to invade Poland from both sides, meeting at a previously agreed line. On Russia’s side, many prisoners were taken from the Polish army, and marched east into Russia. It was not clear to the prisoners what their fate would be, and it turned out that the NKVD had decided to let live those prisoners who showed enthusiasm for the Soviet Union and Communism, and would kill everyone else. This they did, dumping the bodies in mass graves in the Katyn Forest, along with several other locations in the western part of the Soviet Union. About 22,000 executions took place, of mostly Polish officers, but including some Ukrainian military personnel as well.
It was a few years before rumors spread of mass graves, and long after the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact had been rendered moot by Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union, German soldiers happened upon one of the sites of the war crime. An international coalition of foreign observers was called in, and the extent and purpose of the mass graves was discovered. For Nazi Germany, this was good propaganda, as it deflected some of the criticism of their own war conduct and pointed the finger at Stalin. Despite the overwhelming physical evidence unearthed of the atrocities, the Soviet Union never really admitted to any wrongdoing until 1990, when it was too late for any specific person or group to be blamed.
The ‘crypt’, where the names of all those killed are inscribed on metal tiles. The museum itself houses hundreds of items that were found at the graves, along with letters written by prisoners while they were awaiting their fate in the Soviet Union. The rooms are dark, with piped in background music that incorporates the sound of rail cars, creating an overwhelming ominous atmosphere.
From here head south toward the more picturesque part of old town.
Multimedia Fountain Park, just by the Wisła River.
The Roman Catholic Church of St. Casimir. This is in reference to Casimir Jagiellon (1458-84), prince of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was noted for his piety and generosity to the poor, and died at the age of 25.
A typical street in Old Town, minus the crowds of schoolchildren that flooded them later in the day. It must be the week that school groups tour the city, as we saw other tourists.
A bit of the old city walls, heavily reconstructed (undoubtedly after WWII).
The Royal Castle on the main square. This structure was leveled during WWII, and only a massive fundraising effort in the 1970’s and 1980’s made its complete reconstruction possible. The original castle on this site has been attributed to Bolesław II (1294-1313), who was instrumental in bringing together parts of the fragmented Polish region under his Masovian rule. It was enlarged many times since, eventually becoming the royal residence for the Kingdom of Poland. Napoleon also spent some time here during his wartime adventures.
The gardens between the Royal Castle and the river.
A living statue. Always fun to freak Odette out with these street performers.
Some detail on the houses of Old Town. A great deal has been done in this part of the city to give a sense of history.
A look back at a number of historic structures of Old Town, over Castle Square. The day was humid and warm, with rain threatening most of the afternoon. The pillar just left of center is Sigismund’s Column. This column, originally erected in 1644, commemorates the changing of the capital city from Krakow to Warsaw in 1596 by King Sigismund III Vasa.
Finally had some food in late afternoon. Chose a restaurant with traditional fare, which is just as easy to find here as it was in Lithuania. Dumplings are one of the specialties, stuffed with meat, mushrooms, cabbage, and other fillings.
