Tuesday 17 May 2016

TRAVEL TUESDAY #27 - WARSAW

“Poland should be strong and prosperous and independent and play its proper role as a great nation in the heart of Europe.” - George H. W. Bush

Welcome to the Travel Tuesday meme! Join me every Tuesday and showcase your creativity in photography, painting and drawing, music, poetry, creative writing or a plain old natter about Travel!

There is only one simple rule: Link your own creative work about some aspect of travel and share it with the rest of us!

Please use this meme for your creative endeavours only. Do not use this meme to advertise your products or services as any links or comments by advertisers will be removed immediately.
Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa), is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly 260 kilometres from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometres from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population is estimated at 1.711 million residents within a greater metropolitan area of 2.666 million residents, which makes Warsaw the 9th most populous capital city in the European Union. The area of the city covers 516.9 square kilometres, while the city's agglomeration covers 6,100.43 square kilometres.

Warsaw is an Alpha–global city, a major international tourist destination and an important economic hub in East-Central Europe. It is also known as the “phoenix city” because it has survived so many wars throughout its history. Most notably, the city had to be painstakingly rebuilt after the extensive damage it suffered in World War II, during which 85% of its buildings were destroyed. On 9 November 1940 the city was awarded Poland’s highest military decoration for heroism, the Virtuti Militari, during the Siege of Warsaw (1939).

We visited Warsaw in July 2003 and enjoyed the trip immensely. The people were wonderful, there was an enormous number of things to see, a city of great beauty, art, culture and courage. The Mermaid of Warsaw (Polish: Syrenka Warszawska) is a symbol of Warsaw, represented on the city’s coat of arms and well as in a number of statues and other imagery.

The sculpture in Warsaw’s Old Town Square seen here was designed by Varsovian sculptor Konstanty Hegel. Originally (1855-1928) and now (since 2000) it stands in the marketplace. At other times, it was moved to different places in Warsaw. In 2008, the original sculpture made of bronzed zinc was taken from the market for maintenance work. The sculpture was in a very poor condition due to mechanical damage and numerous acts of vandalism. The repaired original was transferred to the Museum of Warsaw, and replaced with a copy of made by the Jacka Guzery foundry in Dąbrowie near Kielce.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

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6 comments:

  1. Heisann, my post is about how we celebrate our National Day in Norway, no travel memories this week!
    I once visited Warsaw... when I was a student, never been there since! Happy week to everyone ;:OD)

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  2. A nice looking place that I want to visit someday. I like the photo!

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  3. Very colorful buildings ~ what a lovely place and great photo!

    Happy Week to you ~ ^_^

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  4. Yes! When I started school in the early 1950s, I would say 90% of my fellow students were either born in Poland themselves or were born in Australia after the war to Polish parents. So although I had no personal family history to pull me to Poland, it became a more and more interesting place to visit. My late parents loved Warsaw and were even more delighted with Cracow.

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  5. Very colorful photo! It is good to learn about this city.

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  6. Wow! You are so fortunate to have been able to visit this city. My grandparents were Polish immigrants. I would love to visit the land they came from. Those buildings are gorgeous, love the color!

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