Warsaw City Tour - PRIVATE (4h)

King Sigismund's Column (Kolumna Zygmunta)

Sigismund's Column is the oldest public memorial in Warsaw, but it is not in its original location. It was moved when the axis of Krakowskie Przedmieście Street was changed in the 19th century and again after World War II during the development of the WZ route. On September 2, 1944, the column was brought down by German troops. The reconstruction of the statue and the column itself was completed in 1949. Earlier columns are exhibited next to the walls of the King's Castle (as seen from the direction of the WZ route). The column is one of the city's key symbols, yielding only to the Mermaid, which is the most recognizable symbol of Poland's capital city.

Old Town

Old Town — the city was founded at a spot on the river that was conducive to trade — on the main route between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. Wealthy tradesmen and craftsmen took up residence here, which supported the rapid growth of the settlement. The face of the city changed over the centuries: wooden structures destroyed in fires were replaced by masonry tenement houses and earthen ramparts were replaced by stone walls. A town hall was built in 1429 (which no longer exists), along with a parish church (currently the Cathedral of St. John), defensive towers and a barbican. But 1944 brought near total destruction as 90 percent of the Old Town area was razed to the ground. The reconstruction took many years, and ended with a place on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Royal Castle gained royal-residence status in the 16th century, when the Masovia region joined the Crown. Destroyed multiple times (during the Deluge, and the annexation of Poland), it was repeatedly rebuilt and stood until the beginning of World War II, when it was bombed in the first days of the conflict and almost completely destroyed by fire. Some of its priceless works of art were, luckily, carried out of the building in time, and subsequently hidden. However, the remaining works were plundered and, in 1944, the castle was blown up in retaliation for the Warsaw Uprising. The decision to reconstruct the castle was made much later, in 1971. Work was financed in most part thanks to the generosity of the community. The site was opened to visitors in 1984. It was later placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, as an example of a successful, faithful reconstruction of an historic structure.