Castle Square, Warsaw
{{short description|Square in Warsaw, Poland}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox street
| name = Castle Square
| native_name ={{native name|pl|plac Zamkowy}}
| namesake =
| type = Square
| marker_image =
| image = Castle Square (22346p).jpg
| image_size = 270
| caption = Castle Square in 2024, with Sigismund's Column (center), Royal Castle (right) and Warsaw's Old Town and St. John's Cathedral (top)
| other_name =
| width =
| area =
| location = Śródmieście, Warsaw, Poland
| client =
| maint = Warsaw City Council
| coordinates = {{coord|52|14|51|N|21|0|49|E|display=inline,title}}
| direction_a =
| terminus_a =
| direction_b =
| terminus_b =
| junction =
| designer =
| commissioning_date =
| construction_start_date =
| completion_date =
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| north =
| south = Royal Road
| west =
| east =
| website =
|embedded={{designation list|embed=yes
|designation1=WHS
|designation1_type=Cultural
|designation1_criteria=ii, vi
|designation1_date=1980
|designation1_partof=Historic Centre of Warsaw
|designation1_number=[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/30bis 30bis]
|designation2=Historic Monument of Poland
|designation2_date=1994-09-08
|designation2_partof=Warsaw – historic city center with the Royal Route and Wilanów
|designation2_number=M.P. 1994 nr 50 poz. 423{{Cite Polish law|title=Zarządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 8 września 1994 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii.|gazette=Monitor|year=1994|volume=50|number=423}}
}}}}
Castle Square ({{langx|pl|plac Zamkowy}}, {{IPA|pl|ˈplat͡s zamˈkɔ.vɘ|pron}}) is a historic square in front of the Royal Castle – the former official residence of Polish monarchs – located in Warsaw, Poland. It is a popular meeting place for tourists and locals. The square, of somewhat triangular shape, features the landmark Sigismund's Column to the south-west, and is surrounded by historic townhouses. It marks the beginning of the bustling Royal Route extending to the south.
History
File:Dzwonnica kosciol sw anny.jpg
The column commemorating King Sigismund III of Poland (a work by Clemente Molli, erected in 1644) is the oldest and one of the symbolic landmarks of the city and the first secular monument in the form of a column in modern history.
On the east side of the square stands the Royal Castle, reconstructed after the devastation of World War II. It was formerly the residence of the dukes of Mazovia, and then of the Polish kings and grand dukes of Lithuania from the 16th to 18th centuries. The Germans bombed and blew it up at the beginning of World War II (September 1939), and then it was completely destroyed in 1944–45 (see picture below).
Image:Warszawa pl Zamkowy ca1910.jpg
File:Kings Castle Square, Warsaw, 1945.jpg and the planned destruction of Warsaw, view in 1945Source: (Polish): Adolf Ciborowski: O zniszczeniu i odbudowie miasta (A City Destroyed and Rebuilt), Warszawa 1969, Poland: "Interpress" Publishers, p.63]]
In 1949, the square was connected by an escalator to the newly formed {{Interlanguage link multi| Route W-Z | pl |3= Trasa W-Z w Warszawie}} (East-West Route), which runs under Castle Square through a tunnel; and the viaduct (leading to the Silesian-Dąbrowski Bridge) was built in the place of viaduct Pancer, destroyed during World War II. In 1907, the viaduct was modernized to handle electric trams that went over there less than a year later.
This square has witnessed many dramatic scenes in Polish history. Patriotic demonstrations took place there during the period before the outbreak of the January uprising of 1863. On 27 February 1861, Russian bullets killed five people. On 8 April 1861, five rota of infantry and two troops of Russian cavalry (about 1,300 people) led by General {{Interlanguage link multi| Stepan Aleksandrovich Khrulyov | ru |3= Хрулёв, Степан Александрович}} carried out a bloody massacre of civilians, resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.
{{cite book |last= Kieniewicz |first= Stefan |title= Warszawa w powstaniu styczniowym |publisher=
|year= 1983 |isbn= 83-01-03652-4|language=pl
}}
During martial law on 3 May 1982, the square became the scene of the particularly brutal riot, with ZOMO police rushing through demonstrations.
Events
The square is a hub for tourists and locals, who gather to watch street entertainers, participate in rallies, watch concerts and even engage in breakdancing. In 1997, at the Castle Square, US President Bill Clinton gave a speech welcoming Poland to membership in NATO.{{cite web|url =http://www.prezydent.pl/x.node?id=6042904&eventId=1505172|title =Archiwum działalności Prezydenta RP w latach 1997–2005|work =prezydent.pl|date =15 January 1998|access-date =1 July 2008|language =pl|url-status =dead|archive-url =https://archive.today/20070515214731/http://www.prezydent.pl/x.node?id=6042904&eventId=1505172|archive-date =15 May 2007}}
Castle Square featured the United Buddy Bears exhibition in summer 2008 – an array of 140 two-metre-high sculptures, each designed by a different artist, touring the world as a symbol of cultural understanding, tolerance and mutual trust.{{cite web |url = http://www.buddy-baer.com/united-buddy-bears/world-tour/warsaw-2008.html |title = United Buddy Bears in Warsaw |work = buddy-baer.com |date = 15 January 1998 |access-date = 25 January 2010}} According to official information, more than 1.5 million visitors were counted.
See also
Notes
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category|Castle square in Warsaw}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070819225028/http://www.zamek-krolewski.vr360.pl/ Virtual tour through Royal Castle]
- [http://www.zapiecek.com/zamkowy/plac_zamkowy.html Castle Square, Zapiecek.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921101422/http://www.zapiecek.com/zamkowy/plac_zamkowy.html |date=21 September 2013 }} {{in lang|pl}}
{{Squares in Warsaw}}
Category:Odonyms referring to a building
{{Warsaw|state=collapsed}}
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