Park Ujazdowski
Encyclopedia
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. It borders Aleje Ujazdowskie (Ujazdów Avenue), with its many embassies and Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
building.
History
From the late Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
the area had been occupied by the village of Ujazdów
Ujazdów
Ujazdów may refer to the following places in Poland:*Ujazdów Castle in Warsaw*Ujazdów Park in Warsaw*Ujazdów, Włodawa County in Lublin Voivodeship *Ujazdów, Zamość County in Lublin Voivodeship...
, located several miles south of Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
's Old Town
Warsaw Old Town
Warsaw's Old Town is the oldest historic district of the city. It is bounded by Wybrzeże Gdańskie, along the bank of the Vistula, and by Grodzka, Mostowa and Podwale Streets. It is one of Warsaw's most prominent tourist attractions....
. In 1619-1625 a palace and garden
Ujazdów Castle
Ujazdów Castle is a castle in the historic Ujazdów district, between Ujazdów Park and the Royal Baths Park , in Warsaw, Poland.-History:...
were built here by Giovanni Battista Trevano
Giovanni Battista Trevano
Giovanni Battista Trevano was an Italian architect from Lombardy who worked in Poland as royal architect for King Sigismund III Vasa, of the Swedish dynasty of Vasa, who was ruling Poland at the time....
for King Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, a monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and King of Sweden from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599...
.
In 1782 King Stanisław August Poniatowski bought the village and relocated it about a kilometer west (near what is now the main campus of the Warsaw Polytechnic
Warsaw University of Technology
The Warsaw University of Technology is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland, and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professors . The student body numbers 36,156 , mostly full-time. There are 17 faculties covering almost all fields of...
), while the old village's area (along the axis of the "Royal Road
Royal Road
The Persian Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius the Great of the Achaemenid Empire in the 5th century BC. Darius built the road to facilitate rapid communication throughout his very large empire from Susa to Sardis...
") was turned into Pole Marsowe (the Field of Mars), a large square for military parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
s, modeled and named after Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
' Champ de Mars
Champ de Mars
The Champ de Mars is a large public greenspace in Paris, France, located in the seventh arrondissement, between the Eiffel Tower to the northwest and the École Militaire to the southeast. The park is named after the Campus Martius in Rome, a tribute to the Roman god of war...
. The village itself was renamed Nowa Wieś ("New Village") and gave its name to the present-day ulica Nowowiejska (New Village Street).
After the Russian takeover of Warsaw in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, the area lost its military character and became a venue for annual fairs. It also served as a place of entertainment, with merry-go-rounds and open-air stands placed there every summer. In 1893, under Mayor Sokrates Starynkiewicz
Sokrates Starynkiewicz
Sokrates Starynkiewicz was a Russian general and the 19th President of Warsaw between 1875 and 1892. During his presidency he ordered the construction of municipal water works as well as the tramway and telephone network in Warsaw.-Biography:...
, the renowned garden architect Franciszek Szanior was commissioned to turn the former Field of Mars into a public park in the-then popular "landscape style
Landscape garden
The term landscape garden is often used to describe the English garden design style characteristic of the eighteenth century, that swept the Continent replacing the formal Renaissance garden and Garden à la française models. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is particularly influential.The...
," a mixture of Romantic garden and Baroque-style lanes. The avenue of chestnut
Chestnut
Chestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
trees in the western part of the area was incorporated into the newly-founded park.
At the time of its foundation, the park was one of the most modern in Europe. It featured a large pond, fountains and a reinforced-concrete
Reinforced concrete
Reinforced concrete is concrete in which reinforcement bars , reinforcement grids, plates or fibers have been incorporated to strengthen the concrete in tension. It was invented by French gardener Joseph Monier in 1849 and patented in 1867. The term Ferro Concrete refers only to concrete that is...
bridge over the southern part of the pond, built by the renowned engineer William Lindley
William Lindley
William Lindley , was a famous English engineer who together with his sons designed water and sewerage systems for over 30 cities across Europe.-Life:...
. The bridge was the second construction built of that material in the world, after the bridge in Viggen
Viggen
Viggen can refer to three distinct vehicles:*Saab 37 Viggen, the original Swedish name for the Saab 37 fighter aircraft*The name of a special version of a Saab 9-3 automobile*The Rutan VariViggen, a homebuilt aircraft kit designed by Burt Rutan...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
(1894). The park also had gas lighting
Gas lighting
Gas lighting is production of artificial light from combustion of a gaseous fuel, including hydrogen, methane, carbon monoxide, propane, butane, acetylene, ethylene, or natural gas. Before electricity became sufficiently widespread and economical to allow for general public use, gas was the most...
, a playground for children, and a public weighing scale
Weighing scale
A weighing scale is a measuring instrument for determining the weight or mass of an object. A spring scale measures weight by the distance a spring deflects under its load...
(still in use as of 2009). The park's sculptures were carved by Edward Wittig
Edward Wittig
Edward Wittig was a Polish sculptor and university professor, notable for designing many monuments in Warsaw....
, Pius Weloński and Théodore-Charles Gruyère
Théodore-Charles Gruyère
Theodore Charles Gruyère was a French sculptor.In 1836 as the pupil of Auguste Dumont. He hit notoriety in 1839 wining the Prix de Rome....
. After World War II, a monument to Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
, by Michał Kamieński, was added.
Ujazdów Park is a favorite of Varsovians: its playground is popular with children, and many newlyweds use the park as a setting for their wedding photographs. In 2002 the park was completely refurbished.
See also
- Ujazdów CastleUjazdów CastleUjazdów Castle is a castle in the historic Ujazdów district, between Ujazdów Park and the Royal Baths Park , in Warsaw, Poland.-History:...
- Łazienki Park
- Pole MokotowskiePole MokotowskiePole Mokotowskie is a large park in Warsaw. Part of it is called "Józef Piłsudski Park."...
- English Landscape GardenLandscape gardenThe term landscape garden is often used to describe the English garden design style characteristic of the eighteenth century, that swept the Continent replacing the formal Renaissance garden and Garden à la française models. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is particularly influential.The...
- English Landscape ParkEnglish gardenThe English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...