Plac Zamkowy
Encyclopedia
Warsaw's Castle Square is a square
Town square
A town square is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town used for community gatherings. Other names for town square are civic center, city square, urban square, market square, public square, and town green.Most town squares are hardscapes suitable for open markets,...
before the Royal Castle in 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...
.
History
On the square is a column of King Sigismund III VasaZygmunt's Column
Sigismund's Column , erected in 1644, is located in Castle Square, Warsaw, Poland. It is one of Warsaw's most famous landmarks and one of the oldest secular monuments in northern Europe...
from 1644, the oldest and symbolic monument of the city (a work of Clemente Molli). On the east side of square stands reconstructed after the devastation of World War II, the Royal Castle
Royal Castle, Warsaw
The Royal Castle in Warsaw is a castle residency and was the official residence of the Polish monarchs. It is located in the Castle Square, at the entrance to the Warsaw Old Town. The personal offices of the king and the administrative offices of the Royal Court of Poland were located there from...
, the residence of the dukes of Mazovia, and then Polish kings and grand dukes of Lithuania from the 16th to 18th century, bombed and blown up by the Nazis during World War II. In 1949 the square was connected to the escalator with newly formed Route W-Z. Runs under the Castle Square 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
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
that went there less than a year later.
This square was the scene of many dramatic scenes from Polish history. There were patriotic demonstrations here, the period before the outbreak of the January Uprising
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an uprising in the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against the Russian Empire...
. On February 27, 1861 from Russian bullets fell five dead. On April 8, 1861 five rota
Rota (formation)
Rotte or Rota is an infantry or cavalry unit. In Poland it was known increasingly from the 16th century by the alternative name of Chorągiew....
infantry and two troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
of Russian cavalry (about 1,300 people) led by General Stiepan Aleksandrowicz Chrulew brought a bloody massacre of the civilian population of Warsaw, resulting in more than 100 people were killed.
During martial law
Martial law in Poland
Martial law in Poland refers to the period of time from December 13, 1981 to July 22, 1983, when the authoritarian government of the People's Republic of Poland drastically restricted normal life by introducing martial law in an attempt to crush political opposition to it. Thousands of opposition...
square was the scene of particularly brutal riot ZOMO
ZOMO
Zmotoryzowane Odwody Milicji Obywatelskiej , were paramilitary-police formations during the Communist Era, in the People's Republic of Poland...
rushing through demonstrations on May 3, 1982.
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, U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
gave a speech welcoming Poland to membership in NATO.
Castle Square featured the United Buddy Bears
United Buddy Bears
Buddy Bears are a series of painted, life-size fibreglass bear sculptures originally developed in Berlin, Germany. The first Buddy Bear was created by the German businesspeople Klaus and Eva Herlitz, in cooperation with the sculptor Roman Strobl in 2001....
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. According to official information, more than 1.5 million visitors were counted.