Europe Tour - Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly 260 kilometers (162 mi) from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometers (186 mi) from the Carpathian Mountains.

Warsaw's
name in the Polish language, Warszawa (also formerly spelled Warszewa and Warszowa), means "belonging to Warsz", Warsz being a shortened form of the Slavic male name Warcisław. Folk etymology attributes the city name to a fisherman Wars and his wife Sawa. According to legend, Sawa was a mermaid living in the Vistula River who Wars fell in love with.

Warsaw's mixture of architectural styles reflects the turbulent history of the city and country. During WWII, Warsaw was razed to the ground by bombing raids and planned destruction. After liberation, rebuilding began as in other cities of the communist-ruled PRL. Most of the historical buildings were thoroughly reconstructed. However, some of the buildings from the 19th century that had been preserved in reasonably reconstructible form were nonetheless eradicated in the 1950s and 1960s (e.g. Leopold Kronenberg Palace). Mass residential blocks were erected, with basic design typical of Eastern bloc countries. Warsaw's current urban landscape is one of modern and contemporary architecture.

St. John's Cathedral

St. John's Cathedral is a Catholic church in Warsaw's Old Town, one of 3 cathedrals in the Polish capital. St. John's stands immediately adjacent to Warsaw's Jesuit church, and is one of the oldest churches in the city and the main church of the Warsaw archdiocese. St. John's Cathedral is one of Poland's national pantheons. Along with the city, the church has been listed by UNESCO as of cultural significance.

Warsaw Uprising Museum

The Warsaw Uprising Museum (Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego, officially translated into English as the Warsaw Rising Museum), located in the district of Wola in Warsaw, Poland, is a museum dedicated to the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The institution of the Museum was established in 1983, but no construction work took place for many years, and the museum finally opened on July 31, 2004, marking the 60th anniversary of the Uprising.

The Museum sponsors research into the history of the Uprising, and the history and possessions of the Polish Underground State. It collects and maintains hundreds of artefacts, ranging from weapons used by the insurgents to love letters, in order to present a full picture of the people involved. The Museum's stated goals include the creation of an archive of historical information on the Uprising and the recording of the stories and memories of the still living Uprising participants.

Ujazdow Castle

Ujazdów Castle (Polish: Zamek Ujazdowski) is a castle in the historic Ujazdów district, between Ujazdów Park (Park Ujazdowski) and the Royal Baths Park (Łazienki Królewskie), in Warsaw, Poland.

The castle currently houses Centre for Contemporary Art, with some permanent and temporary exhibitions, concerts, shows and creative workshops. The centre also develops unique art programs that correlated with the reconstruction and organization of the Ujazdów Castle architectural spaces. The Centre of Contemporary Art currently realizes about 500 projects a year. The director is the Italian Fabio Cavallucci.