Warsaw - Pilsudski Square, Poland
This time we visit Warsaw, the capital of Poland. We want to walk the Krakowskie Przedmieście Street to the Old Town of Warsaw, but this route we will show in subsequent videos. Currently we stop for a moment at Pilsudski Square and see what's interesting nearby.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Newcomer immediately catches his eye at the former Victoria Hotel (now Sofitel), built in the years 1974-1976 (A; GPS: 52.239892, 21.013253). At the western edge of the square you can find the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (B; GPS: 52.240963, 21.011287). It's built of three retained arcades of the Saxon Palace which was destroyed by Germans in December 1944. There are some plans to reconstruct the Saxon Palace together with formerly buildings and create rows of trees covering architecturally mismatched hotel buildings. On November 11, 2018, the Polish President formally and publicly declared the reconstruction of the Saxon Palace.
The Saxon Garden
On the opposite side of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier you can find the Saxon Garden - the city park, founded at the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth century by king Augustus II the Strong as a palace garden. In the garden you can enjoy the Great Fountain, built in 1853 (C; GPS: 52.240791, 21.010235), and the sundial from 1863, located right behind the fountain. In the garden there are also 21 baroque statues of muses and the virtues from the eighteenth century.
The monument of Jozef Pilsudski
Because the patron of the square is Jozef Pilsudski (1867-1935) - independence activist, the head of state and the Polish Marshal, there is also his monument nearby (D; GPS: 52.241400, 21.014127). It is placed on the opposite side of the square and is looking from afar at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The Grand Theatre
Near the square you can see, among others, the "Zachęta" - National Gallery of Art (E; GPS: 52.239469, 21.011549) and the Church of the Holy Trinity (F; GPS: 52.238664, 21.011408). On the opposite side is located the Grand Theatre - the seat of Polish National Opera (G; GPS: 52.243256, 21.010288). It was built in 1825-1833. In September 1939 was bombed and destroyed, and then was finally rebuilt in 1965.
In the next episode we will walk the beautiful Krakowskie Przedmiescie street.
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