City Walk: Aleje Ujazdowskie – the district that survived

About the event

CITY WALK: Aleje Ujazdowskie – the district that survived 📅 December 6 (Saturday), 11:00 AM ⏳ Duration: 2h 📍 Meeting point: Plac Trzech Krzyży – by the Witosa monument Guide: city guide Weronika Wesołowska Free admission Co-organizer: Śródmieście District of the City of Warsaw 📝 Registration (max 25 participants): - info@aspektygallery.pl - 513 147 664 - via form: https://doodle.com/meeting/2ce73e38-fc28-498a-ae39b1b0e0b7/select Announcements: - December 13 (Saturday) 11:00 | City walk in the footsteps of Zofia and Roman Artymowski - December 14 (Sunday) 11:00 | CITY WALK: Aleje Ujazdowskie – the district that survived Why did this part of Warsaw survive the ravages of war? What was the "German administrative district" like during the occupation? What secrets do the elegant palaces and villas between Plac Trzech Krzyży and Rozdroże hold? I invite you to a two-hour walk that will reveal a layer of history rarely present in popular stories about Warsaw. We will enter a space that – unlike the Old Town or Śródmieście – was destroyed to a relatively small extent, allowing us today to admire an impressive collection of authentic, pre-war buildings. Weronika Wesołowska WHAT WILL WE SEE? During the walk, we will visit over 20 historic sites, including: - Residences and palaces that survived - Rembieliński Palace - Tenement House under the Giants - Karnicki Palace - former villas and tenement houses of diplomats on Aleje Ujazdowskie - WWII memorial sites - Szucha 25 – Gestapo headquarters and neighboring buildings of the "German district" - buildings taken over by the occupier for the General Government administration offices - Places showing traces of war and post-war contrasts - facades with visible bullet marks - buildings deliberately dismantled after 1945 - post-war reconstructions related to the construction of the Łazienkowska Route - Pre-war Aleje Ujazdowskie that no longer exist We will also learn about their earlier history: the calvary road, summer residences, gardens, park layouts, and the transformation from royal promenade to elegant aristocratic district of Warsaw. WHY DID ALEJE UJAZDOWSKIE SURVIVE? I will talk about: - why the Germans created an elite administrative district here, - which institutions they placed in the palaces and tenement houses, - why this area was not systematically destroyed, either during the Warsaw Uprising, - and what the post-war decisions were: what to rebuild, what to leave, what to demolish. This is a story about the logic of occupation, political calculations, and the unusual history of surviving Warsaw. WALK PLAN The walk will last about 2 hours and covers the route: Plac Trzech Krzyży → Aleje Ujazdowskie → Szucha → Plac Na Rozdrożu We will stop at over 15 viewpoints, look at archival photographs, and trace the transformations of the area over the last 150 years. WHO IS THIS WALK FOR? - for Varsovians curious about the history of "districts that survived", - for those fascinated by WWII, urban planning, architecture, and microhistory, - for walkers who want to see authentic pre-war Warsaw, without reconstruction. If you enjoy historical walks around Warsaw – be sure to join! This is one of those routes that reveal a completely different face of the city. Elegant, but also full of difficult stories. Survived, but not untouched. The series is co-financed by the Śródmieście District of the City of Warsaw.