Category: Poland

Next on my little mission to visit the area around every metro station on the Warsaw network was Kabaty which is at the southern end of the M1 line. The physical commencement of the M1 line was officially marked by the driving of the first steel pile for the tunnel support structure in the Ursynów district on 15 April 1983 and this station opened on 7 April 1995, one of the first ones to open on the network.

As a separate note, there’s excellent signage across Warsaw.

This stone commemorates the life of Andrzej Ciołek of Żelechów (c. 1380 – c. 1448), a Polish Knight and Statesman. Rather notably, in 1404, he undertook a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, reflecting his devoutness and I can imagine that it felt a long way from home at the time.

It’s rather residential, which does limit me a little bit in this riveting post. A lot of this was empty fields when the metro station was first constructed, so there’s not a huge amount of history immediately visible around this metro station.

Some sculptures in Park Przy Bażantarni. The name of the park translates to ‘By the Pheasantry’ referring to the historical royal pheasantry (Bażantarnia) that once stood nearby during the eighteenth century when the area was part of royal hunting grounds.

A decorative bridge in the park.

The Church of Blessed Władysław of Gielniów (Kościół Błogosławionego Władysława z Gielniowa), dedicated to a fifteenth century Polish Franciscan friar, preacher and poet known for his deep piety and role in promoting vernacular Polish religious hymns. He is one of Poland’s national patrons and the church has something of a modern design.

Inside the station which is quite industrial and the architectural identity, like the other stations on the initial M1 segment, was shaped during the 1983-1985 design phase led by Metroprojekt, with Jasna Strzałkowska-Ryszka as the lead designer. It’s notable incidentally that there are no advertising hoardings all along the station which is somewhat different to many other countries around the world, the initial intention was to deliver an uncluttered public space.

Next on my side quest to visit every station on the Warsaw metro system is Wierzbno on the M1 line.

The station is on the first stretch of the line that opened on the network on Friday 7 April 1995 and it’s a heavily residential area. The station took its name from the local area and the etymology of ‘Wierzbno’ itself traces back to the Polish word ‘wierzba’ meaning willow tree. While the initial Ursynów sections often utilised the cut-and-cover method, the segment running through Mokotów, including the area beneath Aleja Niepodległości where Wierzbno is located, predominantly employed underground tunnelling techniques, often carried out by experienced miners. The construction took nine years in total from when they started, but Poland had gone through some rather seismic political changes during this time.

Translated, this sign says:

“Ksawerów Street – Originally the name of the estate of Ksawery Pułowski (a landowner, collector and philanthropist), established in the mid-19th century near Królikarnia, which was also his property. Over time, the name became the name of the street.”

And the street itself.

Nearby is Park Granat which takes its name from Grupa Artyleryjska „Granat”, or the “Granat” Artillery Group which was a military unit of the Polish Home Army during the Second World War.

As a general comment, the city has a lot of beautiful parks.

There’s a memorial to the Granat unit in the park which specifically highlights the unit’s courageous fight during the Warsaw Uprising in the Mokotów district, which lasted from 1 August to 27 September 1944. The group fought significant battles in this area, suffering heavy casualties (around 230 killed out of 520 who participated). Some of the bravest of the brave.

In this voyage of discovery, I didn’t realise that there was a sculpture park nearby, Park Rzeźby w Królikarni. It’s operated by the National Museum in Warsaw and they have sculptures of various ages located in this eighteenth century garden.

This marble sculpture dates from 1985 and is ‘The Kiss’ by Maria Papa Rostkowska (née Baranowska, 1923–2008). During the war, she was active in the Polish resistance and she participated in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 (as a messenger for the People’s Army) and along with her first husband Ludwik Rostkowski she helped rescue Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto. For her wartime bravery, she was awarded the Order of Virtuti Militari, Poland’s highest military decoration.

This bronze sculpture dates from 2017 and is ‘Flor Diente’ by Xawery Wolski (1960-). The information panel notes that the work intentionally refers to the shape of a seed, tooth or flower bud, representing the unshakeable continuity of nature.

A memorial to the Home Army.

This concrete sculpture dates from 1935 and is ‘Wild Boar’ by Stanisław Komaszewski (1906-1945). He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw and exhibited internationally, but his career was brought to a premature end due to the Second World War and much of his artwork was destroyed during the conflict. He fought in the Warsaw Uprising and was arrested and then imprisoned in Dachau concentration camp and from there he was transferred to the Natzweiler-Struthof subcamp in Mannheim-Sandhofen, Germany, where prisoners were subjected to forced labour under brutal conditions at the Daimler-Benz factory. He died there on 24 January 1945 at the age of just 38.

This granite sculpture dates from 1887 and is ‘Dog’ by Edouard-Léon Perrault (1828-1888). It was acquired by the museum just after the end of the Second World War and either this, or a copy, was displayed at the Salon in Paris in 1887.

The palace here was destroyed during the Second World War, but was reconstructed and in 1965 it opened as a museum dedicated to Xawery Dunikowski.

View from the rear of the palace.

The back of the palace, it’s very English country house and when the gardens were laid out originally that was their intention.

This granite sculpture dates from 1974 and is ‘Horizons’ by Magdalena Więcek (1924-2008). Born in Katowice, she studied painting and sculpture after the end of the Second World War, first at the State Higher School of Visual Arts in Sopot (1945-1949) and then at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw (1949-1952) where she studied under Franciszek Strynkiewicz. Her early works in the 1950s were created during the Socialist Realist period and included figurative sculptures like Górnicy (Miners) and Matka (Mother). The information panel notes that an important aspect of perceiving the sculpture is how it changes along with the movement of the observer.

An old bridge which leads to the palace.

The old external wall of the palace.

Back into the network.

The interior and this is one of stations that was built as a civilian shelter in case some sort of global war broke out. That proved expensive and was dropped from later sections of metro building.

The station map.

It’s not the most decorative, but it’s functional.

The station sign.

Next on my expedition to visit every metro station in Warsaw was Bemowo, at the western end of the M2 line. Construction of the station started in 2019 and it opened for passenger usage on 30 June 2022, with the station name being simply the name of the district that it’s located in, although during planning it was named after the street it’s on, ‘Powstańców Śląskich’. It’s a residential area of the city and something of a transportation hub, so the extension out here seems rather sensible.

The Church of the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Luke the Evangelist which was constructed in 2001, with the parish having been established in December 1992 by Cardinal Józef Glemp. The first Holy Mass had been celebrated on May 31, 1990, at the site of the future church.

It might have my initials, but I can’t imagine me starting a construction company on the grounds I’m not keen on changing light bulbs.

The sculpture of General Józef Zachariasz Bem (1794–1850) who was a Polish military leader and national hero of both Poland and Hungary. He began his career in the Napoleonic Wars and rose to prominence during the 1830–1831 November Uprising in Poland, where he earned a reputation as a skilled artillery commander. Later, he played a key role in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, leading forces in Transylvania to several significant victories against Austrian and Russian troops. His leadership, courage and tactical brilliance made him something of a beloved figure in both nations given how much he had surprised and delighted the populations. Following the collapse of the revolutions, Bem sought refuge in the Ottoman Empire, where he converted to Islam and continued his military career under the name Murad Pasha. He died in exile in Aleppo in 1850, although his remains were later brought back to Poland. Despite his exile, Bem’s legacy endured as he is remembered as a symbol of cross-national solidarity and the shared fight for independence, with statues and memorials honouring him in both Poland and Hungary.

Looks a bit industrial. This was on my way to look at the nearby Górczewska Park.

This text reads “SÁNDOR PETŐFI 1823 – 1849, Outstanding Hungarian poet Adjutant to Gen. J. Bem, Fell for freedom”. Unless my two loyal blog readers have already forgotten from two paragraphs ago, they already know about General Bem. Sándor Petőfi was a legendary Hungarian poet, revolutionary and something of a national hero. He is widely regarded as Hungary’s national poet and was one of the key figures of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848. Petőfi’s poetry, full of passionate calls for liberty and national pride, inspired revolutionary fervour among Hungarians. His most famous poem, “Nemzeti dal” (“National Song”), played a central role in igniting the revolution.

The park’s amphitheatre which was opened in 2008 and which can seat up to 1,000 spectators. From 2009, it was named the Michael Jackson Amphitheatre, which didn’t delight everyone and they took the name away in 2019 as it became too controversial. It was originally given this name because he did some sort of musical event at the nearby airport, Warsaw-Babice Airport.

Some trees and a park seems a sensible place to put them.

A hill in the park with a playground on it.

It started raining so I thought that I’d better get back.

Going down the steps.

The station design which seems less decadent than they could have made it given that it’s a new station and the ones before looked, well, more jazzy. The plan was to use weathering steel, or Corten Steel, as apparently this rustiness looks interesting. I’m not entirely convinced, but there we go.

The ever useful metro map. The task of constructing the C4 Bemowo station, along with the preceding C5 Ulrychów station and connecting tunnels, was awarded to a consortium comprising the Turkish company Gülermak Ağır Sanayi İnşaat ve Taahhüt A.Ş. as the leader, and the Italian company Astaldi S.p.A., both of whom had experience in building other bits of the network in the city. While the station box itself was constructed using the cut-and-cover method, typical for Warsaw Metro stations, the connecting tunnels were bored using Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs), which were named “Krystyna” and “Elisabetta”.