Category: Warsaw Metro

Continuing on my theme of visiting every metro station on the Warsaw network. This is Stadion Narodowy, namely the National Stadium.

The station, located on the M2 line, opened on 8 March 2015 which was a few years after the stadium itself opened, but there is also a national rail network station here. The stadium was built on the site of the Tenth Anniversary Stadium, which opened in 1955 and was built on rubble from the Second World War. The stadium was a bit sub-optimal, it was a ten minute walk for football players to get back to the dressing rooms, so half-time had to last for half an hour. It closed in 2008, ready for the development of the new site.

Here is the lovely shiny stadium, which is used by the national Polish football team amongst others.

It’s possible to walk around the perimeter, it doesn’t seem to be closed off at all.

This is the Ryszard Siwiec (1909-1968) Memorial and is one of the heroes of the Polish nation. On 12 September 1968, he set fire to himself in front of the country’s leaders and 100,000 spectators. The communist authorities were livid, it took the shine off their day and they pretended that he was an alcoholic who was mentally unstable. They seized the letter that he sent to his wife and tried to pretend that the whole thing didn’t happen. But it did, his vision for Poland took a long time to come about, but it has.

The neighbouring rail station.

A tunnel under the railway line which gives access to the stadium.

There’s a nearby park to the metro station, Skaryszewski Park.

A long path through the park, which was built on the site of a floodplain in 1905. Some beavers made the park their home in 2006, but they caused so much damage that they removed the little angels and plonked them in the nearby zoo.

This memorial needs repair as it’s nearly impossible to read, but it commemorates the lives of those Poles who died in the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers in New York.

A sculpture outside the park of Ignacy Jan Paderewski (1860-1941) who served as the Prime Minister of Poland for most of 1919. He was perhaps more well known as a pianist and he served as part of the Polish Government in exile between 1940 and 1941. The entire park has now also been named in his honour.

Apparently, if AI is to be believed, the circular wheel is a telecommunications mast.

The old looking building is one of the towers constructed as part of the bridge which was designed to be ornamental and it also houses the staircases.

This Adam Roman (1916-2013) sculpture is named ‘The Relay’ and is located outside of the stadium and it dates from the previous 1955 structure. It was originally meant to be located at the Central Park of Culture in Powiśle, with the artist adding a third runner to his initial plans to have just two.

Back into the metro station, which is also planned to be one of the ends of metro line M3 which is currently under construction. There is another island platform and two tracks already in place for this, but they’re not currently in use. Hopefully by the time the first section of the M3 line opens in around five years I’ll have actually finished visiting all the stations that are currently open….

One thing I’ve done with my attempting to visit all of the metro stations in Warsaw is that I’ve started at the ends of the line, generally away from the most interesting areas in the city that the network crosses through. This meant that visiting Trocka was a little bit sub-optimal as there wasn’t a great deal of note to have a look at. So writing this is more for the sake of completion than surprising and delighting my two loyal blog readers.

It’s all residential, which is lovely, but there’s less of a story to tell. Although I’d note that this felt a safe area, I meandered around some of the tower blocks and it seemed a part of the city that it would be pleasant to live in. There’s a bus station here, although I’m not sure if that’s of enormous excitement to write about, but it’s visible in the above photo.

Tadeusz Korzon (1839-1918) was a Polish historian and he also took part in the January uprising that sought to free Poland from its Russian control. Sadly, he died a few months before the creation of the Second Polish Republic, so he didn’t live to see Poland become independent.

As an aside, Warsaw is rather good at putting benches nearly everywhere, something which must encourage people to walk if they know that there’s somewhere to stop. Back to the station, the city gave the contract to Italian firm Astaldi in March 2016 to build this extension and work started in April 2016 and it was completed in May 2019. The station opened on 15 September 2019 to the excited locals and the project was part financed by the European Union.

The Church of St. Mark the Evangelist.

Back to the station, which was designed with the intent of having clean, geometric forms and a feeling of space. The groundwater here was relatively high, which led to some considerable engineering challenges, including apparently diaphragm walls which were sunk up to 60 metres deep, but that will mean more to my civil engineer friend Liam than to me. For a while, this was the end of the line, but in September 2022, another three stations were added to extend the M2.

The decoration is plain, but functional.

The plan of the metro station.

And the next train to Bródno.

In terms of what is nearby, there is a large cemetery and some other historic structures of interest, but they’re all closer to another Metro stop. That’s also true of a nearby park, so I haven’t entirely neglected these, I’m just saving them up…..

And the next in my series of visiting every metro station on the Warsaw network. I have a backlog of these, but then again, I have a backlog of lots of many things I’m meant to be writing up.

The station is on M2, located in the Wola district along Górczewska Street and next to the Wola Park shopping centre. It was officially opened on 30 June 2022 as part of the extension of Line M2 westward from Rondo Daszyńskiego towards Bemowo. It takes its name from the Ulrich family, who established one of Warsaw’s first commercial gardening enterprises in the 19th century on this very land, with quite extensive greenhouses and nurseries. Work on the construction started in 2019, although groundbreaking work started in late 2018. Despite Covid, the project remained on schedule (this is Poland) and it officially opened on 30 June 2022.

And here’s the aforementioned Wola Park shopping centre. During the planning stage of the extension, the station was going to take the name Wola Park but perhaps they didn’t pay enough for sponsorship as in October 2018 the name was changed to Ulrychów.

Inside the shopping centre as I had to pop in. I might have accidentally tripped into the McDonald’s self-service machine and ordered myself a Jalapeño Burger as well by accident as well. At just £1, they continue to surprise and delight me.

This is Osiedle Przyjaźń, a hastily erected housing estate built in 1952 which was designed to house the thousands of Soviet workers who were building the Palace of Culture and Science in the city centre. It was composed almost entirely of prefabricated wooden dormitory pavilions for the labourers and some smaller bungalows for the more senior staff. At its peak, it could house 4,500 people and the structures were painted in either blue and white or red and white colour schemes to make them look colourful and exciting. There was a residential area here before, but that was quickly demolished although alternative accommodation was offered to those living in the area.

After the Palace was completed in May 1955, the Soviets cleared off and that left a handy campus area already constructed, which was given to the Ministry of Higher Education. The dormitories were used as student halls and the bungalows were given to academics and their families.

It’s a slightly odd area today, there are quite a few buildings which are boarded up, but evidently there are plenty of people who live here.

No-one paid much attention to my meandering around, it’s quite a peaceful area.

Some of the colourful buildings probably need a little painting.

This exploration is tiring, so I popped into the Auchan supermarket for a yoghurt based drink. I got a Mullermilch as well, but that’s getting its own post as usual.

Back to the metro station. Incidentally, the shopping centre were going to build an underground tunnel to the station, but they didn’t bother, but that’s perhaps because they were annoyed that the station wasn’t named after them.

Another packed platform, but it’s functional and clean. It was designed by a consortium of Metroprojekt and AMC Andrzej M. Chołdzyński, the same architectural team behind many other Line M2 stations, and it was designed with the expectation that the copper walls will oxidise over time, gradually changing colour and developing a natural verdigris patina. Very decadent. For anyone interested, and this is stretching the engagement of even my two loyal blog readers, the station is 120 metres long and was constructed in a 160 metres station box, all constructed using the ‘cut and cover’ method of making a big hole, putting in the station box and then resurfacing it.

The station sign and the architects noted that:

“The ceiling of the platform level is covered with coffered acoustic panels also finished in a warm copper tone. In combination with the green walls and pillars, the copper ceiling creates a feeling reminiscent of an autumnal palette.”

Nice. To be honest, this extension is a little uniform in its design, it could probably do with some exciting art installations going on to make the stations feel a little more individual. There was some controversy that the planned nearby Warszawa Górczewska rail station wasn’t constructed as an interchange with this metro station, but the designers said if they had moved it then it was no longer near where people lived, nor the shopping centre. They have a good point there and they’ve likely ignored the mocking ‘węzeł spacerowy’ or ‘walking interchange’ that some have nicknamed it.

And here comes the train, taking me back to the city centre. The network considers this to be the most copper filled of any of their stations, a fun fact I’ll try and remember although I doubt it’ll come up in any quizzes.

Next in my series of visiting every metro station on the Warsaw network was Natolin and, I have to admit, I did struggle to find a great deal of interest around here as it was so residential. It’s relatively near to two other stops, limiting the option to walk a little further in search of excitement.

The sun was shining and it was too hot. Not that I moan about the heat…. The metro station takes its name from the district that it’s located in, Natolin.

I found a small park nearby, Park Lasek Brzozowy, or ‘Birch Wood Park’. It’s nice, but I wouldn’t recommend that people come from other countries just to visit.

I went to walk around a housing estate, trying desperately to find anything old.

A little shopping centre.

Going back into the metro station. The metro station was on the first stretch of the network that opened, on 7 April 1995.

The decoration on the platform.

It wasn’t overly busy.

The plan of the metro station.

And leaving…. I must admit, this is likely to be one of the dullest metro station reports and I likely set the bar quite low with the whole concept. But, I don’t rule out going back and trying to find something which will surprise and delight my two loyal blog readers.

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”.

Next up on my plan to visit every metro station in Warsaw, this is Kondratowicza on the M2 line. It’s a recent addition to the network having opened to the public on 28 September 2022.

These information panels are commonplace across the network and they are rather useful in terms of navigation.

The photo on the right is from Google Streetview in 2018, the one on the left is from 2022. It is really a microcosm of just how fast this city is developing, expanding and improving.

The metro station is opposite Szpital Bródnowski, one of the most important hospitals on the right side of the Vistula River and a major teaching hospital. There’s an exit that goes practically right into the building, so it’s a convenient situation for patients.

As an aside, there seem to be ever more clearly laid out cycling and pedestrian sections, all rather marvellous in promoting people to get cycling.

Nearby is Park Bródnowski which is also a free sculpture park, so a rather marvellous cultural project and it has been increasing in size for many years.

I decided to take a photo of a bird using the feeder but the bloody thing flew off, so here’s a photo of a bird feeder without a bird.

This is usually full of water with a statue of a woman lying on her back in the middle of the pond. The sculpture was created during art workshops conducted by Pawel Althamer for members of a group who all have multiple sclerosis. They worked on the project together, but each person executed a different part of the figure which has deliberately led to different proportions.

This was certainly visually interesting and the sculpture is called Zinaxin and Dolacin, created by Magdalena Abakanowicz in 2005. Their names are taken from arthritis medicines and it’s apparently “a quest for a new take on the human figure in the context of the traumatic history of the twentieth century.”

The Guardian Angel sculpture, designed by Roman Stanczak in 2013 and it’s designed to have multiple values which aren’t necessarily religious.

This was quite a common thing around the park, I haven’t quite understood what the significance is.

The main water feature is a little empty….

Here’s what it usually looks like.

This quirky little shed is known as the Teahouse with Coffee Maker, it’s a steel cube that was designed to resemble a spaceship. It was returned to the original artist, Rirkrit Tiravanija, many years ago but they decided to construct a replacement one and this was overseen by Pawel Althamer and Michal Mioduszewski. It’s thought to be the smallest cultural centre in Warsaw and it can be hired out.

The Daughters of Brodno sculpture which was designed to be a self-portrait of local people, inspired to be similar in concept to Rodin’s The Burghers of Calais. Over 100 people are attended concept workshops and they decided on numerous different figures, including a goddess, a poet, a public official, a saint, a senior citizen and an athlete.

It’s quite a complex and engaging sculpture.

Back to Kondratowicza metro station. It’s a poetic arrangement in terms of its heritage as the station (and the street it’s under) is named after Ludwik Kondratowicz (1823-1862), a 19th-century Polish poet and translator of Belarusian origin who wrote under the popular pen name Władysław Syrokomla.

And another colourful affair.

The first in my attempt to visit every metro station in Warsaw and Bródno is located at the eastern end of the M2 line. It’s a relatively new station, with construction work starting in 2019 and they found the remains of two bison during the excavations. The station opened to passengers on 28 September 2022 as part of the M2 line extension.

The Catholic parish was established here in 1990 and this rather impressive and modern looking church was constructed in the first few years of this century.

The area is mainly residential blocks of flats built from the 1960s, which makes uncovering the history of this area a little more difficult as there’s not much that seems old. I can’t find any old maps of Warsaw which include this district, but I’m sure they’re out there somewhere….. This station is also intriguing as they’re opening in a few weeks the Metro Stage Theatre, which will operate at the -1 level of the metro station (the trains go from level -2) which adds some culture to arrangements.

The big commercial centre in the area is Factory Annopol, one of the city’s largest factory outlet centres.

As a random aside, I didn’t expect to see outlet shops for Trespass, Regatta and Mountain Warehouse. I don’t need any outdoor related items, but the prices here were rather favourable to say the least.

The station was spotlessly clean and, as with other stations, they don’t seem to have any staff visible. Although everything is so efficient that it would be hard to see what they would need to do.

The bright and welcoming station and an incoming metro train. There is plenty of seating, it’s spacious and the signage is clear throughout.