Tag: Warsaw

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.