Warsaw History
The History of Warsaw
Poland is a country, which has had more than its fair share of conflict. During World War 11, the damage to the infrastructure of Poland was immense with hardly a building left standing. In Warsaw alone, 85% of buildings were totally destroyed. After the war, the Soviets left their mark on Warsaw resulting in the capital often being overshadowed by more beautiful cities in the vicinity such as Krakow and Gdansk.
Now years later and with the end of Communism, Warsaw is a totally different place. To truly understand Warsaw, it is important to understand what the city has had to endure and we hope that you will find the few articles about Warsaw history below of interest.
Warsaw History - A Quick Summary
You can trace the history of Warsaw back to the 12th / 13th century when the first fortified settlements were built around a small fishing village by the name of Warszowa.
In 1596, Warsaw became the Capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (present-day Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, Latvia, parts of Ukraine, western Russia) and the Polish Crown when the court was moved to Warsaw from Krakow by King Sigismund 111 Vasa. This remained the case until 1795 at which time Warsaw...
Historical Sites of Jewish Warsaw
"I know that the Jews have disappeared from Warsaw, but I cannot truly imagine it. When I say: 'Warsaw,' in my soul's eye I see the old, Jewish Warsaw. I see Jewish streets, vendors' stalls, synagogues, houses of study, marketplaces, courtyards full of Jewish inhabitants. Despite what I know, I cannot present Warsaw judenrien nor Jewish streets as heaps of rubble," wrote future Noble Literary Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer in July 1944 in the New York Yiddish newspaper Forverts. The life of a capital city has now taken the place of rubble where there were once the Jewish streets....
Encyclopedia Britannica - Warsaw
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