Download A Guide to Wola District.

A Guide to Wola District.
Wola, one of 18 districts of Warsaw is a unique district. Apparently in the backstreets
of Wola backyards, in memory of the inhabitants of this part of the city the real
atmosphere of Warsaw has been preserved
The origins of this part of town are hidden in the depths of history. Suffice it to say,
for the first time the areas of modern day district were mentioned in 1367.Wolka
at that time was a name used for numerous places on the Polish map and it frequently
meant the villages established in the wastelands and forests. The centre of Great Wola
village was a small church of St. Lawrence and the oldest street became a route in the
direction of Wielkopolska, today's Wolska Street.
1. The Election Field
The first free election, in which every Polish nobleman could participate, was held
in 1573 on the right bank of the Vistula River, on the meadows near the Kamion
village (the area of today's Prague Stoneware). At that time, Prince Henry of Valois
was chosen the king, his coronation was held in February 1574 , and in June of the
same year the ruler fled to his native France. Another election was called in November
1575 on the left bank of the Vistula. It took place in the area between the village of
Great Wola and Warsaw. It was here that, in the years 1575-1764, the nobles decided
about the next elections of rulers: from Stefan Batory to Stanislaw August
Poniatowski. The exception to this tradition was calling a free election in 1733 on the
fields of the Kamion village. With the support of Saxon diplomats and Russian troops
Augustus III Strong was proclaimed a ruler. At the same time on the field of Wola
Stanislaw Leszczynski became successful, yet he had to flee the country shortly
afterwards.
Ten out of twelve, carried out in the Commonwealth, free elections were held in Wola.
At the site of the former electoral field, at the intersection of Obozowa and Gostyńska,
these events are commemorated by the obelisk "Electio viritim": "The obelisk Elctio
viritim erected on 400th anniversary of Warsaw community on the former election
field in place of the senatorial shed and knightly circle where in the years 1575-1764
ten of the Polish kings were chosen."
2. Powazki
The first cemetery was founded at the Powazki cemetery in November 1790, on the
ground donated by the Szymanowski family. In the same, 1792, the construction of
St. Charles Borromeo’s church, designed by Dominik Merlini, was completed. In 200
years of existence, the cemetery was extended 19 times, now it occupies the area of 43
hectares.
Famous Poles were buried here, many of whom rest in the Alley of Merit, founded in
1925. After World War II a mausoleum was established in the catacombs
where the ashes of concentration camp victims were laid.
3. The Insurgents Cementery – Wolska Street.
It was founded on November 25, 1945. The civilian casualties of World War II and
soldiers killed, among others, during the Warsaw Uprising were buried there. Their
ashes were brought here from the war graves scattered throughout the capital.
On the assumption of 1946 a mausoleum designed by Romuald Gutt and Alina Scholtz
was to be built here. However, the authorities did not agree with that and work
at a very early stage was suspended.
In 1960-61 the necropolis was partially cleaned up. Tadeusz Wyrzykowski the
sculptor responsible for this project used the first concept of a park-cemetery, adding
to it some projects of his authorship. Each of the 177 mass graves has been marked
by an equally-looking monument - a vertical stone slab.
In 1973, on the mound, where the ashes of the Second World War victims were
buried, a sculpture Fallen – Undefeated carved by Gustav Zemła was set. A dying
warrior defending a breach in the barricade with his own body and shield. It was the
first post-war commemoration of the Warsaw Uprising. Behind the statue there is an
inscription: "Here lie the remains of more than 50,000 Poles, Warsaw civilians and
the Home Army soldiers who died for the freedom of their Homeland murdered by the
Germans during the Warsaw Uprising in August and September 1944. On 6th August
1946 117 coffins were laid here with the ashes of murdered and burned who then were
transported among others: from the Gestapo headquarters in Szucha Alley, Wolska
Street, Górczewska Street, Sowiński Park, the hospital of St. Stanislaus (Franaszek’s
factory), Moczydło and Młynarska Street. "In 2015, the cemetery was completely
rebuilt and reorganized.
4. Reduta Ordona.
The famous Reduta 54, described by Adam Mickiewicz, located in what is now the
Ochota district. Reduta was part of fortifications from the times of the November 1831
and it sheltered, about 2 km distant, Wola earthwork. At the corner of Mszczonowska
and Włochowska, next to a railway station platform, a monument commemorating this
event was set. The proper terrain of Reduta is located about a kilometer away nearby the roundabout of Siberian Exiles, besides the street on Bateryjka.
5. Warsaw Uprising Museum.
In a former tramway power station built in 1908, the Museum of the Warsaw Uprising
has been established.
In the early twentieth century the buildings of an industrial and administrativeresidential character were erected here . The plant was partially destroyed early in the
war, and then bombed during the Warsaw Uprising. The remaining walls were blown
up by the Germans.
As part of the post-war changes the power station has been transformed into a heating
plant, and its buildings have been rebuilt by subsequent owners several times.
6. St. Lawrence’s Church + Reduta Wolska - Wolska 140a
The history of this church formerly located in the village of Great Wola dates back to
the fourteenth century. As an independent parish it was established in 1611. At that
time it was a small wooden church, which burned down during the Swedish Deluge
(1666) .In the same place, thanks to the efforts of Bishop Nicholas Poplawski, in 1695
they started building a brick temple. The funds for this purpose were allocated by King
Jan III Sobieski’s wife-Maria Kazimiera. The turbulence associated with the events of
the Northern War and the havoc in Wola stopped the construction. Eventually, the
church was completed in 1764 thanks to the donation of Maria Anna Brühl, the wife
of the minister King Augustus III.
During the subsequent national uprisings the church served the insurgents for
defensive purposes. One of the repercussions after the November Uprising, was
changing the temple into the Orthodox church. In 1834 its equipment was removed,
and the interior was adapted to the needs of the Orthodox liturgy. The area around the
church, or Reduta Wolska, was changed into the cemetery
The church was destroyed by World War II and the Warsaw Uprising. After the war,
the temple was reconstructed, restoring its original eighteenth-century form. The most
valuable monuments stored in the church are: "St. Lawrence’s Martyrdom" by Michael
Willmann (1663) and a copy of the image of the Black Madonna of Czestochowa by
professor Leonard Torwirt. The side altars present St. Lawrence’s plays (seventeenth
century) and Jesus’s Heart (beginning of the twentieth century). On one of the outer
walls of the church there is a plaque commemorating the 97 anniversary of the death of
Sowiński General.
7. Karcelak.
The town market whose borders are defined by the streets Chłodna, Towarowa,
Okopowąaż to Leszno (now Solidarity Alley). The name comes from the surname of
the marketplace and the land owner - Joseph Kercelak. In the nineteenth century there
was a grain market. In the interwar period everything that could be sold was available
here: groceries, old clothes, pets ...
Market burned down early in the war, but in November 1939 there were stands with
the articles often confiscated by the occupants. Once again Kercelak burned during
the Soviet bombing in September 1942. It was closed by the German authorities a few
months before the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising. The end for Kercelak Market was
the construction of WZ Route in the 40s of the twentieth century.
8. Norblin’s Factory.
In fact, Norblin B-cia Buch and T. Werner’s non-ferrous metals factory.
The first seat of the plant in the years 1834-1882 was located in 5 Chlodna Street.
From 1882 to 1948 the firm operated in 49/53Iron Street. In the late 40s the company
was nationalized and converted into "Warsaw" Iron Mill, which existed at that address
until 1982. Later, up to 2008, the Industrial Museum was located here. In 2012, the
draft of the area redevelopment was presented with the idea of establishing an office
and a retail complex. In February 2014, one of the historic factory halls was
demolished for redevelopment of Prosta Street. Currently, there are plans to build a
shopping centre there.
9. Chlodna Street and the Warsaw Ghetto.
The Warsaw ghetto was established in the autumn of 1940, the western part of the
Jewish Quarter (current Wola and part of downtown) within the streets: Bagno
,Grzybowski Square, Elektoralna, Banking Square, Garden Krasinski’s Garden,
Nowolipki, Swietojerska, Freta, Sapiezynska, Konwiktorska, Stawki, Okopowa,
Żelazna, Wronia, Waliców, Żelazna
i Sienna. Two streets belonged to the Aryan district which were restricted from the
ghetto area: Mirowski Square and a part of Chlodna. These were important
communication routes. In December 1941, the area between the street Leszno and
Grzybowska, was excluded from the ghetto which caused a division between the small
and the large ghetto. In January of the following year a pedestrian bridge over Chlodna
street was opened connecting the two parts of the ghetto. In July 1942, the great
liquidation action started, which resulted in the deportation of 254 thousand people to
the Treblinka extermination camp. During the deportation 8 thousand people fled to
the Aryan side. 35 thousand people stayed in the ghetto legally, and another 25
thousand lived in hiding. The final liquidation of the ghetto took place on 19 April
1943, at that time a group of Jewish fighters of the Jewish Fighting Organization and
the Jewish Military Union remained there defending the ghetto until May. Being
detected in bunkers and shelters they were killed on the spot or sent to Treblinka. The
next step was to totally destroy buildings of the closed district, which culminated in
blowing up the Great Synagogue near Tłomackie Square on 19 April 1943 on the
orders of Jurgen Stroop.
10. Warsaw Gasworks + inactive gas tanks.
At the site of the former "Factory Gas at Czyste" in Kasprzak Street (formerly
Dworska Street) are nineteenth-century industrial buildings. They are the remaining
buildings of Wolska Gasworks at Czyste, which was opened in autumn 1887. Its area
took 3.5 hectare between Great Wola and the municipality of Czyste. Initially it
supplied the gasworks for the lantern urban network. With time, however, there came
private users who wanted to light and warm their homes or cook a meal. The rapid
development of the gas industry in the interwar period when to the capital of an
independent state new districts were attached. Gasworks operated even in the 50s of
XX century, when it produced gas extracted from coal. Finally, it was replaced by
cheaper natural gas.
Already closed buildings, such as gas commutators (seen, inter alia, from Kasprzak
Street, round buildings), a neo-Gothic tower and a chimney have been entered into the
register of monuments. The current owner, the company PGNiG plans to transform the
remaining parts of the plant into a conference center.
11. St. Adalbert’s Church - 76 Wolska Street.
Work on the construction of the church was started in 1898 by the architectural design
of Joseph Pius Dziekonski. The rapid development of labour Wola in the interwar
period led to the decision of Cardinal Kakowski to appoint a parish here in April 1927.
During the campaign in September 1939, the church was seriously damaged. Until the
early 40s masses were held in the lower church.
During the Warsaw Uprising Germany established a temporary camp here for the
residents of Warsaw before their resettlement to Pruszkow.
After the war the church was gradually rebuilt and renovated.
In January 1997, it was awarded St. Adalbert’s relics.
12. Main Railway Station with Railway Museum.
It is located in Towarowa Street. In the mid-nineteenth century, its sidings and freight
halls were used by the Warsaw-Vienna railway. During the interwar period the train
station was turned into a freight station. Given for the passenger traffic after World
War II, in July 1945. Until the opening of the Warsaw Central Station (1975), it acted
as the main metropolitan station. With time it lost its importance and became one of
the suburban railway. Even during the operation of the railway in 1972, the Central
Station was transformed into the Railway Museum. The last train pulled away from
here in 1997, then most of the platforms and the tracks were dismantled. There are
only installations used by the Museum.
13. Monument to Victims of Wola murdered during the Uprising in 1944.
At the intersection of Leszno Street and Solidarity Alley, unveiled in 2004. Created,
designed by a sculptor Richard Stryjecki. A burnt fragment of the building wall with
bullet holes and the effects of intense shelling, arranged in ten silhouettes - victims.
On the monument there are two inscriptions engraved on the west side: "Residents of
Wola assassinated in 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising," and on the east side:
"Memory of 50,000 inhabitants of Wola murdered by the Germans during the Warsaw
Uprising of 1944".
14. Museum of Wola – 12 Srebrna Street.
Originally a palace built in 1880 for the sculptor Alexander Sikorski. After his death
(1881) the estate became the property of a stone company. In 1895 Maurice Berman
bought it, in the years 1905 to 1929 it was owned by his wife Cecilia. Since 1937, the
palace became the property of the state treasury. Until 1944 there was a seat of the
Municipal Health Center and later one of the squad of the Chrobry’s 1st was battalion
was stationed here.
After the war, the headquarters of the " Prasa-Książka-Ruch " Publishing House were
located here, and since 1974 - the Museum of Wola, a branch of the Historical
Museum of Warsaw.
15. Janusz Korczak’s Orphanage -6 Jaktorowska Street.
Before the war in 92 Krochmalna Street. The building, inaugurated in 1912, was
created and designed by Henryk Steifelman by the initiative of the Jewish Society
"Help for orphans." They purchased the land for the orphanage in 1910, and the
construction started a year later. In the building committee there appeared, among
others, Janusz Korczak,a doctor, a teacher and later the headmaster of the orphanage.
On the ground floor of the building there were classrooms, an office and a recreation
room being a canteen at the same time. The first floor bedrooms were occupied by
pupils, on the second floor there were the girls’ rooms and a teacher’s room for
Stefania Wilczyńska – a form teacher and the person who together with Korczak led
the institution. Janusz Korczak’s room was in the attic. The facility was coeducational
and run jointly with children.
After the establishment of the ghetto, in 1940, the orphanage was outside its
boundaries. Germany ordered the transfer of the orphanage, so Korczak and the
children took refuge in the building of the J. and M. Roeslers’ National Male School
of Commerce in 33 Chlodna Street. Another moving, a year later, was associated with
the exclusion of this part of the ghetto. The pupils found a refuge in the Union of
Commercial, Industrial and Office Workers in Warsaw in 16 Sienna Street. From
there, in August 1942, they were driven off to Umschlagplatz from where they were
deported to Treblinka.
16. Wawelberg’s Colony – 15 Gorczewska Street + Zagozdzinski’s confectionery.
Three almost identical brick buildings (15,15a Gorczewska, 3 Wawelberg Street) were
built in the years 1898-1900 for 50th anniversary of the establishment of Hippolytus
Wawelberg’s Banking House. The Wawelbergs funded the first cheap housing for
workers in Warsaw. The colony of residential houses in Gorczewska were created
according to the design of Edward Goldberg. Its grounds were also a laundry room,
a school, a bath and a reading room. In 15 Gorczewska , operating since 1925,
Zagoździński’s confectionery is located there. Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, among others,
admired the taste of doughnuts from this confectionery.
17. Krochmalna and Zelazna Streets.
Krochmalna Street was originally called Lawendowa or Lawendowska, the secondary
name was given in 1770 and comes from a starch factory functioning there at that
time. At the end of the eighteenth century there were 4 breweries here and about forty
wooden houses, then a kilometer of the street was paved. In the nineteenth century
between Zelazna and current Towarowa Street there were 5 breweries, and on the
corner of Ciepla Street – a warehouse. By the end of the 20s the nineteenth century
a huge brewery or a starch factory and underwear factory were built here. In the early
60s there were several houses, the rest was constructed in the late nineteenth century.
Mostly poor Jewish community lived in this area and Krochmalna was portrayed
in the Nobel Prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer’s books, its former resident.
The street found itself in the so-called Small Ghetto (1940-1942), and almost all
buildings were destroyed in 1944.
After the war a housing estate "Behind the Iron Gate" was established there, fifteenstorey blocks of flats intended for a large number of inhabitants.
18. Zelazna Street.
The street name comes from the eighteenth-century Iron Inn located in Sienna and
Twarda Streets. The official name given to it in 1770. In 1805 Ceglana Street (now
Perec) Urlychow Gardens were created, later transferred to Gorka. Five years later,
at the confluence of Zelazna and Zytnia a palace of the director of Wojciech
Bogusławski’s National Theatre in Warsaw was built.
The mid-nineteenth century saw the rapid development of local industry - industrial
plants, tanneries, metal plants appeared. The labour Wola and the labour movement
originated here. In the early twentieth century the first Warsaw electric tram line was
constructed.
In the late 20s a viaduct was built over the railway trench.
In the fall of 1940 a part of Zelazna between Grzybowska and Leszno (now Solidarity
Alley), the eastern side of the street between Leszno and Nowolipie and the part north
of Nowolipie were within the Warsaw ghetto. In December 1941, when odd part of the
street was excluded from the ghetto, a wall stood in its centre.
Inside the remaining building in 103 Zelazna SD-Befehlstelle was located, the
German unit responsible for managing the deportation action to Treblinka
extermination camp.
Zelazna buildings were destroyed during World War II and during the Warsaw
Uprising. In the postwar period, many buildings were demolished as well. In the 70s
"Behind the Iron Gate” housing estate was built here. In the 90s, they gradually
demolished old houses, and in their place there arose new seal.
19. Wola windmills.
Once an integral part of the landscape were the windmills in Wola. Shown, for
example, in paintings by Canaletto from the eighteenth century. Huge outdoor areas
located in the western part of the city ideally suited to build windmills that have driven
winds blowing from this side. On the maps of this part of today’s Warsaw from 1856,
86 windmills were added. The last, which stood in Bem’s Street survived until the
early twentieth century.
20. St. Augustine’s Church.
The church, founded by Aleksandra Potocka - the widow of Augustus Potocki, was
built in the late nineteenth century, designed by Edward Cichocki and Joseph Huss.
The square for the church was given by Joseph Mikucki, an official of the Warsaw
Provincial Credit Union . The parish was established here in 1903, and the church was
consecrated three years later.
In 1940, after the establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto, the church was in its limits and
for a year it served its function. Later, it became successively a furniture warehouse
and a stable.
In the basement of the temple a military hospital was created.
The walls of the church survived both the Ghetto Uprising and the Warsaw Uprising.
The characteristic silhouette of the church appears in many photos of postwar
Muranow.
For the purposes of the faithful the church was handed over in 1947, but renovations
lasted nearly until the end of the 50s.
21. Haberbusch’s Brewery.
In 1846 a plot in Krochmalna Street, where stood a brewery of "Schöffer and Glimpf",
company was bought by former employees of the plant - Konstanty Schiele
and Blaise Haberbusch, the third co-owner was Henry Klawe. The brewery brought
such a high income, that already in 1849 an additional plot adjacent to the property
was purchased. Twenty years later, Henry Klawe was repaid and Haberbusch, Schiele
and their descendants became the rightful owners of the brewery. This is how one of
the most recognizable beer brands in Warsaw was created.
When the sons of the founders took over the management it began to develop rapidly,
and beer sales exceeded the production capacity of the plant. For this reason, in the
late nineteenth century, it was expanded and modernized. In 1907, it was combined
with the Steam Brewery Joint-Stock Company W. Kijok.
The period of the First World War brought the company huge losses. That's why
in 1919 it was decided to merge the five Warsaw breweries in a joint-stock company
"United Breweries of Warsaw under the Haberbusch and Schele’s company".
The production concentrated at the brewery in Krochmalna.
World War II interrupted the momentum of the company. In October 1939, the control
of the plant was taken over by Germans, which resulted in the sale of beer mainly on
the market of the General Government. A part of the brewery buildings burnt down
during the Warsaw Uprising, the Germans set fire in the other part when after the
capitulation they took the remaining equipment.
In 1946, the brewery was nationalized - since then it functioned as the Warsaw
Brewery. Beer production in the reconstructed halls started in August 1954 and lasted
until 2004.