WARSAW

Polish Warszawa, city, capital of Poland. The city, which is an autonomous administrative unit, is located in the east-central part of the country. Warsaw is notable among Europe's capital cities not for its size, its age, or its beauty but for its indestructibility. It is a phoenix that has risen repeatedly from the ashes of war. Having suffered fearful damage during the Swedish and Prussian occupation of 1655-56, it was again assaulted in 1794, when the Russian army massacred the population of the right-bank suburb of Praga. In 1944, after the Warsaw Uprising failed, by Hitler's order the city was razed; the left-bank suburbs, controlled by the Germans, were emptied of their remaining population; and the buildings were systematically reduced to rubble by fire and dynamite. In 1945, however, the people of Warsaw, the Varsovians, returned, and the city resumed its role as the capital of Poland and the country's centre of social, political, economic, scientific, and cultural life. Many of the historic streets, buildings, and churches have been restored exactly according to their original forms. Since the second half of the 18th century, the emblem of Warsaw (originally a siren) has been a mermaid with sword and shield in hand, representing the creature who in legend led a prince to the site of Warsaw and ordered him to found the city. The city's motto is, appropriately, "Contemnit procellas" ("It defies the storms"). Polish Warszawa city, capital of Poland. The city, which is an autonomous administrative unit, is located on the Vistula (Wisla) River in the middle of the Warsaw Plain in east central Poland. Warsaw is situated at the junction of two important routes; the east-west route across the European Plain and the route linking the Baltic Sea with southern Europe. The city is the centre of the Polish transportation and communication system, as well as a centre of important transportation routes to all of eastern Europe. Warsaw's many historic buildings attest to its long period of development and to its role as the capital of Poland. The city centre and the inner suburbs on the west bank of the Vistula were reconstructed after suffering heavy damage during World War II. Warsaw's climate is moderate and somewhat cool; July temperatures average about 66 F (19 C), and January temperatures average 27 F (-3 C). Most of the city's precipitation, which averages 21 in. (541 mm) annually, occurs during the summer months. Snow covers the ground for 50 to 64 days a year. The economy of Warsaw is diversified, and about one-third of the work force is employed in state-owned manufacturing enterprises. Most of the rest of the labour force works for cooperative industrial establishments; small, privately owned enterprises; or state-owned retail stores. Important industries are electrical engineering, metallurgy, printing, and the manufacture of machine products, chemicals, textiles and clothing, and food. The Warsaw region is also a highly specialized gardening and vegetable centre. The city proper is subdivided into seven districts, following a layout that reflects an effort to locate industries and warehouses on the outskirts of the city or close to workers' homes. Other modernizing efforts include the widening of streets, remodeling of churches and palaces, and expansion of park areas. Warsaw houses the Sejm (parliament) and other political and government bodies, and it is the most important educational centre in Poland. Educational institutions include the Technical University of Warsaw and the University of Warsaw, the latter known for its extensive library. It is the headquarters of the Polish Academy of Sciences, which coordinates research in both physical and social sciences through a number of institutes and industrial establishments. An active centre of research, Warsaw has received much acclaim for work done in the fields of parasitology and nuclear physics. Warsaw is also the leading centre of Polish cultural and artistic life. It has many art galleries and exhibition halls, the best known being the National Museum and the Zacheta Art Gallery; several theatres and museums; and many cultural associations, including the Friends of History in Warsaw and the Chopin societies. Warsaw's well-developed metropolitan transit system includes suburban trains, surface tramways, and an expressway system. Work began on a subway system in 1983. Area city, 172 sq mi (445 sq km). Pop. (1984 est.) city, 1,649,000; (1981 est.) metropolitan area, 2,214,100. Additional reading The first three published volumes of the Polish-language series Dzieje Warszawy, a comprehensive survey of Warsaw published by the Polish Academy of Sciences, are Maria Bogucka et al., Warszawa w latach 1526-1795 (1984); Stefan Kieniewicz, Warszawa w latach 1795-1914 (1976), and Krzysztof Dunin-Wasowicz, Warszawa w latach 1939-1945 (1984). Robert E. Dickinson, The West European City, 2nd ed. (1961), contains a description of the site and layout of the medieval town, the postmedieval extensions, and the pre-1940 city; Jan Zachwatowicz and Piotr Bieganski, The Old Town of Warsaw, trans. from the Polish (1956), is a pictorial record; A. Ciborowski, Warsaw: A City Destroyed and Rebuilt, 2nd ed. (1969, originally published in Polish, 1964), is a history of Warsaw and includes a description of the city as it was in 1939 and the story of its destruction. See also Stanislaw Jankowski and Adolf Ciborowski, Warsaw 1945, Today, and Tomorrow (1978). Olgierd Budrewicz and Edward Falkowski, Homo Varsoviensis (Warsaw Man), trans. from the Polish (1970), emphasizes postwar reconstruction. Edward D. Wynot, Warsaw Between the World Wars: Profile of the Capital City in a Developing Land, 1918-1939 (1983), is a historical survey. Joanna K.M. Hanson, The Civilian Population and the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 (1982); Jan M. Ciechanowski, The Warsaw Rising of 1944 (1984; originally published in Polish, 1971); and Israel Gutman, The Jews of Warsaw, 1939-1943: Ghetto, Underground, Revolt, trans. from the Hebrew (1982), are scholarly historical discussions. A more comprehensive historical overview, in Polish, is Jan Stanislaw Bystron, Warszawa, 2nd ed. (1977). Janina Rutkowska, A Guide to Warsaw and Environs, 3rd ed. (1981; originally published in Polish, 1976), is a tourist book with illustrations and maps. The following are pictorial works, with texts in English translation: Edmund Kupiecki, Warsaw: Landscape and Architecture, 3rd ed. (1970); Juliusz A. Chroscicki and Andrzej Rottermund, Atlas of Warsaw's Architecture (1978); Krzysztof Jablonski, Warsaw, a Portrait of the City (1979); Dobroslaw Kobielski, Warsaw from a Bird's-Eye View (1971). The Editors of the Encyclopdia Britannica