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Uday K. Chakraborty

Warsaw, a city that was razed to the ground during the Second World War, has been restored... brick by brick.

The Lazienki Palace.

Warsaw, which has literally risen from the ashes, is a city where the past continues to resurface.

Fascinating and languid, half-European and half-Oriental, a melting pot of races; a little crazy, but also courageous to the point of heroism... it's the city that was razed to the ground during the Second World War, first by air raids, then by shelling and finally in house-to-house fighting.

But Warsaw rose again, to become exactly what it used to be, thanks to the will of the Polish people who rebuilt it brick by brick. And, today, no tourist would be able to guess what is original and what has been restored or rebuilt.

A classic example is the royal palace, where even the wooden floors are perfect replicas of the original; one can only bow in admiration of the skill and technique spanning two different generations.

A city of memories

Ghetto, one of the most famous ghettos in the whole of Europe, had once been home to scientists and musicians, mathematicians and poets, holy rabbis and orthodox devotees. Today, there is nothing left of the great Jewish presence, except touching monuments that remind us of the tragedy of the Ghetto and the truckloads of Jews who were forcibly herded from Umschlag Platz to the concentration camps. And, the desperate and heroic resistance of the few survivors who, in 1943, rebelled against the Nazi genocide and kept the SS at bay by hiding in bunkers for two months. The Germans suppressed the insurgence; the Ghetto, which was razed to the ground, disappeared forever.

But if Warsaw rose from the ashes of the War it has also been reborn from the drabness of the Stalinist era. After the fall of the Communist regime, winds of change swept through the city. New shops, hotels and a cheerful air have transformed Warsaw. Old buildings have been cleaned, and elegant boutiques are springing up. The best symbol of this rebirth is the city's tallest building, at the end of Nowy Swiat, which was once the Communist Central Committee seat and is now an expression of Poland's wanton capitalism — the stock exchange.

The Vistula river divides the city, with the downtown and the Old Town area on the left, higher bank, and the Praga housing suburb on the right. The Old Town is just north of the Slasko-Dabrowski Bridge. Most sights and activities of tourist interest can be found between this area and Lazienki Park.

The true heart of the city is the Old Town (Stare Miasto). Dating from the 14th century, it is mixture of Renaissance and Baroque buildings . Every detail, from the wrought iron shop signs to the wide medieval streets, was lovingly restored after the end of the Second World War.

At St. John's Cathedral, Cardinal priests deliver the homily to the deeply religious Roman Catholic Poles. Old walls that once fortified the city and the Barbican, a sort of tower house dating to the mid-16th century, have been reconstructed.

The royal castle at the Zamkovy Square in the Old Town was reopened in 1979, after 35 years of painstaking effort. King Sigimund's column stands in the middle of the square. The restored castle rooms are as stunning as ever.

Lazienki Park, Europe's largest city park, has as its centrepiece the splendid Lazienki Palace situated on an island. There are 18 other palaces and monuments in the spacious park, including the original White House, once the residence-in-exile of the future king Louis XVIII of France.

The magnificent monument to Chopin at the southern end of the park is the scene of Sunday afternoon concerts. Poles love music, particularly Chopin. At the house where Chopin was born at Zelazowa Wola, 45 km from the capital, there is always a pianist playing to create the right ambience for visitors.

The Wilanow Palace complex, located on the outskirts of the city, ranks among the most beautiful palaces in Europe. This Polish version of Versailles is considered one of the most historical monuments in Poland. Its baroque terraces lead to a small lake formed by a bend in the Vistula river.

Warsaw is also a city of war memorials. The heroes of the Second World War are commemorated by a huge monolithic fighting goddess with a raised sward. But the most significant monument — in memory of the Jewish Ghetto uprising of 1943 — is small and placed on a little grassy square.

But Varsovians do not like to live in their sombre past. In the evening, the city reveals its true self and speaks with its mysterious and innermost voice. In the tightly packed, cosy bars in the Old City the Vodka flows. You can even try a glass of "Barszc", a broth of sour beetroot. It is in such places that the true Slavic charm of the city is best felt.

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