"The first chance in 70 years to look into the center of pre-1939 Warsaw"

"Intensive works have been going on at Central Square in recent weeks. The contractor began the job with excavation works. We can already see the first effects. However, bearing in mind the painful history of this piece of Warsaw during WWII and after, together with the Masovian Voivodeship Historic Preservation Officer, we would like to work out a solution that would allow us to preserve as many fragments of the old city as possible in the future planning of Central Square," said Deputy Mayor of Warsaw Michał Olszewski.

The Palace of Culture and Science and its surroundings were built on a 50-hectare square between Aleje Jerozolimskie, and Marszałkowska, Świętokrzyska, and Emilli Plater streets. In order to do that, whole streets filled with ruins of 80 tenement houses were demolished in the 1950s. Parts of many streets ran across or along the construction site: of Chmielna, Złota, Sienna, Śliska, Pańska, Zielna and Marszałkowska. During the construction of the Palace, Wielka Street - which ran parallel to Marszałkowska - disappeared in its entirety.

What was there before WWII? According to a statement released by the city hall, at the turn of the 20th century the area of today's Parade Square (Plac Defilad) was filled with tall Art Nouveau tenement houses. There used to be approx. 180 residential building in said area.

"During the works we have discovered unique fragments of pavement and old buildings. We have expected that, as we know the prewar network of streets and arrangement of buildings in this area from numerous preserved documents. What has surprised us, however, is the depth at which we have found fragments of buildings - they are located even two meters below the current ground level. We are still at the beginning of research and analyses, but I can promise already today that we will do our best to learn as much as possible about the history of this place," said the Masovian Voivodeship Historic Preservation Officer, Prof. Jakub Lewicki.

"During the works at the former Złota Street, the contractor uncovered the remains of tenement houses, the original basaltic pavement, tramway tracks as well as granite curbs. Also found was an old distribution board located in the northwestern part of the construction site, from the direction of the Honorary Grandstand. The finds - as always in such cases - are examined by archeologists," said Łukasz Puchalski, Director of Warsaw's Public Roads Authority.

Once the documentation process has been completed, the planned arrangement of pathways and greenery at Central Square will mirror the network of old streets and buildings from before 1939.

"We would like the locals and tourists to celebrate a renovated and green square, which at the same time preserves in its planning elements of the old sprawl, mirroring the arrangement of the old downtown of Warsaw," said Sławomir Potapowicz, Deputy Chair of the Warsaw City Council.

The new pavement for the Central Square, designed by architects from A-A Collective, will be composed of six types of stones.

"Outlines of former tenement houses will be made of large-format stone slabs in varyingcolours: grey and red. The old courtyards will be paved with reused granite setts and supplemented by the granite slabs from the area near the Honorary Grandstand. The surface area of the square will be approx. 23,000 m2. To compare: Five Corners Square has only 3,500 m2" - city hall officials said.

Central Square, along with Five Corners Square, Chmielna and Marszałkowska streets, as well as the Museum of Modern Art and TR Warszawa (Teatr Rozmaitości), is part of the New Center of Warsaw (Nowe Centrum Warszawy).

"The strict center of the capital will transform into a place worth visiting and spending time at. There will be less concrete and asphalt in front of the Palace of Culture and Science, and more than 100 new trees will be planted, including: black locusts, ashes, gleditsias, dogwoods, katsura trees, ginkgos, and magnolias, thousands of bushes. Over 40 species of bulbous and perennial plants will be sown, we will create lawns and a shallow pond in the northwestern part of the square," Warsaw City Hall listed.

At the moment, earthworks are being carried out at Central Square. Special water tanks will be placed approx. 7 meters below the ground. They will harvest rainwater that will be used to irrigate new plants at the square.

The construction of Central Square has been coordinated with the construction of the nearby Museum of Modern Art, whose facilities will take up large parts of the new square.