Warsaw mayor proposes naming southern bridge after a queen

"Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski has proposed to name the new bridge in the southern part of Warsaw ring road Anna Jagiellonka Bridge" - mayor's deputy Aldona Machnowska-Góra wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

Anna Jagiellonka (also known as Anna Jagiellon) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587. In the years preceding her coronation, she spent much of her time on local administrative matters and several construction projects, including the Sigismund Augustus Bridge - a wooden crossing over the Vistula River in Warsaw which came into operation in 1573 and lasted for 30 years.

The bridge was the first permanent crossing over the Vistula River in Warsaw and the longest wooden crossing in Europe at the time at 500 meters in length. The bridge was one of the greatest engineering works of the Polish Renaissance and one of the largest in Europe.

According to "Gazeta Stołeczna, mayor Trzaskowski's proposal has received some positive reviews, but some experts argue that Queen Anna Jagiellonka already has a street in Warsaw named after her.

Other notable proposals included naming the bridge after the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity (WOŚP), the 1920 Battle of Warsaw, and Piłsudski's Legions. Another option assumes sticking with its unofficial name - the Southern Bridge.

Podczas czwartkowej sesji Rady Warszawy zapadła za to decyzja o nadaniu nazwisk sławnych kobiet alejkom i pasażom w Śródmieściu. Z taką inicjatywą prezydent Trzaskowski wyszedł 8 marca w Dzień Kobiet.

At Thursday's meeting of the city council, a decision was made to name boardwalks and alleys in central Warsaw after famous Polish women. Mayor Trzaskowski proposed the new names on Women's Day on March 8.

"I would really like the centre of Warsaw to be a special place of homage to outstanding female creators, artists and activists, for their contribution to Polish history and culture. Especially since this is a symbolic place for many women who recently have been defending their freedom" - Warsaw mayor said at the time.

The boardwalks and alleys which received new names are all located around the Palace of Culture and Science in downtown Warsaw. They were named after actress Maria Morska, writer Irena Krzywicka, poets Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna and Zuzanna Ginczanka, social activist and painter Maria Dulębianka, playwright Anna Świrszczyńska, as well as poet and novelist Halina Poświatowska. One of the boardwalks has already been named after poet and Nobel Prize winner Wisława Szymborska.

W czwartek z inicjatywy radnych miejskich i dzielnic podjęto także uchwały w sprawie nadania drodze zlokalizowanej na Bemowie pomiędzy ulicami Dywizjonu 303 i Marynin nazwy Trzech Lotniczek Polskich. W ten sposób upamiętniono Jadwigę Piłsudską-Jaraczewską, Annę Leską-Daab i Stefanię Wojtulanis-Karpińską - trzy Polki, lotniczki w brytyjskim Air Transport Auxiliary RAF.

The city council also decided on Thursday to honour three Polish airwomen - Jadwiga Piłsudska-Jaraczewska, Anna Leska-Daab and Stefania Wojtulanis-Karpińska - who had served in RAF Air Transport Auxiliary. A road in Bemowo district has been named Three Polish Airwomen road.

Another decision has been made to honour Polish singer Irena Jarocka - a park at Strumykowa street in Białołęka district will now bear her name. The artist spent last years of her life living near the park.

During the session, on Civic Coalition club chief Jarosław Szostakowski's request, the councillors decided to take off the agenda a project of granting honorary Warsaw citizenship to social activist Jolanta Brzeska, who had died in still unexplained circumstances.