Photos

The Presidential Palace & The Józef Poniatowski statue, Warsaw

The Presidential Palace (in Polish, Pałac Prezydencki; also known as Pałac Koniecpolskich, Lubomirskich, Radziwiłłów, and Pałac Namiestnikowski) in Warsaw, Poland, is the elegant classicist latest version of a building that has stood on the Krakowskie Przedmieście site since 1643. Over the years, it has been rebuilt and remodeled many times. For its first 175 years, the palace was the private property of several aristocratic families. In 1791 it hosted the authors and advocates of the Constitution of May 3, 1791.
It was in 1818 that the palace began its ongoing career as a governmental structure, when it became the seat of the Viceroy of the Polish (Congress) Kingdom under Russian occupation (Namiestnik of the Kingdom of Poland). Following Poland's resurrection after World War I, in 1918, the building was taken over by the newly reconstituted Polish authorities and became the seat of the Council of Ministers. During World War II, it served the country's German occupiers as a Deutsches Haus and survived intact the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. After the war, it resumed its function as seat of the Polish Council of Ministers.

Józef Poniatowski statue

An equestrian statue of Prince Józef Poniatowski stands in the courtyard. It was commissioned in 1816 and was created by sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, modelled after the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome. It was sponsored by Polish aristocracy and executed between 1826 and 1832. It was not put in place on account of the tsar's opposition and stood in Ivan Paskevich's manor of Gomel (Eastern Belarus) from 1842 to 1922.
After the Soviet-Polish War, the statue of Prince Józef was brought back to Warsaw. It stood before the Polish General Staff building (the Saxon Palace) and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier within the Palace. Though the statue was destroyed in World War II. It was deliberately and completely destroyed by the Germans in 1944 (blew up on December 16). The statue was reconstructed between 1948-51 and recast in 1965 from the original mold by Paul Lauritz Rasmussen (financed by Danish people).

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River roughly 260 kilometres (160 mi) from the Baltic Sea and 300 kilometres (190 mi) from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of June 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855, and the Warsaw metropolitan area at approximately 2,631,902. The area of the city covers 516.9 square kilometres (199.6 sq mi), while the city's agglomeration covers 6,100.43 square kilometres (2,355.39 sq mi) (Warsaw Metro Area – Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy). Warsaw is the 9th largest city in the European Union by population.
"Warszawianka" is widely considered the unofficial anthem of Warsaw. On 9 November 1940 the City of Warsaw was awarded the Silver Cross of Poland's supreme military decoration for courage in the face of the enemy, the Order Virtuti Militari for the heroic defence in 1939.
Warsaw is also known as the "phoenix city", as it recovered from extensive damage during World War II (during which 80% of its buildings were destroyed), being rebuilt with the effort of Polish citizens. Warsaw has given its name to the Warsaw Confederation, Warsaw Pact, the Duchy of Warsaw, Warsaw Convention, Treaty of Warsaw, Warsaw Uprising and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. (Source: Warsaw-life & wikipedia)