According to pharmacylib, Warsaw, Polish Warszawa [var ʃ ava], is the capital of Poland, and administrative center of the Mazovia province, on the Vistula (2017) 1.76 million residents in the greater Warsaw about 3.1 million residents.
Warsaw extends to around 517 km 2 at 90–115 m above sea level on both sides of the Vistula. It is the largest city in Poland in terms of area and population. The historic city center is located on the western high bank. Administratively, the city is divided into 18 districts.
Administrative and cultural institutions
The highest government and administrative authorities in the country are concentrated in Warsaw: the seat of the President, the Parliament (Sejm) and the highest judicial institutions. Warsaw is the seat of the European Border and Coast Guard Agencyas well as a Catholic archbishop, a Catholic and a Protestant bishop. The city is home to numerous scientific institutions, e. B. the Polish Academy of Sciences, the University (founded in 1816), a Technical University, Medical University, Economic University, furthermore the Catholic Theological University, the Natural Science University, the Sports University, the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, the Academy of Art and other academies as well as many research institutes and scientific societies.
In Warsaw there are around 30 larger museums (including the National Museum), the National Library, a Goethe Institute, many archives and publishers, several theaters, especially the opera (“Great Theater”), a philharmonic, zoological and botanical gardens as well as monuments ( including the »Warsaw Mermaid« depicted on the city’s coat of arms as a symbol of the city) and memorials (e.g. the monument to the Warsaw Uprising). The annual book fairs, the International Chopin Competition (every five years) and the International Festival for Contemporary Music »Warsaw Autumn« also have international rank.
Economy
Warsaw is the most important Polish economic and industrial center. The industry is mainly concentrated in the districts near the Vistula (e.g. Praga-Południe, Praga-Północ, Żoliborz and Mokotów). The most important industries include machine and device construction, electrotechnical-electronic, pharmaceutical, optical industry, tractor and vehicle construction, food and clothing industry; graphic, advertising and design-oriented trade, information technology, an extensive service sector. During the 1990s Warsaw developed into an important banking, stock exchange and financial center in East Central Europe, with private business-related services enjoying an extraordinary boom. Since the 1990s, there has been a strong development of the city, especially in the city center.
Transportation
Warsaw is the most important Polish transport hub (five train stations, including the underground central station built 1972-75); Ports on the Vistula and on the 18 km long Narew Canal (Kanał Żerański). In 1995 the first underground line was opened in Warsaw; 2015 opening of a second line. S-Bahn trains have also been running since 2005, and in 2012 it was expanded to four lines. The Chopin International Airport is located in the southwest of the city. The second Warsaw-Modlin International Airport was opened in 2012, 50 kilometers northwest of the Polish capital.
History
Warsaw, in the 13th century next to a Duke of Mazovia castle on the site of the fishing village Warszowa [var ʃ ɔ va] originated, received around 1,339 German town charter. In 1408 the construction of the new town (Nowe Miasto) began. 1413–1526 the capital of the Duchy of Mazovia, Warsaw became the Polish crown possession in 1526, and has been the permanent meeting place of the Polish Diet (Sejm) since 1569. From 1573 the elections for kings took place here. In 1596 the Polish kings moved their residence from Krakow to Warsaw. After a decline at the end of the 17th century (1655–57 Swedish occupations and sieges), the city experienced in the 18th century under the Wettins August II and August III. as well as under Stanislaus II August a cultural bloom. With the 3rd partition of Poland (1795) Warsaw fell to Prussia and, although it sank to a provincial town, it was able to maintain its cultural significance. 1807-15 Warsaw was the capital of the Duchy of Warsaw, then of the Congress Poland, which was linked in personal union with Russia.
In the November uprising (1830/31) and again in the January uprising (1863/64), Warsaw became the center of the national movement, after which Warsaw quickly grew into a large city (1897: 600,000 residents). Its cultural importance declined, however, because of the Russification that began after 1864 compared to Krakow and Lemberg. Warsaw was occupied by German troops in August 1915 and was the seat of the Governor General and the Regency Council established in 1917 until 1918. In 1918 Warsaw became the capital of the re-established Polish state. During the Second World War, after a three-week siege, it surrendered to the German troops on September 28, 1939 and then belonged to the Generalgouvernement.
In 1940 the German occupying power established the Jewish ghetto in the north-western center of the city: on 4 km 2, cordoned off by a wall, they forced up to 500,000 people, tens of thousands of whom died mainly of hunger and disease. After 300,000 Jews were transported to extermination camps, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (annihilation of the ghetto) broke out in 1943. An uprising by the Polish underground army in 1944 (Warsaw Uprising) failed, with the historic city center being deliberately destroyed by German troops. After the occupation of Warsaw by Polish and Soviet troops (January 17, 1945), the provisional Polish government relocated to Warsaw in February 1945.
World Heritage Sites (K) and World Natural Heritage (N)
- Krakow Old Town (K; 1978)
- Wieliczka Salt Mine (K; 1978. Expanded in 2013 to include the Bochnia Salt Mine)
- Auschwitz-Birkenau - German National Socialist Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940–1945) (K; 1979)
- Warsaw Old Town (K; 1980)
- Bialowiezer Heide National Park (N; 1992)
- Old town of Zamość (K; 1992)
- City of Toruń (Thorn) (K; 1997)
- Marienburg in Malbork (K; 1997)
- Calvary Zebrzydowska (K; 1999)
- Peace churches in Jawór (Jauer) and Świdnica (Schweidnitz) (K; 2001)
- Wooden churches in the south of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (K; 2003)
- Muskauer Park (Park Muzakowski) (K; 2004)
- Centennial Hall in Breslau (K; 2006)
- Wooden churches in the Carpathian Mountains (K; 2013)
- Lead-silver-zinc mine of Tarnowskie Góry (K; 2017)
