Plac Konstytucji (Polish pronunciation: ), or Constitution Square in English, is a major square situated in the central Śródmieście district of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Overview

The square was constructed in the initial

post-war In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...

years on the Marszałkowska street as a main element of

social realist Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...

urban project, based on the designs of Jankowski, Knothe, Sigalin and Stępiński. Together with the

Palace of Culture and Science A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

it was the main architectural social realist investment of Warsaw in 1949–1956. Its name comes from the Stalinist constitution adopted in communist Poland in July 1952. Architects envisaged the square to be the final point of First of May parades. In 1999 a group headed by the Polish deputy foreign minister,

Radosław Sikorski Radosław Tomasz "Radek" Sikorski (; born 23 February 1963) is a Polish politician and journalist who is a Member of the European Parliament. He was Marshal of the Sejm from 2014 to 2015 and Minister of Foreign Affairs in Donald Tusk's cabinet ...

launched a campaign to rename the square after former U.S. president

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

. The campaign was unsuccessful and the square is one of the last in the capital linked to the Communist period. Subsequently, the Warsaw authorities installed a plaque on the square explaining it is named after the many constitutions enacted in Polish history.

Overview

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