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Praga is a 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 ...
. It is on the east bank of the river
Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter.


History

The historical Praga was a small settlement located at the eastern bank of the
Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...
river, directly opposite the towns of Old Warsaw and Mariensztat, both being parts of Warsaw now. First mentioned in 1432, it derived its name from the Polish verb ''prażyć'', meaning ''to burn'' or ''to roast'', as it occupied a forested area that was burnt out to make place for the village. Separated from Warsaw by a wide river, it developed independently of the nearby city, and on 10 February 1648 king Władysław IV of Poland granted Praga with a city charter. However, as it was mostly a suburb and most buildings were wooden, the town was repeatedly destroyed by fires, floods and foreign armies. Currently the only surviving historical monument from that epoch is the Church of Our Lady of Loreto. Although there were numerous attempts to build a permanent bridge across the river, none succeeded and Praga remained a separate entity well into the 18th century. Communication between the capital and Praga was maintained by privately run ferries and, in the winter, over the ice. Finally, in 1791, during the reign of
Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarc ...
, Praga was attached to Warsaw as a
borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...
. The Battle of Praga, or the Battle of Warsaw, was a Russian assault during the
Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the P ...
in 1794. It was followed by a massacre in which over 20,000 inhabitants of the Praga district lost their lives. Unlike the central parts of Warsaw, Praga remained relatively untouched during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
and in the postwar period of reconstruction, the capital was home to many ministries and public facilities. Because of the traditional separate status of Praga, there are two Catholic dioceses in Warsaw: '' Archdiocese of Warsaw'' with St. John's Cathedral and '' Diocese of Warsaw-Praga'' with
St. Florian's Cathedral St. Florian's Cathedral, more formally known as the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian the Martyr ( pl, Katedra Świętego Michała Archanioła i Świętego Floriana), is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated ...
. The derelict district experienced a revival following the end of Communism in 1989, as young artists moved into many of the former factory buildings, drawing crowds in search of something different from the Old Town. The increasing popularity of the area helped to change it into one of Poland's and Europe's creative hubs as it has been described as one of the "trendiest neighbourhood across Europe". In 2011 the local
Monument to Brotherhood in Arms The Monument to Brotherhood in Arms ( pl, Pomnik Braterstwa Broni) was erected in in Warsaw's Praga district, in 1945, to commemorate the joint fight of Polish and Soviet soldiers against Nazi Germany. In 2011, it was temporarily taken down duri ...
was taken down; in 2015 this decision was made permanent.


Administrative division

Currently Praga is administratively divided into: * Praga-Północ (Praga North) * Praga-Południe (Praga South) Praga-Południe and Praga-Północ include neighborhoods of: * Saska Kępa * Grochów * Szmulowizna * Gocław * Kamionek In the wider sense, all areas of Warsaw located on the right bank of Vistula are also known under the collective term of Praga. Besides historical Praga, they include: * Białołęka *
Rembertów Rembertów () is a district of the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Between 1939 and 1957 Rembertów was a separate town, after which it was incorporated as part of the borough of Praga-Południe. Between 1994 and 2002 it formed a separate ...
* Targówek * Wawer *
Wesoła Wesoła () is one of the districts of Warsaw, and has been as such since October 27, 2002. Wesoła is located in the south-eastern part of city. Wesoła received town privileges on December 17, 1968. Then, the town included Wola Grzybowska, We ...


Tourist attractions

* Praga Park *
Warsaw Zoo The Warsaw Zoological Garden, known simply as the Warsaw Zoo ( pl, Miejski Ogród Zoologiczny w Warszawie ), is a scientific zoo located alongside the Vistula River in Warsaw, Poland. The zoo covers about in central Warsaw, and sees over 700,000 ...
* Museum of Praga * Neon Museum in Warsaw * Praga Koneser Center * Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene


References


External links

{{Authority control History of Warsaw Geography of Warsaw