Ujazdów Avenue () is a major thoroughfare parallel to the

Vistula River The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra ...

in the

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

district of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

History

The Avenue's origins date to 1724–31, when King

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the H ...

ordered the construction of a Calvary Road (''Droga Kalwaryjska''). By 1766 the route was part of the Royal Route as Belweder Avenue, leading to the Belweder Palace. In the second half of the 19th century, a number of Polish aristocrats' and industrialists' villas and palaces were built along the route. Following the restoration of Polish independence in 1918, the majority of these houses and mansions were transformed into foreign embassies. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

under the Nazi occupation, it was planned to be transformed into a German district, according to the so-called

Pabst Plan The Pabst Plan (, "New German city of Warsaw") was a Nazi German urban plan to reconstruct the city of Warsaw as a Nazi model city. Named after its creator Friedrich Pabst, :pl:Friedrich Pabst the Nazis' "Chief Architect for Warsaw", the plan a ...

.Aleje Ujazdowskie
at the official website of the Capital City of Warsaw Nazi authorities renamed the avenue ''Lindenallee'', and later ''Siegenallee''. On 1 February 1944, Franz Kutschera, the SS Police Chief in German-occupied Warsaw was assassinated by members of the Polish resistance outside Ujazdów Avenue number 23 - an action known as

Operation Kutschera Operation Kutschera was the code name for the Polish resistance's assassination of Austrian Nazi Franz Kutschera, SS and Reich's Police Chief in German-occupied Warsaw, outside his office on his way to work. After being tried in absentia b ...

. During the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

in 1944, the street and the surrounding buildings were mostly destroyed, however the majority of the historical residences and some tenements along the route survived.Aleje Ujazdowskie
at the official website of Śródmieście district In the war's aftermath, the avenue experienced massive reconstruction, with works lasting until 1955. In 1953, following the death of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

, authorities renamed the thoroughfare as ''Stalin Avenue (Aleja Stalina)''. Three years later during the

Polish October The Polish October ( ), also known as the Polish thaw or Gomułka's thaw, also "small stabilization" () was a change in the politics of the Polish People's Republic that occurred in October 1956. Władysław Gomułka was appointed First Secretar ...

, a period of

de-Stalinization De-Stalinization () comprised a series of political reforms in the Soviet Union after Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, the death of long-time leader Joseph Stalin in 1953, and Khrushchev Thaw, the thaw brought about by ascension of Nik ...

, the avenue's traditional name was restored. In September 1994, as part of the Royal Route, Ujazdów Avenue was included in Poland's official national List of Historical Monuments by President

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as the president of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 Polish presidential election, 1990 election, Wałę ...

. In 2009, Ujazdów Avenue underwent a complete renovation, with the planting of new trees, the complete reconstruction of

sidewalks A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English, South African English), or footpath (Irish English, Indian English, Australian English, New Zealand English) is a path along the side of a road. Usually constructed of concrete ...

bus turnout A bus turnout, bus pullout, bus bay, bus lay-by (UK), or off-line bus stop is a designated spot on the side of a road where buses or trams may pull out of the flow of traffic to pick up and drop off passengers. It is often indented into the si ...

s, and creating

bike paths A bike path or a cycle path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or " ...

for the route.

Location

Located in the Śródmieście district, Ujazdów Avenue begins at Belweder Street and runs for 1.6 km to

Three Crosses Square Three Crosses Square ( ), also known as Triple Cross Square, is an urban square and a road junction in the central district of Warsaw, Poland. It lies on the Royal Route and links Nowy Świat (New World) Street, to the north, with Ujazdów A ...

. The contemporary avenue is surrounded by many notable historical villas, parks and palaces, as well as politically important buildings. Notable landmarks along Ujazdów include the Chancellery of the Prime Minister,

Ujazdów Castle Ujazdów Castle () is a castle in the historic Ujazdów district, between Ujazdów Park (''Park Ujazdowski'') and the Royal Baths Park (''Łazienki Królewskie''), in Warsaw, Poland. Its beginnings date to the 13th century, and it was rebuilt s ...

Ujazdów Park Ujazdów Park () is one of the most picturesque parks of Warsaw, Poland. It borders '' Aleje Ujazdowskie'' (Ujazdów Avenue), with its many embassies and Sejm building. History From the late Middle Ages the area had been occupied by the vill ...

Łazienki Park Łazienki Park, or the Royal Baths Park (), is the largest park in Warsaw, Poland, occupying 76 hectares of the city center. The park-and-palace complex lies in the Downtown, Warsaw, Downtown district, on Ujazdów Avenue, which is part of the Roy ...

, the Botanical Gardens, the

Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, St. Alexander's Church and several embassies, including those of

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

and

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

. In addition to street traffic, Ujazdów is also used for ceremonial purposes as a

military parade A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as Drill team, drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the ...

route during

Armed Forces Day An Armed Forces Day, alongside its Military branch, branch-specific variants often referred to as Army or Soldier's Day, Navy or Sailor's Day, and Air Force or Aviator's Day, is a holiday dedicated to honoring the Military, armed forces, o ...

, held annually on 15 August.

Image gallery

File:Palac Sobanskich Wwa Ujazdowskie.JPG,

Sobański Palace The Sobański Palace (Polish: ''Pałac Sobańskich w Guzowie'') is a Renaissance Revival palace built in 1880 and located in Guzów, Żyrardów County, Mazovian Voivodeship, Poland. The palace served as a residence of such prominent Polish noble f ...

File:Gmach Kancelarii Prezesa Rady Ministrów kwiecień 2017.jpg, The Chancellery File:Aleje Ujazdowskie 23 Warszawa 04.jpg, Leszczyński Palace File:5 Warszawa 114.jpg,

File:Front facade of the Ujazdów Castle, Warsaw, 2019.jpg,

File:Chopin denkmal wwa.jpeg, Chopin Statue File:American Embassy in Warsaw 1939 (cropped).jpg, American embassy in Warsaw during German air raid in September 1939. File:Polish president with army.PNG, President

Lech Kaczyński Lech Aleksander Kaczyński (; 18 June 194910 April 2010) was a Polish politician who served as the city mayor of Warsaw from 2002 until 2005, and as President of Poland from 2005 until his death in 2010 in an air crash. The aircraft carrying ...

reviewing troops on Ujazdów Avenue during

in 2007 File:Budynek przy Alejach Ujazdowskich 51 w Warszawie 2024.jpg, Dom Dochodowy building, seat of the Embassy of

File:Ujazd5DSC 0934.JPG, The official embassy of

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

File:Pałac Karnickich Ujazdowskie 39 a.jpg, The German Historical Institute of Warsaw

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ujazdow Avenue Streets in Warsaw Śródmieście Południowe Ujazdów, Warsaw

History

Location

Image gallery

See also

References