Żoliborz () is one of the northern

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

of the city 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 ...

. It is located directly to the north of the

City Centre A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the Commerce, commercial, Culture, cultural and often the historical, Politics, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely e ...

, on the left bank of the

Vistula 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 i ...

river. It has approximately 50,000 inhabitants and is one of the smallest boroughs of Warsaw. Despite its small size, the district has many green areas and mostly consists of low-rise architecture. Historically an upscale neighborhood and home to Warsaw's

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

prior to

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 ...

, Żoliborz is the second most expensive residential district in Warsaw after Śródmieście.

History

In the 18th century the area belonged to the

Piarists The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...

of a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

in the nearby city of Warsaw. The

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

s started to parcel the grounds and allowed for the creation of various settlements on their fields, which were parceled between several villages. One of them was named ''Joli Bord'' (''Beautiful Embankment'' in French, which was later transcribed to

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

as Żoliborz). After 1831, the area was confiscated by

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

authorities, who erected the

Warsaw Citadel Warsaw Citadel (Polish language, Polish: Cytadela Warszawska) is a 19th-century fortress in Warsaw, Poland. It was built by order of Tsar Nikolay I of Russia, Nicholas I after the suppression of the 1830 November Uprising in order to bolster im ...

there. The area was mostly unpopulated and even after the ban on construction of brick-made houses was lifted, it retained much of its rural character. After Poland regained its independence in 1918, the city of Warsaw started to grow rapidly and new areas were needed. In the 1920s, the area of Żoliborz was converted into a borough of Warsaw and the construction of new houses started. Until the late 1930s part of today's Żoliborz was built-up with houses notable for their

modernist architecture Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural architectural movement, movement and architectural style, style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco Architectu ...

. Open areas, parks and squares built there are regarded as fine examples of good urbanist architecture. Also, a so-called Żoliborz Oficerski (''Officers' Żoliborz'') was built up with villas for the officers of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

and other notable people of the epoch. Several star-shaped squares were built along the main axis of the borough, with the

Plac Wilsona Thomas Woodrow Wilson Square (), also simply known as Wilson Square (), is an urban square and a roundabout in Warsaw, Poland, within the district of Żoliborz. It forms a roundabout at the intersection of Mickiewicza, Krasińskiego, and Słowac ...

as the borough's centre and main transport hub. 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 ...

, one of the first struggles took part in Żoliborz. After the Polish resistance was defeated by Nazi German forces, Żoliborz was spared the fate of the rest of Warsaw and survived the war with less damage than many other areas. The district has traditionally been where the intelligentsia live. The names of its estates: Żoliborz Dziennikarski (Journalists’ Żoliborz), Żoliborz Oficerski (Officers' Żoliborz), Żoliborz Urzędniczy (Clerks’ Żoliborz) are derived from the former inhabitants professions. Żoliborz has a lot of beautiful architecture: charming old villas and colonies - properties built in the 1930s by the socialist Warsaw Housing Cooperative (WSM), which used to have common laundries, kindergartens and dining-rooms. The main site of interest in Żoliborz is St. Stanislaus Kostka Church with the

tomb of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko The tomb of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko () is a monumental grave marker of the Polish priest Jerzy Popiełuszko, designed by Jerzy Kalina, located in Warsaw. Popiełuszko was to be buried in the Powązki Cemetery. However, the parish pries ...

, which during the last 30 years has been visited by approximately 20,000,000 people (among them

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

Neighbourhoods

According to the

's street marking system, Żoliborz can be further divided into three neighbourhoods: * Marymont-Potok * Sady Żoliborskie * Stary Żoliborz

Notable people connected with Żoliborz

The list features individuals who were either born or lived in Żoliborz: * Alina Janowska, actress * Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann, painter *

Jarosław Kaczyński Jarosław Aleksander Kaczyński (born 18 June 1949) is a Polish politician. He co-founded the Law and Justice (PiS) party in 2001 with his twin brother, Lech Kaczyński, and has served as its leader since 2003. He served as Prime Minister of Pola ...

, politician and lawyer,

Prime Minister of Poland A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only wa ...

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 ...

, politician and lawyer,

Mayor of Warsaw The Mayor of Warsaw (officially in ) is the head of the executive of the capital of Poland elected directly during local elections for a term of five years. Overview The first city mayor of Warsaw was Jan Andrzej Menich (1695–1696). Th ...

President of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executive ...

Zofia Merle Zofia Merle (30 March 1938 – 13 December 2023) was a Polish character actress. She made over 75 appearances in film and television. She starred in the 1978 comedy film ''What Will You Do When You Catch Me?''. Merle died on 13 December 2023, at ...

, actress *

Grzegorz Miecugow Grzegorz Miecugow (22 November 1955 – 26 August 2017) was a Polish media personality of Armenian- Georgian descent. He had an extensive career as a journalist, newscaster, editor, and columnist. Career He was born on 22 November 1955 in Krak ...

, journalist, television personality *

Ewa Milewicz Ewa Milewicz (born in 1948) is a Polish print journalist currently working for Gazeta Wyborcza. Milewicz holds a degree in Law from the University of Warsaw The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public university, public research university in ...

, journalist *

Czesław Niemen Czesław Niemen (; born Czesław Juliusz Wydrzycki; February 16, 1939 – January 17, 2004), occasionally credited mononymously as Niemen, was one of the most important and innovative Polish singer-songwriters and rock balladeers of the 20th cen ...

, musical artist, regarded as one of the most influential Polish singer-songwriters and rock balladeers of the 20th century *

Muniek Staszczyk Zygmunt Marek "Muniek" Staszczyk (born 5 November 1963 in Częstochowa) is a Polish vocalist, founder, bandleader, and initially also bassist of T.Love. He was also one of two Record producer, producers of ''I Hate Rock'n'Roll'', the 2006 T.Love ...

, singer *

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...

, film and theatre director * Wojciech Zabłocki, architect and fencer * Barbara Zbrożyna, sculptor * Maciej Zembaty, artist, writer and comedian

Historical and notable sights

Tomb of Blessed Father Jerzy Popiełuszko * Churches and temples: ** Monastery and School of Sisters of the Resurrection ** Church of Lady Queen of Poland ** St. Stanislaus Kostka Church ** Infant Jesus Church ** St. John Cantius Church * Cemeteries: **

Powązki Military Cemetery Powązki Military Cemetery (; ) is an old military cemetery located in the Żoliborz district, western part of Warsaw, Poland. The cemetery is often confused with the older Powązki Cemetery, known colloquially as "Old Powązki". The Old Pową ...

* Monuments: ** Polish 1st Armoured Division Monument at Inwalidów Square ** Haller's 'Blue Army' Monument at Grunwald Square ** Monument to AK soldiers fallen in the attack on Gdańsk Station ** Monument to the Volhynia 27th Home Army Infantry Division ** Priest Jerzy Popiełuszo Monument at Krasińskiego Street (corner of ks. J. Popiełuszki Street) **

Stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

commemorating Priest Roman Indrzejczyk at Inwalidów Square ** Witold Pilecki Monument at al. Wojska Polskiego * Memorials ** Memorial stone devoted to

Jacek Kuroń Jacek Jan Kuroń (; 3 March 1934 – 17 June 2004) was one of the democratic leaders of opposition in the People's Republic of Poland. He was widely known as the "godfather of the Polish opposition," not unlike Václav Havel in Czechoslovakia. Kur ...

in Stefan Żeromski Park ** Plaque at Wybrzeże Gdyńskie Street commemorating soldiers 2nd Warsaw Infantry Division First Polish Army fallen during fighting for bridgeheads during

** The monument of the Sub-district II of Żoliborz ''„ Żywiciela”'' at ks. J. Popiełuszki Street ** Mural at Marii Kazimiery Street commemorating

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

visiting Żoliborz. The British artist stayed in Warsaw in 1976 during a trip from Zurich to Moscow. Unnoticed by the crowd, he bought a vinyl record of the Śląsk Song and Dance Ensemble at Wilson Square (then Plac Komuny Square). That was an inspiration for the song

Warszawa Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a greate ...

from the album

Low Low or LOW or lows, may refer to: People * Low (surname), listing people surnamed Low Places * Low, Quebec, Canada * Low, Utah, United States * Lo Wu station (MTR code LOW), Hong Kong; a rail station * Salzburg Airport (ICAO airport code: LO ...

. After the musician's death, a mural was created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the visit. * Others **

*** X Pawilonu Museum *** Sokolnicki's Fort ***

Polish Army Museum Museum of the Polish Army () is a museum in Warsaw documenting the military history of Poland. Established in 1920 under the Second Polish Republic, it formerly occupied a wing of the building of the Polish National Museum and now occupies a bui ...

*** Museum of Polish History *** Katyń Museum ** Museum of Sport and Tourism * Culture ** Biblioteka Publiczna w Dzielnicy Żoliborz m.st. Warszawy (local library) ** Komedia Theatre ** Wisła Cinema ** Trzyrzecze Theatre

References

External links