New Town, historically known as New Warsaw, is a

neighbourhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

, and an area of the City Information System, in 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 ...

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 ...

, located within the district of Śródmieście. The town of New Warsaw had been established in the early 15th century, being located to the north from Old Warsaw. In 1791, it had been incorporated into the city of Warsaw.

History

The

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

of the New Town was formed at the turn of the 14th century as an independent city. The official recognition of the New Town occurred in 1408, when it was separated from the Old Town by an act issued by Janusz I the Old, Duke of Masovia. At that time the new city encompassed the territory of the New Town Market Square and streets - ''Freta, Kościelna, Koźla, Przyrynek, Stara'' and ''Zakroczymska''. It was independent from the Old Town authorities and had its own

vogt An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...

, council and a

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

. In 1411 the Parish Church of St. Mary was erected, and according to the 1546 mensuration there were 204 estates in the Warsaw New Town. The largest investment of that time was the

Sigismund Augustus Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...

bridge built between 1568 and 1573 by Erazm Cziotko (c. long). Unfortunately it was destroyed in 1603 by the drifting ice floes. The disastrous time of the Swedish-

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

ian invasion (1655–1660), left the predominantly timber buildings of the New Town burned, but because of those events many beautiful and more permanent buildings were erected (the Town Hall, built in 1680; St. Kazimierz Church, 1688–1692; the

Kotowski Palace The Kotowski Palace () was a 17th-century palace in Warsaw, Poland. It served as the main cloister building for the Benedictine Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. History The palace was built some time between 1682 and 1684 for Adam Kotowski, the r ...

, 1682–1684; the Holy Spirit Church, 1707–1717; and the ornate chapel of the Kotowski family, constructed between 1691 and 1694) by the most prominent Warsaw architects (especially Tylman Gamerski). After 1791, due to the tenets of the

Constitution of May 3, 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising ...

, the New Town was incorporated into the city of Warsaw. That is why the Town Hall was pulled down in 1818. 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 ...

(1 August – 2 October 1944) the New Town was completely destroyed due to the extensive

bombardment A bombardment is an attack by artillery fire or by dropping bombs from aircraft on fortifications, combatants, or cities and buildings. Prior to World War I, the term was only applied to the bombardment of defenseless or undefended obje ...

of the insurgent positions by the Germans. Many historic edifices, that served as

hospital A hospital is a healthcare institution providing patient treatment with specialized Medical Science, health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically ...

s and

shelter A shelter is an architectural structure or natural formation (or a combination of the two) providing protection from the local environment. A shelter can serve as a home or be provided by a residential institution. It can be understood as both ...

s for the inhabitants were razed to the ground. The reconstruction of the New Town begun in 1954. However, some of the significant buildings were not restored by the Communist authorities (e.g.,

Symbols

As a separate territorial entity, the New Town was using its own seal with a coat of arms. A version known from 1648 features a female figure and a

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since Classical antiquity, antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn (anatomy), horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unico ...

standing on its back feet. It can be found in the Central Archive of Historical Records. The inscription in the rim is in Latin: "SIGILLUM * NOVA * CIVITATIS * VARSCHOVIENSIS". In the Middle Ages, the image of a virgin with a unicorn on her knees was a frequent motif of Christian art as a symbol of the Blessed

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, and the unicorn itself symbolized

Christ Jesus ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the M ...

. After the incorporation of the New Town into Warsaw, the Warsaw Mermaid began to be used as the coat of arms. The image of a girl with a unicorn can still be found in the main square, it decorates the top of the well in front of the St. Kazimierz Church. An eclectic cast-iron well from the second half of the nineteenth century set up there around 1957.

Gallery

Historical images

Image:Bellotto New Town Market Square.jpg, ''The New Town by

Bernardo Bellotto Bernardo Bellotto (c. 1721/2 or 30 January 172117 November 1780), was an Italians, Italian urban Landscape art, landscape Painting, painter or ''vedutista'', and printmaker in etching famous for his Veduta, ''vedute'' of European cities – Dr ...

'' Image:Ratusz New Town.jpg, ''The Nowe Miasto Town Hall in 1784'' Image:Norblin Warsaw New city Square.jpg, ''The New Town by Jan Piotr Norblin''

Churches

Image:Kościół Nawiedzenia Najświętszej Marii Panny - 02.jpg, ''

St. Mary's Church St. Mary's Church, St. Mary the Virgin's Church, St. Mary Church, Saint Mary Church, or other variations on the name, is a commonly used name for specific churches of various Christian denominations. Notable uses of the term may refer to: Albania ...

, 1411''"Kościoły w Warszawie - Nowe Miasto"
. List of churches located in the New Town in Warsaw. Image:Kościół św. Jacka w Warszawie 2020.jpg, '' St. Hyacinth's Church, 1603-1639'' Image:Kościól Świętego Benona w Warszawie.jpg, ''St. Benno Church, 1669'' Image:Saint Kazimierz Church in Warsaw - New Town.jpg, '' St. Kazimierz Church, 1688-1692'' Image:Kościół św. Ducha w Warszawie.jpg, ''Holy Spirit Church, 1717'' Image:Kościół św. Franciszka w Warszawie 2021.jpg, ''St. Francis Church, 1733''

Others

Image:VarsaviaVecchiaPolveriera.jpg, '' Old Bridge Gate, 1582'' Image:Pałac Sapiehów w Warszawie elewacja frontowa 20202.jpg, '' Sapieha Palace, 1731-36'' Image:Pałac Sierakowskiego w Warszawie 2019.jpg, ''Sierakowski Palace, 1784'' Image:Pałac Raczyńskich w Warszawie 2023.jpg, ''Raczyński Palace, 1786'' Image:Historyczne centrum warszawy.png, ''The historical center of Warsaw'' Well at Rynek Nowego Miasta.png, ''The unicorn well at the main square''

Notes

References

External links

The New Town
{{Neighbourhoods of Śródmieście, Warsaw Neighbourhoods of Śródmieście, Warsaw Rebuilt buildings and structures in Warsaw 1408 establishments in Europe Populated places established in the 1400s ! Former towns in Poland