Communism in Warsaw – 2 hour walk with English speaking guide
#Guide in Warsaw #Local tour guide in Warszawa #Private tour guide in Warsaw #local guide in Warszawa #tourist guide in Warsaw
You will be picked up at your hotel if it is nearby. Otherwise, we meet at Rondo de Gaulle. It is the intersection of Aleje Jerozolimskie and ulica Nowy Świat. The exact address is Nowy Świat 8. Here we meet under the statue of General de Gaulle.
1. Party House – Centre of truth under communism
We start by looking at the Party House or White House, which was the headquarters of the Communist Party after World War II and up until 1989. Here we talk about how the Soviet Union came to dominate Poland after WWII. I also talk about the first referendums and the Polish model, which anticipated a certain pluralism.
2. The New World – the road to Old Town: Socialism & polishness
We continue down Nowy Świat Street (New World), where we talk about how efforts were made to combine national Polishness with socialism in architecture.
3. Music conservatory with singing shapes
We continue down a side street and see a concrete house from the 1970s. Then the Conservatory of Music, an intriguing building built after Stalin’s death that would not have been to his liking. Along the way, we can’t help but talk about Chopin, who was also embraced by the communists.
4. Palace of Culture – a palace in honour of the working people or a temple in honour of Stalin?
Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. The Palace of Culture was Stalin’s ‘gift’ to the Polish people, but in reality it symbolised the dominance of the Soviet Union. We walk around the building and look inside, where I talk about living conditions during the different periods of communism.
5. Cars in the communist era – this is a Cucumber
When leaving the Palace of Culture we look at cars and buses from the Polish People’s Republic.
6. History of the destruction and surviving buildings in Warsaw
Across the street, we look at surviving buildings from before World War II, that the communists wanted to demolish, but which the residents began to restore themselves. With an extreme housing shortage, it was impossible to prevent them from doing so.
7. Three communist gems – Architecture of power
Next, we look at three gems from the first years after WWII. The first seat of government after 1945, the Warsaw City Centre District Court and finally the palatial Ministry of Agriculture.
8. Constitution Square – palaces for working people
We walk a short distance to Constitution Square (Pl. Konstytucji), which was the prestige project of socialist architecture. Here I explain the idea behind the construction, we look at the reliefs in the wall and talk about how they got the building materials for the projects.
9. Museum of Life in the Polish People’s Republic = empty shops and censorship
We end the tour at a cosy little museum of the Polish People’s Republic. Here you have the opportunity to continue exploring communist Poland on your own. The ticket costs 28 zlotys per person or 20 zlotys if there are at least 11 participants. As I said, it’s not a big museum and it won’t take you more than an hour to see it all. Part of the exhibition is about the oppression and resistance, while part is actually a retro tour where older visitors will remember the same vacuum cleaners, radios and televisions from their childhood.
You have the option to continue the communist tour on your own with a visit to the museum.
Write to me at m@hardenfelt.pl to arrange a guided tour in Warsaw