Visiting Warsaw – a few beautiful and forgotten places
Warsaw is a beautiful city, full of places with an immense history. Some of them are kept in excellent condition and are thus often visited by tourists. Others have been forgotten and have worn out after some time, but they once enjoyed a fair reputation. This article will focus precisely on such places. Perhaps when deciding to visit Warsaw you will choose to check them out! We highly encourage you to do so. Our top recommendations are listed below.
Visiting Warsaw – forgotten places that are worth seeing
- The Abram Wlodawer tenement house, on Lucka 8 street – is a building from the late nineteenth century. It is one of the first brick apartment buildings that were built in this area. The building is thus marked as one of the oldest apartments in the area, untouched by World War II, and ultimately preserved in a very good condition. Currently the building serves as council apartments.
- Warsaw’s photo technical firms e.g “Foton” are located at Wolska 45 street – anyone who decides to visit Warsaw should direct their steps to this place, where in 1888 Peter Lebiedziński started the famous production of photosensitive materials. Unfortunately, the place was destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising, and all machinery that was located in his area was exported to Germany. Interestingly, the factory was continuously operated during the German occupation, and specialised in the production of watermarked papers.
- The tannery factory Temler and Szwede located Okopowa 78 street – is a company founded in the early nineteenth century. It was one of the largest in Polish Kingdom back then. The company belonged to a settler John Gottfried Temler, and in later years was inherited by his sons, who have entered into partnership with Louis Szwede. Hence the double name of the factory. It is worth to check the place out during a tour of Warsaw, because the factory was not only popular in Poland, but also beyond the borders of the country. It was a firm which effectively functioned right up until World War II and even through the years of communism. Now it is a deserted place, which unfortunately does not represent the old days of its former glory.
- The Leib Osmos building, which you can find at Twarda 28 Street – it is a tenement building, built in the early twentieth century. Shortly after World War II, many Jews occupied its housing. The building survived in a fairly good condition. Many years ago the building functioned as a dairy and butchers shop, as well as a barber shop.
- Nuclear Command centre, located at the Kampinoska forests – anyone who decides to visit Warsaw is highly recommended to visit this place too. It is a military facility, whose construction started in case of an event of a nuclear war, but up until today it has not been completed. It has an area of 11 hectares, of which 1 hectare of land was intended for defensive purposes, and the rest has been designated as protection of the secret zone. The place was built in the 1960s-80s. On its site you can find, a two-level tactical hall, as well as various water navigation locks.
- The Cereal factories of Białołęka, located at Płochocińska 65 Street – is a complex set of buildings, which were built in the 1970s. They specialised in the extensive production of flour. Of course, now the factory is closed, and the several other smaller companies work on its site, however the buildings themselves have been preserved in fairly good condition. The building contains various specialised facilities and interiors, as well as extensive underground systems.
- The Pollena-Beauty cosmetics factory located at Szwecka Street – it is a factory which was created in the late nineteenth century. However, was almost completely destroyed during World War II. Immediately after the war, the building was renovated and a new production of cosmetics and cleaning products was started. In 2005 the place was assigned an antique building status. It is worth to see this place when visiting Warsaw in order to realise how the brew houses, boiler tubes and many other facilities once worked, because the buildings have been preserved in an excellent condition.
- Prudential Hotel – this is our last recommendation when visiting Warsaw. Currently, it in the process of repair and renovation. In 2010 the building was purchased for 38 million euros! Once abandoned and now it is to become a prestigious hotel in Warsaw, offering five-star standards. Unfortunately it isn’t clear when the works will finish, but when that happens, without a doubt it will be one of the finest hotels in the country.
