Warsaw is the largest city in Poland in terms of population and area, with 1850,000 inhabitants and 517 square kilometers, respectively, and since the beginning of the 17th century it has also been the capital of Poland. Considered one of the greenest cities in the world, for every inhabitant of Warsaw there are 110 square meters of greenery.
The first historical mention of Warsaw comes from the beginning of the 14th century, when it was ruled by Prince Bolesław II Mazowiecki. He established his headquarters in the western part of the city, on the banks of the Vistula River, south of the later Royal Palace.
Warsaw was united after 4 centuries of secession to the Polish Crown in 1526, after the childless death of the last prince of the Piast dynasty, Janusz.
When the Union of Lublin was established in 1569, i.e. the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Warsaw, thanks to its geographical location, being in the middle of Krakow and Vilnius, initially became a meeting place for the parliament of both countries and the Free Election. At the beginning of the 17th century, King Sigismund III Vasa finally moved the royal seat to Warsaw. Thanks to this, the city of only 4 centuries becomes the political center of a huge new state, spread over about one million square kilometers, which means rapid economic and cultural development of the city. This great progress was interrupted by the Swedish invasion in 1655, which was also the beginning of the final division of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the division of it between Russia, Prussia and Austria in 1795.
Warsaw during 123 years of partitions:
•1795-1806 during the Prussian dynasty,
•1807-1814 became the official capital of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, a puppet state of the First French Republic founded by Napoleon Bonaparte as a result of the defeat of the Prussians,
• 1815-1915, after Napoleon's final defeat, by the decision of the Congress of Vienna, Warsaw was under the Russian yoke for 100 years.
• The years 1915-1918, with the outbreak of World War I, Tsarist Russia withdrew, and Warsaw was besieged by Germany.
During 123 years of Poland's lack of independence, Warsaw remained invariably in a strong patriotic spirit, ready to fight for the restoration of its independence. When Poland finally regained its freedom in 1918, as a result of the defeat of all three conquerors at the end of World War I, it also stood on the side of an independent state.
In the years 1918-1939, between two world wars, Warsaw, as the capital of an already free country, experienced rapid development in all sectors, becoming one of the most developed cities in modern Europe.
In the horrors of World War II, its inhabitants defended themselves fiercely and constantly, without thinking about preserving their lives, fighting, the Warsaw residents organized frequent attacks against the Nazi occupation in order to liberate their homeland. Unfortunately, such an attitude made Warsaw the first victim of this disastrous war in the world. Of the 1,200,000 inhabitants in 1939, less than 300,000 remained at the end of the war. The largest number died during the Holocaust in the Jewish ghetto (1940-43), which was also the largest ghetto in this war, gathering over 350,000 people, and in the Warsaw Uprising in August-September 1944, about 200,000 inhabitants of the city lost their lives.
It can be assumed that Krakow was very lucky and did not share the happiness of Warsaw, which was almost completely destroyed. Although within 10 years Warsaw was largely reborn. To this day, he rebuilds buildings destroyed by the war.
After World War II, Poland, by virtue of allied agreements (or rather treason), came under Soviet control, becoming a member of the military coalition of the Warsaw Pact, which was signed in the Polish capital in 1955 and dissolved in the same city in 1990.
Today's Warsaw is a truly European city with all the amenities that a modern city can offer. It is the center of Eastern Europe, as most companies operating in the former Eastern Bloc countries have their headquarters in Warsaw, as one of the safest and most developed cities in this part of Europe.