Got a cold people…just this visit today…..

The Saxon Garden is a 15.5 hectare public garden in central Warsaw facing Pilsudski Sq. More about Józef Piłsudski later..(#)

It is the oldest public park in the city. Founded in the late 17thC, it was opened to the public in 1727 as one of the first publicly accessible parks in the world. Before Versailles and Sissingham even!  This beautiful city-centred park was laid out by King Augustus 11 Mocny (The Strong) as a royal garden.

Initially a Baroque French-style park, in the 19thC it was turned into a Romantic English landscape park. Partially destroyed during and after the Warsaw Uprising, it was partially reconstructed after WW2.

The park has it all – shade trees, walkways, ponds, sculptures and a fountain designed by Marconi in 1855.  The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier can be found at the edge of the park.  On the park grounds, is a statue of Stefan Starzynski, the city’s mayor during World War II who died in the Dachau concentration camp. More about Stefan later (##)….

My Father’s and uncle’s apartment buildings on Krolewska (Queen St) faced onto the park in the early 20thC. Would have been a stylish area to live in. Now selling @ 30,000-50,000 zloty or $11,000-$18,000 AUS per sq metre for land price!!!

(#) Józef Piłsudski,  5 /12/1867 – 12/5/1935,  was a  Polish statesman; he was Chief of Staff (1918–22).  From mid-World War I he had a major influence in Poland’s politics, and was an important figure on the European political scene. He was the person most responsible for the creation of the Second Polish Republic in 1918, 123 years after it had been taken over by Russia, Austria and Prussia. 

Piłsudski believed in a multicultural Poland – a home of nations, recognizing numerous ethnic and religious nationalities and finally existing in strong historical alliance with independent states of Lithuania and Ukraine.  Early in his political career, Piłsudski became a leader of the Polish Socialist Party.   In 1923, with the government dominated by his opponents, he withdrew from active politics. Three years later, he returned to power with the May 1926 coup d’etat and became, in practice a military dictator of Poland. From then until his death in 1935, he concerned himself primarily with military and foreign affairs.

Between 1945 and 1989, Piłsudski’s person and his record were one of the multiple topics forbidden by the Polish communist regime.

(##) Stefan Starzyński : In the early 1930s Warsaw had a huge hole in its budget. The city’s development had been halted by a lack of funds while the population continued to grow rapidly. On August 1, 1934, Starzyński was chosen to become the president of Warsaw, and was given special powers. Local authorities were disbanded and Starzyński became responsible only to the central government.   Starzyński initiated a plan for fast-track reform of the financial system. The money saved thanks to these reforms was reinvested in public works that reduced unemployment. In 1934 he was chosen as a president of Warsaw for a four-year term. On December 18, 1938 he was elected in democratic elections for his second term. Starzyński held his office until WW2 broke out.  During his presidency:

(1) Paved all the major roads out of Warsaw;

(2) 44 schools were opened;

(3) National Museum was built;

(4) 2 major parks were opened to the public (one of them is now a National Reserve); planting trees and flowers along the main streets;

(5) construction of the Warsaw Metro started.

These actions earned him the nickname “President of the suburbs”.