Parade Square () is a square in downtown Warsaw, laying between Świętokrzyska Street to the north,

Aleje Jerozolimskie Jerusalem Avenue () is one of the principal streets of the capital city of Warsaw in Poland. It runs through the City Centre along the east–west axis, linking the western borough of Wola with the bridge on the Vistula River and the borough of ...

to the south, Marszałkowska Street to the east and the monumental

Palace of Culture and Science The Palace of Culture and Science (; abbreviated ''PKiN'') is a notable high-rise building in central Warsaw, Poland. With a total height of , it is the second tallest building in both Warsaw and Poland (after the Varso Tower), the sixth talle ...

to the west. With of extension, it is the largest city square in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and one of the largest in the world.

History

Parade Square is one of the youngest squares in Warsaw, built in the 1950s along with the Palace of Culture and Science. It was used extensively by the government of the

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

for various propaganda parades. The biggest parade was held in 1966 to mark the millennium year of the Polish nation. The square held a key place in the events of 1956. After

Władysław Gomułka Władysław Gomułka (; 6 February 1905 – 1 September 1982) was a Polish Communist politician. He was the ''de facto'' leader of Polish People's Republic, post-war Poland from 1947 until 1948, and again from 1956 to 1970. Born in 1905 in ...

's restoration to power, on 24 October a rally was held in the square, attended by around 400,000 people. During his speech at the rally, Gomułka condemned

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

and announced reforms aimed at democratizing the political system. A symbol of the changes was the refusal to accept

Konstantin Rokossovsky Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky ( 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish general who served as a top commander in the Red Army during World War II and achieved the ranks of Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland. He a ...

, while the microphone was given to activist Lechosław Goździk. The crowd in the square expressed support for the reforms of

Polish October The Polish October ( ), also known as the Polish thaw or Gomułka's thaw, also "small stabilization" () was a change in the politics of the Polish People's Republic that occurred in October 1956. Władysław Gomułka was appointed First Secretar ...

, but they also demanded the release from prison of Cardinal

Stefan Wyszyński Stefan Wyszyński (3 August 1901 – 28 May 1981) was a Polish Roman Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Warsaw and Archbishop of Gniezno from 1948 to 1981. He previously served as Bishop of Lublin from 1946 to 1948. He was created a ...

, the leader of the Catholic church in Poland. On 14 June 1987, during the third apostolic journey to Poland,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

celebrated Mass in the square, ending the Second National Eucharistic Congress. The altar was located at the main entrance to the Palace of Culture and Science. During the Mass, the pope

beatified Beatification (from Latin , "blessed" and , "to make") is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name. ''Beati'' is the ...

Bishop Michał Kozal, who died in the

Dachau concentration camp Dachau (, ; , ; ) was one of the first concentration camps built by Nazi Germany and the longest-running one, opening on 22 March 1933. The camp was initially intended to intern Hitler's political opponents, which consisted of communists, s ...

during the Second World War. The square lost its importance after the

fall of communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

, becoming the site of a giant marketplace for some time. Since the marketplace was removed (with its role mostly absorbed by the new suburban market at Marywilska 44), Parade Square has been used mainly as a car park. As the city council plans to allow construction on the site of the square, the parking spaces are to be moved to a new underground facility. Several other projects are planned to modernise the square and its surroundings, including plans to construct the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

, a gentrification of a square with a new concert hall, different

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...

s and other facilities. During the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...

, which Warsaw was a host city for, a large Fan Zone was located in the square.

References

External links

{{Coord, 52, 13, 56, N, 21, 0, 32, E, type:landmark, display=title Squares in Warsaw National squares Stalinist architecture Śródmieście Północne

History

See also

References

External links