The Saxon Axis ( pl, Oś Saska) is a feature of the historical city centre of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...

. It is a line running from the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in t ...

through the Presidential Palace, the

Krakowskie Przedmieście Krakowskie Przedmieście (, literally: ''Cracow Fore-town''; french: link=no, Faubourg de Cracovie), often abbreviated to Krakowskie, is one of the best known and most prestigious streets of Poland's capital Warsaw, surrounded by historic palaces ...

Saxon Square The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

Saxon Palace The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country ( Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the No ...

Saxon Garden The Saxon Garden ( pl, Ogród Saski) is a 15.5–hectare public garden in central ('' Śródmieście'') Warsaw, Poland, facing Piłsudski Square. It is the oldest public park in the city. Founded in the late 17th century, it was opened to the pub ...

, Lubomirski Palace to

Plac Żelaznej Bramy Iron-Gate Square (''Plac Żelaznej Bramy'') is a large open space in the city center of Warsaw. The square took its name from a large iron gate that once secured the western boundary of the Saxon Garden. History In the 17th century, the a ...

. The idea was first proposed by

August II of Poland Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

, who intended to build a large Royal palace surrounded by a French-style garden. The plan was loosely based on the baroque design of the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

and was to cover a large part of what is now the city of Warsaw. The main concept, which gave the name to the modern part of the city, assumed the construction of the

, with gardens extending to the both sides along a single axis running exactly through its middle. Between 1713 and 1726 the king bought 28 parcels of land in the area and invited

Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann (1662–1736) was a German master builder and architect who helped to rebuild Dresden after the fire of 1685. His most famous work is the Zwinger Palace. Life Pöppelmann was born in Herford in Westphalia on ...

and Johann Christoph Naumann to design the urban plan. However, financial difficulties made the plan never come true in its entirety. The

and the

were constructed, but the planned demolition of the Lubomirski Palace at the

was called off after August's death in 1733. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led ...

of 1944, all the buildings along the axis were demolished by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

. After the war, the Saxon Palace was not rebuilt. However, the garden was refurbished and the demolished Lubomirski Palace was rebuilt, but was rotated to fit into the 18th century scheme. In recent times also the

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

Library at the

below the river escarpment was added to the list of buildings with main entrances along the axis, and a large golden tablet was placed in the pavement in front of it marking the line running through the city centre.

References

Urban planning in Poland Geography of Warsaw History of Warsaw {{Warsaw-geo-stub