Skaryszew Park (pronounced ) is an urban, monumental park located in the

Praga-Południe Praga-Południe (), also known by its anglicized names Praga-South, Praga South, and South Praga, is a district of the city of Warsaw, Poland located on the east bank of the Vistula River. It consists of Grochów, Gocław, Kamionek and Saska K ...

(South Praga) district of

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The park was designed and created by Franciszek Szanior in 1906.Praga Południe, Michał Pilich, wyd. Urząd Dzielnicy Praga Południe m. st. Warszawy

Location and name

Skaryszew Park is situated on the right bank of

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

River. It occupies 58 ha, an area formerly made of meadows and pastures which previously belonged to the village of

Skaryszew Skaryszew is a town in Radom County, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland, with 4435 inhabitants (2023). The town is located on the Kobylanka river, and belongs to the historic region of Lesser Poland. In the past it was an important urban center of nort ...

in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1929, during the interwar period, the park was named after Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a famous Polish pianist, composer, and politician who contributed significantly to Poland's independence. Paderewski's name, removed after World War II for political reasons, was finally restored in 1980. Varsovians, especially the young ones, usually call the park “Skaryszak”.

Monuments

* Bust of

Ignacy Jan Paderewski Ignacy Jan Paderewski (;

r 1859 R, or r, is the eighteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ar'' (pronounced ), plural ''ars''. The lette ...

– 29 June 1941) was a Polish pianist, composer and statesman who was a spokesman for Polish independence. In 1919, he was the nation's Prime Minister of Poland, prime minister and foreign minister durin ...

(1988). Stands at the entrance to the park. Founded by Janina and Zbigniew Porczyńscy. * Dancer (1926, by

Stanisław Jackowski Stanisław Jackowski (1887 in Warsaw – 1951 in Katowice) was a Polish sculptor, and nephew of novelist Bolesław Prus. In 1909-11 Jackowski studied sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków under Konstanty Laszczka, as well as the histor ...

). Situated in the rose garden. Sculpture of a young women dancing in ecstasy. * Bathing woman (1929, by Olga Nieniewska). Situated on a small hill by the lake. Sculpture of a bathing woman. * Monument to

Edward Mandell House Edward Mandell House (July 26, 1858 – March 28, 1938) was an American diplomat, and an adviser to President Woodrow Wilson. He was known as Colonel House, although his title was honorary and he had performed no military service. He was a high ...

(1932, by Franciszek Black, Reconstructed by

Marian Konieczny Marian Adam Konieczny (13 January 1930 – 25 July 2017) was a Polish sculptor and politician, Professor and Dean at the Faculty of Sculpture of the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Life A 1954 graduate of the Akademia Sztuk Pięknych ...

). House, the most trusted advisor of the American President Thomas Woodrow Wilson, advocated Poland's independence after World War I. The original sculpture was founded by Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The monument survived the World War II, yet was destroyed in 1951. * Monument to the Red Army Soldiers (15 September 1946). Originally built over a grave of twenty six Soviet soldiers, killed between 10 and 15 September 1944 during the heavy fighting in the area. In 1968, the bodies were buried in a cemetery and the monument relocated to its present location. After 1989, it was devastated and restored on multiple occasions. Despite Russia's protests, the monument was demolished in October, 2018. * Monument to British pilots (1988). Situated in the rose garden near the dancer's sculpture. It commemorates the death of British pilots whose Consolidated B-24 Liberator was shot down by the Germans on 13 August 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising, and crashed on this site. It was unveiled in 1988 by Margaret Thatcher in the presence of Sergeant Henry Lloyd Lane, the only survivor of the crash. *Monument for Polish - Victims of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

(2002). The monument is established for the Polish victims during the attack on New York City, and was unveiled by Polish President

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...

in 2002, on the 1st anniversary of the attacks.

Other interesting objects

* Kamionkowskie Lake. Vistula's old river bed, now a centre of recreation. Canoe and pedalos are available for rental. * Amphitheatre. A place where numerous cultural events, concerts and movie shows are held. * Shrine (1937, designed by Janusz Alchimowicz). Constructed in white concrete.

References

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