Warsaw, Poland

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly 260 kms (160 mi) from the Baltic Sea and 300 kms (190 mi) from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most populous city proper in the European Union. To read more on Warsaw, please click here for the official city website.

Warsaw is an Alpha- global city, a major international tourist destination and an important economic hub in Central and Eastern Europe. It is also known as the "phoenix city" because it has survived many wars throughout its bloody history. Most notably when the city had to be painstakingly rebuilt after the extensive damage it suffered from World War II, during which 80% of its buildings were destroyed. On 9 November 1940 the city was awarded Poland's highest military decoration for heroism, the Virtuti Militari, for the Siege of Warsaw (1939).

Warsaw is a city full of contrasts, questions and astonishments. Warsaw will not leave you indifferent – reflection and euphoria simultaneously spring to mind. Warsaw has given its name to the Warsaw Confederation, the Warsaw Pact, the Duchy of Warsaw, the Warsaw Convention, the Treaty of Warsaw, the Warsaw Uprising and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Hotel

ICCOS EMEA 2012 will be held at the Hilton Warsaw Hotel & Convention Center located at ul. Grzybowska 63, 00-844 Warsaw, Poland. The Hilton Warsaw Hotel is Poland’s premier Hilton hotel. Currency Research has negotiated a special room rate for ICCOS delegates but only for a limited number of rooms. Take advantage of this rate by booking your room early! Click here to BOOK YOUR ROOM NOW.

This most modern of Warsaw hotels brings a distinctive style of contemporary living to downtown Warsaw. Relax in one of our 314 modern guestrooms and suites, and take in the impressive city views. All of the Hilton Warsaw hotel rooms feature the latest technology, with high-speed internet access (separate fees apply). Savor modern Polish and European cuisine in Meza Restaurant or unwind in the Pistaccio Lobby Bar & Lounge and enjoy a light snack or coffee. 

Don’t forget to bring your workout clothes and swimming gear! Holmes Place Premium Club (Click here for more info on Club and Spa facility) is the Hilton Warsaw Hotel and Conference Center's private gym and is included in all of the guest’s room fees at Currency Research’s request. Maintain your exercise regime during your visit to ICCOS EMEA and work out on one of the 80 cardiovascular machines, enjoy a relaxing yoga session or tone your muscles with free weights. Finally, have a swim in the 25meter indoor heated swimming pool or simply de-stress in the Jacuzzi. There is also a choice of wet or dry saunas.

Background

Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland among themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland still faces the lingering challenges of high unemployment, underdeveloped and dilapidated infrastructure, and a poor rural underclass. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country largely completed, Poland is an increasingly active member of Euro-Atlantic organizations.

Useful Facts about Poland

Population: 38,441,000

Capital: Warsaw; 2,631,000

Area: 312,685 square kilometers (120,728 square miles)

Language: Polish

Ethnic Groups: Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census)

Religion: Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002)

Currency: Polish Zloty - PLN (See currency converter here)

Life Expectancy: 76 average (male 72; female 80)

GDP per Capita: U.S. $18,800

Literacy Percent: 98.8%

Average Daily Temp in November: 3°C (37.2 °F) during the day and 1°C (33.4 °F) at nightfall

Visitor’s Guide

Poland is a major part of the global tourism market and is currently experiencing an upward trend in its number of visitors; this began shortly after joining the European Union. Tourism in Poland contributes to the country's overall economy and makes up a relatively large proportion of the country's service market. The most attractive urban destinations for tourists are Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Lublin and Toruń; in addition to these the historic site of the Auschwitz concentration camp near Oświęcim is a noteworthy place of pilgrimage and a now constitutes a major monument to the prevention of war and suffering in Southern Poland. Popular areas of natural beauty include northeast Poland's Masurian Lake District and Białowieża Forest. Poland's main tourist offerings are mainly based around city-sightseeing and extra-urban historical monuments, business trips, qualified tourism, agro-tourism, and mountain hiking, among others. Poland was the 17th most visited country by foreign tourists in 2008.

Today transport in Poland is provided by means of rail, road, shipping and air travel. Positioned in Central Europe and with an eastern border compromising the largest external border of the Schengen Area with the rest of Eastern Europe, Poland has long been, and remains a key country through which imports to and exports from the European Union pass.

Since joining the EU in 2004, Poland has invested large amounts of money into the modernization of its transport networks. The country now has a developing expressways network compromised of motorways such as the A4 and express roads such as the S7. In addition to these newly built roads, many local and regional roads are being rebuilt as part of a national programme to rebuild all roads in Poland.

The air and maritime transport markets in Poland are largely well developed, although construction of new airport and seaport facilities is ongoing. Poland has a number of international airports; the largest of which is Warsaw Chopin Airport, the primary global hub for LOT Polish Airlines, which is the largest airline of Eastern Central Europe and one of the world's oldest airlines still in operation today. Seaports exist all along Poland's Baltic Sea coast, with most freight operations using either Gdynia or Gdańsk as their base. Passenger ferries also link Poland with Scandinavia all year round.

Culture

European Capital of Culture 2016 Candidate

Warsaw is a shortlisted candidate for the European Capital of Culture 2016 title. With the title of European Capital of Culture 2016, Warsaw has the chance to become a city known for how it managed the transition from improvisation, chaos and unpredictable processes into a truly contemporary metropolis, which found innovative solutions to its problems.

The Core Themes of Warsaw's application include: The Vistula: River of Possibilities, City of Talents and Warsaw under Construction.

Museums and art galleries

The leveling of Warsaw during the war has left gaping holes in the city's historic collections. And although a considerable amount of treasures were spirited away to safety as the storm clouds gathered in 1939, it is also true that a great number of collections from palaces and museums in the countryside were brought to Warsaw at that time as the capital was considered a safer place than some remote castle in the borderlands. Thus losses were heavy.

Yet in spite of this, Warsaw still boasts some wonderful museums. As interesting examples of expositions the most notable are: the world’s first Museum of Posters boasting one of the largest collections of art posters in the world, Museum of Hunting and Riding and the Railway Museum. From among Warsaw’s 60 museums, the most prestigious ones are National Museum with a wide collection of works whose origin ranges in time from antiquity till the present epoch as well as one of the best collections of paintings in the country and Museum of the Polish Army whose set portrays the history of arms.

The collections of Łazienki and Wilanów palaces (both buildings survived the war in good shape) are a delight, as are those of the Royal Castle, the Palace in Natolin – a former rural residence of Duke Czartoryski, its interiors and park accessible to tourists.

Holding Poland's largest private collection of art, the Carroll Porczyński Collection Museum displays works from such varied artists as Rubens, Goya, Constable, Renoir, van Gogh and Dalí, and countless others.

A fine tribute to the fall of Warsaw and history of Poland can be found in the Warsaw Uprising Museum (a 5 minute walk from the ICCOS Hilton Hotel) and in the Katyń Museum that preserves the memory of the infamous crime. Museum of Independence host of sentimental and patriotic paraphernalia connected with these fateful epochs, as well as some invaluable art collections. Dating back to 1936 Warsaw Historical Museum contains 60 rooms which host a permanent exhibition of the history of Warsaw from its origins until today.

Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina is housed in 17th century Ostrogski Castle (pictured at left) in Warsaw and dedicated to the great composer Fryderyk Chopin. It was established in 1954 and the birthplace of Fryderyk Chopin in Żelazowa Wola is one of its major departments. The Fryderyk Chopin Museum at the Fryderyk Chopin Society in Warsaw was established in the 1930s. Already in 1935, the Fryderyk Chopin Institute, established a year earlier by 32 outstanding representatives of the world of culture and politics, headed by Karol Szymanowski, Józef Beck and August Zaleski, had begun amassing a collection. At that time, thirteen extremely valuable manuscripts were purchased from Ludwika Ciechomska, granddaughter of Ludwika Jędrzejewicz, Chopin's sister, and Bogusław Kraszewski. The manuscripts included: a complete autograph of the G minor Trio op. 8 for piano, violin and cello by Chopin, seven letters written at Szafarnia by the young composer to his family in 1824 (including four examples of the famous Szafarnia Courier) and at Kowalewo (6 July 1827) as well as to his school friend Julian Fontana in Paris (1835), three special greetings addressed by Chopin to his father (6 December 1816 and 1818) and mother (16 June 1817) upon their name days as well as two dedications of 6 and 9 June 1833 for Józef Nowakowski, a friend from the Warsaw Conservatory.[1] The creation of a Collection of Photographs, Recordings and a Library was started prior to 1939.

In 1945, the Fryderyk Chopin Institute opened again in Warsaw, and was housed at first in Zgoda Street and from 1953 in Ostrogski Castle. This was also the home of the Museum, Library and Collections of Photographs and Recordings. The museum covers the history and works Chopin, including original manuscripts and documents written by the composer, photographs and sculptures of him, letters, as well as hosting piano recitals and competitions of Chopin's works. The rich plafonds, stucco and Pompeian style frescoes are a fitting setting for the rooms of the Fryderyk Chopin Museum.

The 17th century Royal Ujazdów Castle currently houses Centre for Contemporary Art, with some permanent and temporary exhibitions, concerts, shows and creative workshops. The center also develops unique art programs that correlated with the reconstruction and organization of the Ujazdów Castle architectural spaces. The Centre of Contemporary Art currently realizes about 500 projects a year.

Zachęta National Gallery of Art is the oldest exhibition site in Warsaw, with a tradition stretching back to the mid 19th century. The gallery organizes exhibitions of modern art by Polish and international artists and promotes art in many other ways.

The city also possesses some marvelous oddities such as the Museum of Caricature (the only one of its kind in the world) and a magnificent Motorization Museum in Otrębusy.

The newly established in 2011 Erotic Museum in Warsaw is the only such museum in Poland and one of the few of a kind in Europe. Over 2,000 exhibits collected by the Erotic Museum, reveals the erotic fascinations of artists from all continents. Museum collections include the 14th century German chastity belts, erotic Peruvian pottery, Persian miniatures, Tibetan votive paintings, Indian carvings, Chinese porcelain, African folk art, Japanese Shunga paintings, Thai votive penises and many other exhibits.