Poland

Torun, Poland

This card features The Leaning Tower, The Old City Town Hall, The Raftsman's Fountain, and the Panorama of the city.

Poland

Warszawa Centrum

Various images of buildings showing damage from the Warsaw Uprising.  From left to right on the top: Swietokrzyska Street, The Palace of Culture (not existing at the time of the Uprising), The Prudential Building (the pre-war tallest building in the city and later known as Hotel Warszawa), Kierbedzia bridge, the central railway station, and Nowy Swiat Street.

The Prudential Building/Hotel Warsawa is still in existence; however, it is undergoing a rebuild to become a four-star hotel.  On August 28, 1944 the building was stuck with a two-ton German shell during the Warsaw Uprising.  The event was the subject of one of the famous photographs of the Uprising taken by Sylwester Braun, code name "Kris."

The Prudential Building hit by a shell, August 28, 1944 (Photolink)

Poland

Warszawa - Zamek Krolewski

The Royal Castle of Warsaw.  Originally constructed from 1598 through 1619, the Royal Palace or Zamek, The castle was a prominent target of the Germans during the 1939 invasion for its symbolism.  The roof was removed to help decompensation of the building and after the 1944 Uprising the remains of the building were dynamited by the Germans leaving little more than a pile of rubble as they evacuated the city in January 1945. 

The building was rebuilt with donations from the US in between 1971 through 1984.

Poland

Warszawa - Archcathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist.

Located in the heart of Old Town, the Cathedral of Saint John was heavily damaged after the Uprisin.  The Germans had detonated a tank in the building and then drilled holes and dynamited the rest of the building after the Uprising in their attempt to totally destroy the city. 

As one can see, it was rebuilt after the war, but in the style believed of it's 14th century appearance, not it's pre-war appearance.

Poland

Warszawa - Rynek Starego Miasta

Warsaw, Old Town Marketplace

Today marks the 73rd anniversary of the beginning of the Warsaw Uprising.  Lasting from August 1, 1944 through October 2, 1944, the inhabitants of Warsaw fought to free Warsaw by the occupying German forces while the Soviet allies waited on the other side of the river giving no assistance. 

After the Uprising, the Germans forced everyone to leave the city while they stayed there until the end of January 1945 purposefully burning and destroying every building they could.  An estimated 80-90% of the city was destroyed during the war. 

This card shows the destruction to one side of the Old Town Market Square and what the buildings look like today.