Hidden Warsaw
Hidden Warsaw
17-24 March 2024
A Frenchman gets on a train in Paris. The destination of his journey is Moscow. At the same time, a Russian takes a seat on the train in Moscow. He wants to see Paris once in his life. Both travelers get off in Warsaw. And both think they have arrived at the destination of their dreams1, says the anecdote. But where is Warsaw really located? In the west or the east?
Sixty years ago, a field of ruins lay where the life of the up-and-coming metropolis pulsates today. The Second World War and the German occupation had left no stone unturned. After an initial heroic socialist effort to rebuild the nation from the material debris of war, “form follows power” characterised construction and architecture of an increasingly totalitarian regime. After the fall of communism in 1989, a new Gründerzeit turned Warsaw into one of the largest construction sites in Europe. Since then, reprivatization, fragmentation and the capitalist market economy have been the driving forces shaping the cityscape on top of the layers of history.
Through a series of walks, guided by friends and experts we will explore the city’s hidden secrets.
1. Werner Huber: «Warschau - Phönix aus der Asche» und «Moskau - Metropole im Wandel», 2007
17.03 - 24.03.2024
approx. CHF 750 including travel
Max. 21 students
