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Event Information:
Visit
Warsaw for New Year's Eve and you'll
have no lack of options. Old Town
Warsaw is one center of
celebrations, and fireworks displays
light up the Vistula River. On
Defilad Square, near the Palace of
Culture, a program of live concerts
draws crowds. New Year's Eve
Sylwester in Warsaw is very popular,
with many people heading into the
Old Town Square close to the Wisla
River for a spectacular fireworks
display. Most restaurants, theatres,
clubs and bars hold some kind of
event on New Year's Eve and those
that want to keep on partying after
the stroke of midnight have no
shortage of options to choose from.
For the
latest New Year's Eve events and parties for
2015-2016 see New Year's Eve Live
Warsaw's mixture of architectural
styles reflects the turbulent
history of the city and country.
During WWII, Warsaw was razed to the
ground by bombing raids and planned
destruction. After liberation,
rebuilding began as in other cities
of the communist-ruled PRL. Most of
the historical buildings were
thoroughly reconstructed. However,
some of the buildings from the 19th
century that had been preserved in
reasonably reconstructible form were
nonetheless eradicated in the 1950s
and 1960s (e.g. Leopold Kronenberg
Palace). Mass residential blocks
were erected, with basic design
typical of Eastern bloc countries.
Several commemorative events take
place every year. Gatherings of
thousands of people on the banks of
the Vistula on Midsummer’s Night for
a festival called Wianki (Polish for
Wreaths) have become a tradition and
a yearly event in the programme of
cultural events in Warsaw. The
festival traces its roots to a
peaceful pagan ritual where maidens
would float their wreaths of herbs
on the water to predict when they
would be married, and to whom. By
the 19th century this tradition had
become a festive event, and it
continues today. The city council
organize concerts and other events.
Each Midsummer’s Eve, apart from the
official floating of wreaths,
jumping over fires, looking for the
fern flower, there are musical
performances, dignitaries' speeches,
fairs and fireworks by the river
bank.
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