The Mazovian Provincial Conservator of Monuments has announced that Theatre Square in Warsaw, with its historical urban layout, has been entered in the register of monuments. As the whiteMAD editorial team found out, this will facilitate the restoration of the green character of this space. The entry in the register means that green changes will have to be consulted with the conservator and this is good news.
This is the end of a long story. Proceedings to place the square under conservator’s protection were initiated as early as 1994. Today, it has finally become a fact and the area delimited by the historic buildings of the Grand Theatre, Blanka Palace, Dmuszewski Tenement House and the tenement house at 11 Senatorska Street27/Wierzbowa Street is now protected.
The square under protection is a fragment of the historical part of Warsaw with the Royal Route and Wilanów. The complex has the status of a monument of history. It is also located within the buffer zone of the Historic Centre of Warsaw, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Office of the Provincial Conservator points out historical elements such as the statue of Wojciech Bogusławski, Stanisław Moniuszko and the marble column (European Survey Monument), which marks the 1872 survey position.
The square as we know it today was marked out in the first half of the 19th century. It was closely linked to the adaptation of the Jabłonowski Palace for the capital’s town hall and the construction of the Grand Theatre building. Interestingly, the Pociej’s market was previously located here.
Historical value
The square gained its representative character after the erection of the National Theatre, which was built to a design by Antoni Corrazzi. At that time, the square was covered with a stone pavement and the roadways with wooden cobblestones. A few years later, a fountain with cast-iron figures of mermaids and boys was built in the central area. The fountain was surrounded by gas lanterns, greenery and trees. The square has changed over the years. The gas lanterns were replaced by electric ones, telephone booths were set up and a vehicle for cars was sectioned off in front of the theatre. A car park paved with stone cobbles and then tarmac was also built.
In the interwar period, Teatralny Square was an important place on the map of Warsaw. With its numerous shops and cafes it was bustling with life. The square was also a venue for demonstrations and parades. Already in the 1940s, the buildings around the square were severely damaged. The theatre was rebuilt according to a design by Bohdan Pniewski.
The office of the provincial conservation officer points to the artistic value of the square. It is expressed in its regular, symmetrical composition, which emphasises the importance of the Grand Theatre building and coherently leads the main traffic routes through the corner streets. The conservator points out, by comparison, that Warsaw’s Theatre Square corresponds in stature to the most important representative arrangements in other cities in Europe and gives the example of the Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples.
The historical value of the urban establishment is also due to the role that the Theatre Square played from the early 19th century to the present day. With its representative form, it enhanced the prestige of Warsaw, which had lost its status as a capital after the loss of Polish independence, and referred to the urban transformations of urban spaces taking place in Europe. The history of the square reflects the changing concepts of the post-war reconstruction of the city – from the preservation of the relics of the buildings in the first post-war months, through the almost complete demolition of the northern frontage in the 1950s, the attempts to create a new urban space and the parallel reconstruction in a historicising form,” reads a communiquéfrom the Mazovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments.
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What about the greening of Theatre Square?
The inclusion of the square in the register of historical monuments coincides with discussions about its redevelopment. A huge car park would disappear from the square and trees and a fountain would once again appear. The concept for the changes was developed during a workshop conducted by MAU Architecture & Urbanism on behalf of the city. We wrote about its results back in June 2023 HERE. The plan is to restore the green character of the square to make it once again a place for rest and relaxation.
As the editors of whiteMAD magazine found out, the inclusion of the square in the heritage register does not interfere with the concept of change. MAU Architecture & Urbanism indicates that it prepared the conceptual changes based on historical values. What is more, it admits that the entry in the register will mean that the redevelopment project will have to take into account the requirements indicated by the conservator in order to ensure the good effect of the works. We do not yet know when the works will begin.
source: Mazovian Regional Monuments Conservator(https://mwkz.pl)
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