Warsaw, a city that suffered enormous losses during the Second World War, has transformed its ruins into a unique landscape where history and memory materialise in the form of artificially raised hills. The three Warsaw mounds, created from the rubble of destroyed buildings, are not only a testimony to the past, but also a symbol of rebirth and the collective work of the inhabitants.
From ruins to a landscape of memory
After the war, it is estimated that Warsaw was about 80 per cent destroyed, with some 22 million cubic metres of rubble covering its space. The first years of rebuilding the city were spent painstakingly clearing away the ruins, recovering bricks and producing building materials. This material, initially treated as waste, soon became the raw material used to build new buildings and then a symbol – a testament to the hard work of Varsovians and the hope of rebuilding the city.
The Old Town after the Warsaw Uprising. View of Kanonia and the market square. Photo by M. Świerczyński, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
As a result of the efforts of a whole lot of people working on the clearing and rebuilding of the capital, artificially shaped hills were created, which preserved the memory of the past, at the same time becoming part of the landscape of the new Warsaw. Over time, however, their meaningful symbolism has been lost, and the mounds have come to be treated as rubbish dumps. Today, these mounds have recreational, educational and symbolic functions.
The three Warsaw mounds
There are currently three surviving mounds in Warsaw raised from the rubble of destroyed buildings: Szczęśliwicki Mound, (44 m), Warsaw Uprising Mound (31 m) and Moczydłowski Mound (22.5 m).
1. Szczęśliwicki Mound
Also known as Górka Szczęśliwicka, located in Szczęśliwicki Park, it is the highest point in Warsaw (152 m above sea level). It was formed from the rubble of the destroyed capital, and later rubbish was also dumped on it. In the 1960s, the landfill was transformed into a recreational area by filling it with earth. Today, there is a year-round ski slope on its slope.
2. Warsaw Uprising Mound
Located in Czerniaków, on Bartycka Street, it commemorates the tragic events of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. The originator of the mound was Stanisław Gruszczyński, who saw it as the “Tomb of Warsaw” or the “Monument to the Demolished Warsaw”. In 2004, on the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the uprising, the top of the mound was tidied up by erecting the symbol of Fighting Poland and a staircase named “W” Hour Avenue. Every year, on 1 August, ceremonies are held here with the lighting of a memorial bonfire that burns for several days, symbolising the 63 days of insurgent fighting.
3. Moczydłowski Mound
It is located in the Moczydło park in Wola. It was created from the rubble of Warsaw buildings, including tenements demolished for the construction of the Palace of Culture and Science. In the 1970s, the mound gained a recreational function – a ski lift was installed, which operated until the mid-1980s. Today, it is a place of rest and a vantage point for a panoramic view of the city.
There was another mound, which was located near Krasińskiego Street in Żoliborz. However, it is not known today where the rubble was taken to when the mound was liquidated many years ago.
Symbolism and the present
Warsaw’s rubble mounds are not just traces of wartime destruction. They are monuments expressing the idea of the rebirth of the capital and the strength of the community of its inhabitants. They evoke the memory of the city’s difficult history and are a material testimony to the trauma of war, transformed into a landscape full of life. Nowadays, the mounds are gaining new meaning through modernisations and adaptations. For example, the park around the Warsaw Uprising Mound underwent a revitalisation completed in 2023. Educational paths, footbridges among the trees and recreational zones were created there. The project won the Architectural Award of the Mayor of Warsaw for its ecological solutions and integration of space with the needs of residents.
Legacy transformed into life
Warsaw’s mounds are a unique example of how urban space can transform a traumatic past into a landscape element that serves future generations. They are not only places of recreation, but also memorials that preserve the history of the city and its inhabitants in a unique, material way. These peculiar monuments made of rubble are a symbol of the steadfastness of Warsaw – a city made anew.
Source: tubylotustalo.pl, odkryjemygorynieznane.pl, muzeumwarszawy. pl
Read also: Architecture in Poland | Places, Squares, Parks | City | History | Warsaw
