Warsaw UnDiscovered

24/10/2026

Do you know what almost always surprises tourists on our tours? One number: 123.

123 years. That is how long one would search in vain for a country named "Poland" on the map of Europe. True, the Kingdom of Poland existed between 1815 and 1832, but it was linked to the Russian Empire by a personal union and had very little in common with an independent Polish state.

Poland’s disappearance was the result of three partitions carried out in the late 18th century. Poland's fate was sealed on October 24, 1795, when the monarchs of Russia, Prussia, and Austria agreed on a treaty to execute the final, complete partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Poland regained its independence after World War I. And despite more than a century under foreign rule, Poles managed to preserve their identity, language, and culture.

20/10/2026

Although technically an art installation rather than a residential building, it constantly draws the attention of tourists asking about the 'narrowest house in the world.'

Opened on October 20, 2012, the so-called Keret House is situated in a 152-centimeter-wide gap between a post-war apartment block at 22 Chłodna Street and a pre-war tenement at 74 Żelazna Street. The installation spans three levels and was designed as a living space, conceived as a studio for the Israeli writer Etgar Keret and intended as a venue for cultural activities.

Its location, near the footbridge that connected two parts of the Warsaw Ghetto during the German occupation, is partly linked to the history of Keret's family, who were originally from Warsaw and were imprisoned in the ghetto during World War II.

Unfortunately, the house is not open for tours, but it is well worth seeing from the outside—it makes a striking impression even from that perspective!

17/10/2026

Want to see Warsaw from a different perspective? You can do that any day, of course, but tonight offers a unique opportunity. The Night of Skyscrapers opens up the exclusive spaces of Warsaw’s skyscrapers to the public, giving you the chance to visit areas usually off-limits and explore skyscraper architecture from the inside.

Check out the program for this year’s Night of Skyscrapers at https://www.nightofskyscrapers.com/en/

16/10/2026

Poland had many kings, but only one female king. Yes, exactly. On October 16, 1384, Jadwiga—the daughter of the Hungarian King Louis of Anjou and the Bosnian princess Elizabeth—was crowned King of Poland. Under 14th-century Polish law, the title of "Queen" belonged to a king's wife; consequently, Jadwiga officially held the title of King of Poland.

If you think that’s the only unusual fact about Jadwiga, just take a look at these seven interesting details!
1. She was only 10 years old at the time of her coronation.
2. Examinations of her remains revealed that she was very tall for her era—standing approximately 175–182 cm (about 5'9"–6'0") tall.
3. She was highly educated. She spoke several languages, including Hungarian, Latin, German, Italian, and Polish.
4. In 1386 (yes, at the age of 12!), she married the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Władysław II Jagiełło, initiating the union between Poland and Lithuania and the Christianization of the latter.
5. Jagiełło was not her first fiancé; she had been betrothed to William of Habsburg since the age of four and had spent most of her life preparing for a future in Vienna. According to popular legend, when Polish nobles ordered her to break off the engagement with the Habsburg, Jadwiga attempted to enter the castle with an axe, intending to hack through the iron gate to reach her fiancé.
6. She bequeathed her entire estate, jewels, and costly garments to the Krakow Academy (now the Jagiellonian University), which enabled the institution's renewal and development.
7. She died on July 17, 1399, at the age of just 25, due to complications following childbirth.

13/10/2026

The 2026 Nobel Prize laureates have been officially announced, and unfortunately, no Poles made the list this time. However, Poles have been honored many times over the past 120 years. But how many exactly? Here, the things unfortunately get complicated... Some Nobel laureates born in Poland achieved their greatest successes while living abroad. Furthermore, the situation is not made any easier by the fact that Poland’s borders and political landscape have changed repeatedly.

Let us first look at the list of laureates about whom there is no doubt—those whom Polish children learn about in school:

• Maria Skłodowska-Curie – Physics (1903) and Chemistry (1911)
• Henryk Sienkiewicz – Literature (1905)
• Władysław Reymont – Literature (1924)
• Czesław Miłosz – Literature (1980)
• L**h Wałęsa – Peace (1983)
• Wisława Szymborska – Literature (1996)
• Olga Tokarczuk – Literature (2018/2019)

And who else is worth learning a bit more about?
• Albert Abraham Michelson - Physics (1907)
• Isidor Isaac Rabi - Physics (1944)
• Tadeusz Reichstein - Medicine (1950)
• Andrew Schally - Medicine (1977)
• Isaac Bashevis Singer - Literature (1978)
• Menachem Begin - Peace (1979)
• Roald Hoffmann - Chemistry (1981)
• Georges Charpak - Physics (1992)
• Shimon Peres - Peace (1994)
• Józef Rotblat - Peace (1995)
• Frank Wilczek - Physics (2004)
• Leonid Hurwicz - Economics (2007)

09/10/2026

For ten days, Warsaw transforms into a global film capital as it hosts the Warsaw International Film Festival from October 9 to 18. This event has been promoting cinema for forty years, showcasing films from around the world, Europe, and Poland. This year, 190 films will be presented during the festival. The full program and tickets are available at https://wff.pl/en

07/10/2026

"I knew Poland was a poor country, but I didn't know it was this bad here," one of the female vocalists from the Swedish band ABBA reportedly said in 1976. Exactly 50 years ago, the Swedes played their first and only concert in Poland.

Huge crowds welcomed the members of ABBA at the Warsaw airport. Italian Fiat Mirafiori 131s—cars considered the height of luxury in communist Poland—were waiting for the band. Escorted by the militia, the musicians first stopped at the Hotel Forum (now the Novotel—built, incidentally, by a Swedish company) before heading to the recording session. They also visited the Old Town.

On October 7, only about 100 people watched the concert live in the studio; the rest of the audience could only see the broadcast on November 13, 1976. On that day, the streets were deserted.

Due to the country's difficult economic situation, the legendary band reportedly agreed to perform in the TV studio on Woronicza Street without a fee. According to one rumor, however, what went to Sweden in exchange for ABBA's performance—instead of money—was... train cars full of green peas.

05/10/2026

On October 5, 1939, unexpected restrictions were imposed in occupied Warsaw. The Germans drastically curtailed the freedom of movement for Poles, prohibiting—under penalty of death—anyone from going out onto the streets of the city center, leaving their homes, or even approaching their windows.

At the same time, numerous military units with heavy equipment and large numbers of police patrols moved through the city's empty streets.

All of this was done with a single aim: to ensure maximum security for Hi**er, who had flown to Warsaw that day.

At Okęcie Airport, he was greeted around 11:30 a.m. by a delegation of top military commanders who had taken part in the battle for Warsaw. Subsequently, a heavily guarded motorcade drove through the city streets, passing—among other places—Adolf-Hi**er-Platz (today: Marshal Józef Piłsudski Square) and Nowy Świat Street. The highlight of the visit was a Wehrmacht parade along Aleje Ujazdowskie, featuring infantry, motorized units, cavalry, tanks, and artillery, as well as paratroopers and captured Polish tanks. After the parade, Hi**er briefly met with a large group of ordinary soldiers and officers. Later, he visited the Belweder Palace before finally flying back to Berlin from Okęcie Airport.

He never visited Warsaw again.

02/10/2026

On October 2, 1944, the capitulation of the Warsaw Uprising was signed.

October 2 is also the Day of Remembrance for the Civilian Population of the Warsaw Uprising.

For the victims of those 63 days were not only soldiers but also ordinary people.

It is estimated that during the Uprising, the Germans committed atrocities in 934 locations. Civilians were used as so-called "human shields" (or "living barricades"), meaning that Warsaw residents had to walk ahead of tanks and advance German troops.

After the Uprising, the Germans began expelling the civilian population from Warsaw, deeming them useful as a source of cheap labor. Approximately 650,000 Warsaw residents were driven out of the city during and after the fall of the Uprising; some were deported to the Third Reich for forced labor, while others were sent to concentration camps.

Before the outbreak of the uprising, 920,000 people lived in Warsaw, 720,000 of whom resided in the city's left-bank district. After the Uprising ended, only about 20,000 people remained in left-bank Warsaw.

26/09/2026