Staszic Palace c. 1916

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This is a quite a well-known place in Warsaw, although at first glance it could remind us of… Moscow. In the centre of the photograph stands the Staszic Palace, which was transformed by the Russians in 1895 into an Orthodox church dedicated to St Tatiana of Rome. Changing the neoclassical facade of the building into the Russo-Byzantine style was obviously politically motivated and did not go down well with Polish society, which is why in 1924, after Poland regained its independence, the architect Marian Lalewicz restored the building to its former appearance.

The photograph was taken during the First World War, after Warsaw had been occupied by German troops, therefore between August 1915 and November 1918. On the facade of the palace a board displaying the words Deutsches Soldatenheim (Home for German Soldiers) is visible; the recently abandoned Orthodox church had been designated for use as quarters for the soldiers. This, however, did not prevent various commercial firms, such as M. Wedernikow’s storage facility for fabrics from Jarosław from renting rooms on the ground floor.

It is also worth noting the area around the Nicholas Copernicus monument. At the turn of the 20th century it was a very attractive fenced-in green space with decorative flower-beds.

A glance further down Nowy Świat (New World) Street gives us an insight into everyday life in Warsaw. The pavements are bustling with activity. Some people hurry along, others sit lazily on benches, someone looks into a shop window with interest. In the foreground is a hairdresser’s shop sign. How many more shop signs can you make out?