Adventure Warsaw!

The 1970s communist-era van picked us up at 10:00. In it’s former life it was a military van used to haul prisoners. Since that time, it has been refurbished and painted bright yellow, looking more like a van that would haul hippies to a love-in. Welcome to the Off the Beaten Path tour with Adventure Warsaw!

Our guide took us on a very un-touristy journey through the history of the city. We visited lots of the abandoned buildings around the city and learned their history. I’ve been fascinated by these buildings since we arrived, wondering why they are still standing at all. There are hundreds of them in the downtown area--you see them everywhere –there's an entire city block across the street from our apartment. Others sandwiched in between construction sites or hidden behind the façade of a new building.

Some are the remains of the Jewish Ghettos created after the German invasion of Warsaw in 1939. (some of these sites are left standing for posterity) Others became abandoned after the unsuccessful 1944 Warsaw Uprising when thousands of Poles were either killed by Nazi troops or fled to safety. Read more about the Uprising.

I wondered why these buildings were still standing: there are many reasons. Property laws pertaining to these sites are caught up in a very convoluted mix of a 1945 law, squatter’s rights, proof of property ownership, corporate development, and some say the city’s unwillingness to return the property to rightful owners.

This article on Vacant Warsaw gives a little history of these buildings and proposes an interesting solution to the problem.