Warsaw's Old Town occupies the medieval heart of the city and tells an extraordinary story of destruction and rebirth. It was almost completely destroyed during and after the Warsaw Uprising. Reconstruction began soon after the war and was carried out with exceptional dedication and precision.
Today Warsaw's Old Town is unique on a global scale: a historic district of this size, more than 90 percent of whose buildings had been destroyed, was rebuilt in a form faithful to its historical character. For this reason it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The reconstruction was not simply a copy of the city as it appeared in 1939. Architects drew inspiration from Warsaw's eighteenth-century golden age, using sources including the city views painted by Bernardo Bellotto, known as Canaletto, while discreetly adapting buildings to modern residential needs.
Reconstruction extended beyond the medieval Old Town to the New Town, the Royal Route and the Royal Castle, whose interiors were completed in 1988. UNESCO recognises Warsaw as an outstanding example of the comprehensive reconstruction of a historic urban ensemble and of monuments regarded as symbols of Polish culture and national identity.
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