The Vistula is humming, birds are singing… swifts, terns, kingfishers, harriers… Discover the less known but equally beautiful side of Warsaw. You can marvel at incredible view of the Old Town, Warsaw Mermaid, or “Gruba Kaśka” from the board of a riverboat. You can also have some rest after exhaustive sightseeing during a two-hour cruise on the “Wars” water tram along the Vistula.
During this “water walk” you can discover a picturesque and wild side of the Vistula River.
The water tram sets off from Podzamcze stop, where you can admire the Royal Castle, which had been a seat of the princes of Mazovia and after incorporating the region to the Crown it became a royal residence. The Castle was constantly extended. The baroque façade from the Vistula side was built during the reigns of king Augustus III the Saxon. At the foot of the scarp there was a beautiful castle garden.
The water tram sails under the Śląsko-Dąbrowski Bridge elevated on the pillars of the historic Kierbedź Bridge. After the World War II, the Bridge had been reconstructed and got a new name that underlined the contribution of Silesia and Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in rebuilding ruined Warsaw. The Bridge was opened on July 22, 1949, and it comprised a part of the W-Z Route. Last year, the tramway track on the bridge was renovated and the first in Warsaw tram-and-bus lane was created on it.
A characteristic greenish building of the University of Warsaw Library designed by Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski, can also be seen from the board of the boat. This modern building is not only an institution that houses a library collection of the University of Warsaw but also a place where people can learn, meet others and participate in various events. On the roof of the Library, a modern garden was set up according to the design of Irena Bajerska.
A little further, over the Wisłostrada Tunnel, at the intersection of Wybrzeże Kościuszkowskie and ul. Zajęcza, Copernicus Science Center is being built. In this modern construction everyone will have the opportunity to e.g. make a physical or chemical experiments.
Next we sail under the most Świętokrzyski – the first suspension bridge in Warsaw, which was opened ten years ago. We pass the railway bridge that was the first bridge of the capital that allowed the railway to cross the Vistula. It had been opened in 1931 and then blown up during the Warsaw Rising. It was rebuilt in 1949 – its arched spans were rotated by 180 degrees and the pillars lowered by five meters. In the 60’s another twin bridge was built next to it. The railway bridge has four railway tracks, and both commuter and long-distance trains use the bridge.
As we pass the bridge we can see the Mermaid Monument – the last prewar monument built in 1939 on behalf of the president, Stefan Starzyński. The bronze statue designed by Ludwika Nitschowa, is a half woman and half fish with a shield and a sword lifted high over her head. Krystyna Krahelska was a model for the Mermaid’s face. She was the author of a well-known Polish patriotic song “Hej chłopcy, bagnet na broń”. She died in the Warsaw Rising.
Further on, we sail under the most Poniatowskiego that was build from 1904 to 1914 according to the design of Stefan Szyller. It was destroyed twice during wars and rebuilt as a less impressive version. It was opened after the World War II on July 22, 1946. When the river level is low, decorated fragments of the bridge can still be seen at the bottom.
The Vistula witnessed bloody struggles of Warsaw soldiers in 1944. The People’s Army of Poland and the Red Army attempted to help them. Unfortunately, the operation was unsuccessful and many Warsaw soldiers remained in the waters of the queen of Polish rivers forever. In memory of that event, a commemorative plaque was located at 511th kilometer of the Vistula.
The passengers of the water tram can see another monument – “Chwała Saperom” (Praise to the Sappers) dedicated to the soldiers who died in the operation of clearing destroyed Warsaw of mines. The monument was designed by Stanisław Kulon, and the ceremony of unveiling it took place in 1975. One of its elements is a reinforced concrete post which the soldiers drove into the bottom of the Vistula.
“Wars” passes also the gate of Port Czerniakowski – an iron wall, eleven meters high that separates the channel connecting the port to the Vistula. It was built after flood in 1998. The gate is being closed when the water level in the river increases to a warning level (6.5m).
Finally, we get to the famous Gruba Kaśka – a unique water intake station built in 1964 in the riverbed. The station takes water from several drains that are set symmetrically and are located about six meters under the riverbed, and then it pumps the water to Praga Waterworks at Saska Kępa. A pipeline is located in an underwater tunnel. This method of water intake directly from under the riverbed was introduced by Włodzimierz Skoraczewski, an engineer.
Continuing the trip we can see a National Stadium under construction on the right. This structure has replaced Stadion Dziesięciolecia (the 10th Anniversary Stadium), in recent years known as “Jarmark Europa” (Europe Market Place), the largest market place in Europe. It will host 55 thousand of football fans during Euro 2012.
Next, we pass the entrance to Port Praski. The port was built over 90 years ago at the oxbow lake of the Vistula, called Wilcza Kępa. Five port basins were to be constructed but finally only two were built. The port was used by traders, and various goods were transshipped: coal, building materials, food, cereal, sand and gravel. At present, there is a river police station.
The passengers can also see high towers of St. Michael Archangel Cathedral and St. Florian the Martyr designed by Józef Pius Dziekoński and consecrated in 1901. Before the church was erected, there had been a market place. The neo-gothic church was blown up by Germans in 1944 and rebuilt after the war with the help of the Praga district inhabitants. Since 1997, the cathedral has had the title of minor basilica. In front of it, there is a statue of heroic priest, Ignacy Skorupka. The unveiling ceremony took place in August 2005.
It is worth to notice the construction of the most Gdański. It comprises two different bridges: a railway and a road-and-tram bridge. The railway part of the bridge rests on the pillars of a historical bridge by Cytadela (Warsaw Citadel) from 1875 which was the first bridge in Warsaw to join railway routes on both sides of the Vistula. In 1904, another bridge was built next to Gdański Bridge, and the whole rail traffic was transferred there. Both bridges were destroyed twice – first by Russians in 1905 and then by Germans in 1944. After the WWII they were rebuilt partly in a different form but they saved the specific two-level construction.
“Wars” sails next to the scarp which extends along the river from Jeziorka valley to Młociny. The scarp used to function as a fortification and was a natural flood barrier. Then it was recognized as a valuable area to built mansions, palaces, churches and convents. Its structure consist of postglacial forms such as, glacial till, silt, or sand formed on Pliocene clays, as well as of mounds formed in the course of human activity: debris and waste.
At the end of the trip, “Wars” passes the New Town, which was separated from the Old Warsaw in 1408 by the prince of Mazovia, Janusz I Stary and again incorporated into Warsaw in 1791. The New Town had its own large square and a town hall, the Visitation of the Holiest Virgin Mary parish church and its local authorities. It was inhabited by not affluent merchants and the poor. The area below the scarp was built up till the World War II.
You can see the oldest part of Warsaw from the river side – the Old Town built in the 13-14th century near a princely city. St. John’s parish church in the course of time became the most important church in Warsaw. The coronation ceremony of two Polish kings and the act of swearing to uphold the May 3 Constitution took place in the church. Piotr Skarga preached here. At present, the Arch cathedral Basilica of St. John is the church where the most important national events take place.
The Old Town was almost thoroughly destroyed during the World War II and rebuilt in the form it had in the 18th century. In 1980 it was inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage.
Warsaw section of the queen of Polish rivers is 31km long and has great natural diversity. None of the European capitals has a “wild” river in the city center. The Vistula river has on this area characteristics of a braided river with numerous islands and valuable riparian forests that gives shelter to migrating birds. In the spring and summer season there can be up to 102 bird species. Sterns, gulls, plovers, mergansers, grebes, sand martins, woodpeckers, nightingales, chaffinches, and warblers build their nests here. There are numerous national fish species in the Vistula waters: pikes, asps, perches, catfish, breams, silver breams and crucians. In 1997, the Warsaw section of the Vistula was incorporated into the network of Warsaw Landscape Protection Areas, and the section from Dęblin to Płock has been joined to the European network of protected areas, Natura 2000, as a special birds protection area called “Dolina Środkowej Wisły”.
Remember that the tickets for the trip to Serock on “Zefir” are available in advance sale from Monday (April 26). The tickets are available in advance booking system in the ZTM Passenger Service Center at Centrum underground station (from Monday to Thursday, between 7.00 a.m. and 8.00 p.m., and on Friday between 7.00 a.m. and 5.00 p.m.).
The tickets for the cruise on the “Wars” water tram are also available in advance sale from Thursday (April 29). The tickets are available in the office of Żegluga Stołeczna at ul. Świętokrzyska 36, room 1, from Monday to Friday between 12-15 p.m.
Our info line 194-84 does not deal with ticket reservation or sale.
Published 28 April 2010
Last modified 3 June 2019
