Warsaw/Praga

Praga is the central and historic core of right bank Warsaw, Poland.

For other places with the same name, see Praga (disambiguation).
Praga Południe (dark red) and Praga Północ (pink).

Praga is composed of two districts, Praga Północ and Praga Południe, which are separated from each other by the railway tracks. The districts themselves mainly serve administrative purposes, as they are both very heterogeneous and diverse inside.

Within Praga Południe Gocław and Gocławek are relatively new residential areas built in the 1960s and 1970s, Kamionek and Grochów have a history on par with other settlements that then formed Warsaw, like Ujazdów and Mokotów, Saska Kępa is a prestigious mansionesque area that is home to many embassies and Olszynka Grochowska is mostly a forest.

Within Praga Północ, the south centered around Aleja Solidarności contains many historic buildings and is reinventing itself as a trendy home for all kinds artistic undertakings, while the northern part is almost entirely industrial.

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  • Main streets parallel to Vistula: Jagiellońska, Targowa, ul. Grochowska; Wał Miedzeszyński
  • Main streets perpendicular to Vistula: Aleja Solidarności, ul. Ostrobramska and al. Stanów Zjednoczonych (United States Avenue) – collectively referred to as Trasa Łazienkowska; al. Waszyngtona (Washington Avenue); Trasa Siekierkowska.

Map of Warsaw/Praga

The zoo – not just a sanctuary for animals

During the Nazi occupation of Warsaw, Jan Żabiński, the Warsaw Zoo’s director, and his wife, Antonia, saved about 300 Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto and Nazi death camps. The Żabiński family turned the zoo into a pig farm, which was to be used so the German forces could be fed. Jan Żabiński befriended a few Nazi officials and was granted access to the Warsaw Ghetto so he could gather left over scraps to feed the pigs, to study the Ghetto’s park system, and for any other imaginable reason. His real reason for going to the Ghetto was to smuggle Jews out and safeguard them at the zoo by hiding the Jews in the cages and animal exhibits at the zoo. Diane Ackerman wrote The Zookeeper’s Wife, which details the story of the Żabińskis, focusing particularly on Antonia’s story. The book has since been turned into a major motion picture with Daniel Brühl playing Lutz Heck and Jessica Chastain playing Antonina Żabińska
  • 52.25777821.0222221 Warsaw Zoo (Warszawskie Zoo), ul. Ratuszowa 1/3, ☎+48 22 619 40 41, fax: +48 22 619 58 98. Open daily 9:00—19:00, Tickets sold until 18:00. A relatively small zoo, but with some interesting species, including a pack of wild and rambunctious monkeys that seem to fascinate every visitor. Other Zoo residents include lemurs, giraffes, elephants, hyraxes, lions, tigers, zebras, and jaguars that live in a glass enclosure that allows you stand only centimeters away from the beasts. Admission: Adults 30 zł, Children 6 zł, Children under three years are free.  
Lemurs eating weeds at the Warsaw Zoo.
  • 52.254821.03331 Saint Mary Magdalene Orthodox Church (Cerkiew św. Marii Magdaleny), pl. Wileński (Lies about a block east of Praski Park). One of two Orthodox churches in Warsaw. 
  • [dead link]19th Century Houses. around pl. Weteranów 1863 r., ul. Kłopotowskiego and ul. Okrzei, in particular The Jewish Mikvah built in 1840 at ul. Kłopotowskiego 31. See also the list of all historic buildings in Praga Północ. (updated Apr 2017)
  • 52.254221.04341 [dead link]Ząbkowska Street (ul. Ząbkowska).  
  • 52.25361121.0272221 Praski Park (Park Praski) (Across the street from the Zoo’s entrance). A park that’s good for a stroll. There’s a large sculpture of a giraffe and a playground for children within the park’s grounds. Near the entrance to the Warsaw Zoo, there are a few eateries that serve up ice cream.  
  • 52.251721.03081 Saints Michael & Florian Cathedral (Katedra św. Michała Archanioła i św. Floriana), ul Floriańska 3, ☎+48 22 619 09 60.  
  • 52.24277821.0566671 Skaryszewski Park (Park Skaryszewski or Park im. Ignacego Paderewskiego). Directly across the street from Stadium Narodowy, this park isn’t as well known as some of the others, most likely since a palace is absent from it, but that said, it’s nonetheless a pleasant park for a stroll or to read a book and comes complete with its own lake. Near park’s main entrance, there is a memorial to the September 11th terror attacks.  
  • Barriers of Grochów (Rogatki Grochowskie), ul. Grochowska. Used for collecting the toll for entering the city. (updated Apr 2017)
  • Monument to the builders of the Brześć Road, ul. Grochowska. Built in 1825, it was the first monument in Poland to honor anonymous workers (instead of famous national heroes). (updated Apr 2017)
  • 52.232721.05961 Saska Kępa. A mostly residential neighborhood that is freckled with numerous embassies, but is unique for the cozy cafes and restaurants that line one its most well-known streets, ul. Francuska. In the evening, the neighborhood is an idyllic setting for a stroll, which can be topped off by watching the sunset over the Eastern skyline of Warsaw, dominated by the Palace of Culture and Science, while grilling or drinking by a couple of the city-provided grills on the banks of the Vistula. If you go to grill, be sure to bring some bug spray. This neighborhood is also located immediately next to the National Stadium. (updated Apr 2017)
  • 52.24861121.1077781 Olszynka Grochowska. The forest was an important battlefield during the November Uprising. (updated Sep 2018)

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