Za Żelazną Bramą

The housing estate Za Żelazną Bramą ( Behind the Iron Gate ) - is located in the north-west of downtown Warsaw and extends into the adjoining Wola district. The name was derived from the Iron Gate ( Żelazna Brama ) - the entrance to the Saxon Garden - which no longer exists . The settlement partly built over a former trading center, Plac Za Żelazną Bramą .

The historical borders of the settlement in the 19th century were the streets: Chłodna, Żabia, Skórzana, Graniczna and the Saxon Garden. The district, inhabited by many Jews, was incorporated into the Warsaw Ghetto as a small ghetto in 1940 . After the murder of the Jews , the residential area was completely destroyed in 1943. The Mirów market halls on the square of the same name, which had been separated from the ghetto, were spared . A few houses on the outskirts of the ghetto have also remained standing (on Próżna Street), otherwise you will only find modern architecture in the entire Za Żelazną Bramą housing estate .

It was not until the 1960s that the empty “no man's land”, which had been freed from rubble, could be rebuilt. A north-south axis was led across the area - today's Johannes-Paul-II.-Allee , one of the busiest streets in Warsaw, which separates the districts of Wola and the inner city .

Unit block of flats

The most distinctive element of the residential area are its 19 wide, single high-rise buildings from the years 1965–1972. Each block of flats of this type has over 1000 residents spread over 15 floors. The apartments are rather small, without balconies, and often with a windowless kitchen. The attractiveness of the residential area lies in its central location. Since the houses were laid out very generously, there was a lot of green space between the houses. In addition to the 19 unit houses, there are also a few smaller ones. A total of 25,000 people live here, mostly singles, pensioners, childless couples, but also a relatively large number of Vietnamese .

It is interesting that the residential buildings are not prefabricated buildings , as most believe. They were created using the then innovative construction technique “Stolica” (“Capital”), whereby the concrete elements were poured. Some walls, including the facades, are made of hollow stone.

At the time of construction, the social role of residential houses in socialist society was considered. The houses each have two wide entrance halls on the ground floor and larger waiting rooms on each floor in front of the elevators. These were intended as group rooms where the residents would like to meet, similar to a student residence hall. However, this idea did not materialize; life is very anonymous here.

A “ capital city legend ” says that the communist party leader at the time, Władysław Gomułka, personally supervised the housing project - it was the first large housing estate in the Polish capital after the Second World War . He put pressure on architects so that superfluous luxury would be dispensed with. They even considered building shared toilets and bathrooms.

In the 1990s, the housing estate was placed under two housing administrations, as the houses are spread over two city districts. The renovation of the houses began. The green space between the houses fell victim to new investments and parking spaces.

Downtown life

After the fall of the Wall in 1989, the character of the area changed. The undeveloped area in an attractive location was popular with investors. New buildings were built in the 1990s, including office buildings (including for TP SA and PZU) and hotels (including The Westin and SAS). Further buildings are to be built in the coming years, such as the “ Shalom Tower ” high-rise apartment building .

With the extensive redevelopment, the original urban vision of this area was partly abandoned and the border to the city center blurred. This made the residential area less attractive for families with children. Because of the high traffic density (combined with traffic jams) in the city, the housing estate remains a good place to live for employees who work in the city center. A park runs through part of the settlement - practically an extension of the Saxon Garden.

The Jewish community is present in the housing estate with the city's only remaining synagogue and community facilities, as well as a theater , restaurant, and kosher grocery store. However, this minority lives in isolation, does not attract attention and no longer shapes the image of the city district at all, as it was the case before 1943.

Coordinates: 52 ° 14 ′ 17.8 "  N , 21 ° 0 ′ 1.8"  E