Sightseeing | Powiśle
Powiśle: Warsaw’s Riverside District Funky forms in Powiśle’s cultural zone; photos by Mat Fahrenholz. Above: Museum on the Vistula (p.45).
It might seem like quite a stretch to refer to any part of Warsaw as a hot spot, particularly in winter, but the city’s riverside Powiśle district has been blipping on the radar for quite some time. In recent years its rapid transformation hasn’t escaped the notice of travel writers eager to identify the next urban gem (ourselves included). Once a fairly mundane area full of apartment blocks, factories/warehouses and workshops (often dilapidated), Powile was even avoided by many locals as there was simply nothing interesting to see or do here that warranted rolling down the hill. Fast-forward to today and this is one of the most intriguing parts of Warsaw, containing some fantastic museums, the modernised riverside boulevards, a revamped power station (Elektrownia Powiśle), photo-friendly uni gardens (open from April until end of October), an iconic train station bar (Warszawa Powiśle) unique shops, and of course, a gastro and social scene hotbed! 40
It’s time for an explanation for this mish-mash through a brief history lesson (don’t yawn, it’s worth it!). Warsaw University got the ball rolling by relocating its library to its current location on ul. Dobra 56/66 in 1999 and subsequently adding the now popular gardens (including rooftop garden with viewing platform) in 2002. The intelligentsia had officially moved in. But Powiśle was still seen as an area of little interest, the most interesting point being the left-bank riverside boulevards, which were merely cracked concrete slabs covered in weeds, the remnants of a pre-war effort to build a promenade, and subsequently became a favourite haunt of local drunks. Oh, dear. But once city centre rents began sky rocketing, the vanquished found their new home here. Local artists, small cafe and restaurant owners, shop owners, even activists, looking for a near-thecentre area to relocate saw the potential in the leafy riverside district.
