Giant Dog Ruffles Warsaw!

Debuting in Ochota, three pink dogs have left the city divided…

Mid-September saw a trio of pink dogs named POOPilek unveiled across the Ochota district. Designed by the artist Olga Prokop-Miśniakiewicz, the installations were created with a dual purpose in mind – to beautify the area’s public space whilst simultaneously reminding residents as to the

importance of cleaning after their pets.

Depicting a pooping dog, the works were produced using recycled material and have been placed in Park Pięciu Sióstr, Park Szczęśliwicki and by Primary School No. 97 on Spiska street. Immediately, however, the works have caused a storm with critics claiming the dogs are a prime example of the city misusing the finances at their disposal – according to one leak, the animals swallowed PLN 45,000 of public funds.

Others, meanwhile, have slammed them for being monstrously kitsch. “The animals look nasty and they’re the same colour as a cheap sausage,” complained one local to Gazeta Wyborcza. Dividing public opinion, many though have praised the initiative for its humour and underlying message. Neither has the controversy been limited to artistic debate. Having boasted that the canines were thief-proof on account of their hefty 150-kilo weight, city officials turned up to the official unveiling of the one in Park Szczęśliwicki only to find it had been stolen. Fortunately, the animal was discovered dumped several hundred metres away.

The Pride Of Foksal

Emblematic of the finer things in life, we look at the history of Foksal 19…

Long regarded as one of the most prestigious streets in Warsaw, Foskal was born in the 18th century when it was established as a private park and place of leisure targeted at the rich and famous. Named after London’s Vauxhall, it was from here in 1789 that the Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard started out on the first hot-air balloon flight undertaken in Poland.

Decades later, the street finally began taking its current form with elegant tenements and palaces sprouting up. Then popular with aristocrats and industry magnates, it has retained a prime reputation to this very day. Partially, that’s thanks to the presence of such places as Chaton, a glamorous live entertainment spot launched earlier in the year. Located at Foksal 19, and appearing fittingly lavish, the management couldn’t have picked a better spot if they tried.

Built in neo-Gothic style, the building was financed by Count Ksawery Branicki, the president of the Warsaw Rowing Society (WTW). Recognised as the country’s oldest surviving sports club, the property was later sold to the society who paid off their dues over the following two decades.

What they received was truly extraordinary. Jointly designed by Bronisław Brochowicz-Rogoyski and Kazimierz Matecki, the building was completed in 1897 and included an intricate façade defined by an allegorical sculpture by Hipolit Marczewski. Depicting a noble-looking lady balanced on a boat, below her are three boys – one rowing, and two playing the flute.

Created in an era when Poland was petitioned between Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy and the Russian Empire, in essence Marczewski’s work showed the Queen of Polish Rivers uniting her divided nation.

However, Foksal 19 was just as impressive from the inside. Something of a sports hub, the building allowed for year-round fencing practice and gymnastics inside its spacious halls. Moreover, it housed the WTW’s offices as well as ball rooms for charity events, receptions, and cultural events. Authors Henryk Sienkiewicz, Stefan Żeromski and Bolesław Prus were among those who passed through the doors enroute to glitzy engagements. Though gutted by fire during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising, the building refused to buckle and by 1946 it resumed its activities.

In modern times, it has continued to reflect Warsaw’s taste for the finer things in life – at the start of the millennium, veteran expats will remember Soma, an American-run brewery-bar that offered locals one of the few Western-style experiences in the city. Later, for years it ran as the elite Foksal 19 club, and an international beer mecca called Sketch, before enjoying infamy as a go-go club notorious for drugging its clientele.

More recently, it was revived as FHouse, an exclusive club aimed at the super rich. Having had its opening delayed by an arson attack commissioned by a jealous business rival, the grand launch was then called off after the pandemic swept Poland. Now reinvented under new operators as Chaton, this luxurious building is again enjoying a fresh lease of life.