Unseen Soundwalks

A bonus episode featuring an archival recording related to Chmielna 43. Originally recorded in September 1939. Many thanks to the Polish National Digital Archive for allowing us to share it with you.

On 24 October 1956, Władysław Gomułka, the new leader of the Polish communist party, took to the Tribune of Honour to address the Polish nation. The newly built Parade Square with the domineering Palace of Culture was the perfect backdrop for his speech which marked the beginning of a new era of Polish socialism following the cold years of Stalinism. The Tribune of Honour is the only piece of architecture in this series of Unseen which still remains, although the system under which it was...

Towards the end of World War II, a legendary singer decided to open a café in a ruined building in the centre of town. Mieczysław Fogg is one of the most revered Polish singers with a career spanning a number of decades throughout the 20th century. But he did more than just entertain audiences across, the globe, however. In 1945, Warsaw lay in ruins, as was testified by a group of Swedish radio journalists visiting the city later that year. Meanwhile, Mieczysław Fogg opened Café Fogg, a...

One of the tallest office buildings on this pre-war street became the heart of Polish Radio for a decade. The radio station provided broadcasts for almost the entire country, with a super-charged 120kW transmitter – the most powerful in Europe when constructed – broadcasting from Raszyn, just outside Warsaw. The building on Zielna Street has another history though. It was at this address that the Polish Communist Workers’ Party was founded soon after the country regained independence in...

At the beginning of August 1942, an elderly well-dressed gentleman left home with around 200 orphans in tow. It was to be their last outing. Sienna 16 was the last address of Janusz Korczak’s Dom Sierota orphans’ home before he and his children were killed at the Nazi German death camp of Treblinka in the first week of August 1942. Janusz Korczak was a pediatrician, renowned author, pedagogue, social activist, and defender of children’s rights. In fact, it is his work with children and his...

Poland’s first and arguably most eminent music label, Syrena Rekord, had its premises here from its early years up until 1939. The company was established in 1904 by Juliusz Feigenbaum, an industrialist from Warsaw. It was the first record production company in Poland, and the fourth worldwide! Taking on the name Syrena in 1908, the company went on to become the main driving force of the Polish music scene during the Polish Second Republic in the inter-war period. Further reading on...

In October 1939, a young Richard Pipes witnessed the Nazi German victory parade through Warsaw from the window of his family’s fourth-floor apartment. It was then that his family knew they had to escape Warsaw, and Poland. At the beginning of the war a number of Americans were also left stranded in the city. American film-maker and photographer Julien Bryan stayed to document the atrocities of war, appealing to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help the Polish people in a specially...

There were a number shops at this address, which was located on the corner of Marszałkowska and Chmielna streets. We learn a little about Polish fashion in the inter-war period and choose a hat from the renowned Mieszkowski boutique. After that we go the neighbouring Wedel chocolate salon and talk marketing tactics. Further reading on Culture.pl: The Bitter-Sweet Story Of Wedel, Poland’s Famous ChocolatierThe Crumbly & Delicious History of Chocolate in PolandPolish Food 101 ‒ Iconic...

On a warm summer’s day in 1845, a fascinated crowd gathered in front of the new Warsaw-Vienna station to greet the arrival of the railway. Despite the station’s name, however, it wouldn’t be a number of years before you could actually take the train directly to Vienna. Listen to the story of the grand opening of the station and how it sparked the development of the surrounding area of Warsaw. With thanks to: WAWstep city guides

Unseen is a new immersive soundwalk from Culture.pl which reimagines places which have been lost on the map of Warsaw. Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. You can follow Unseen on Instagram, and be sure to tag your photos with #unseenwarsaw when you experience the soundwalk!