In the historic Skaryszewski Park, the strip dividing the main avenue will disappear, historic lanterns and a mineral surface will appear, and huge ash trees will be revived. Residents will be able to admire the effects of the changes when spring begins. The works are to be completed by March 31, 2024.
– This place will look like it used to, like before the war. It will be concreted and there will be new, energy-saving retro-style lighting. The main avenue of the park will regain its former glory – assures the mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, quoted in the press release.
It was built on the site of former meadows
The revitalization of Skaryszewski Park, which is carried out by the Municipal Roads Authority in cooperation with the Greenery Board, has been approved by the Masovian Voivodeship Conservator of Monuments. “Skaryszak” – bearing the name of IJ Paderewski since the times of the Second Polish Republic – is a historic area (in the register of monuments since 1973).
It was built on the former meadows of the village of Skaryszew in 1905-1916. It was designed by the then chief gardener of Warsaw, Franciszek Szanior. In 2009, it was honored with the title of the Most Beautiful Park in Poland and the third most beautiful park in Europe.
There are 280 species of trees and shrubs in the park, and the greatest treasure are specimens from the original dendrological collection that have managed to survive to this day. These include, among others: Amur corknuts, hybrid horse-chestnut, bitter hickory, Caucasian wingnuts, American walnuts and several species of ash. Particularly decorative are the ancient Japanese magnolias growing next to the rhodiola rosea, which are the main spring attraction of the park, when they are abundantly covered with beautiful white flowers.
Skaryszewski Park UM Warsaw
Farewell to the Soviet discount
The picturesque, wide main avenue of the park running between the Washington Roundabout and Lake Kamionkowski will regain its historic appearance. Workers will remove most of the asphalt (except for the final section from the Washington roundabout), and the road surface will be made mostly of water-permeable surface.
Despite the narrowing of the avenue, pedestrians will have a wider space for walking (11 meters). The entire main avenue will have a single-space layout – the green belt that divides it into two smaller parts will be eliminated. The discounts appeared in the park as a secondary element in the 1970s, together with the Monument to the Fallen Soldiers of the Red Army. The Soviet monument is no longer there and the city decided it was time to take another step in restoring the park’s historic appearance.
Replicas of pre-war pastorals
All concrete pillars in the park will be replaced with stylized lanterns – replicas of pre-war crosiers. Despite its historic appearance, the lighting will be modern and energy-saving, equipped with motion sensors. The lanterns will be lit so as not to disturb the animals living in the park. Only when a person appears on the path will the light change to stronger.
After dismantling the old concrete lampposts, the green area around the common ash trees in the main avenue will be enlarged. Thanks to this, the trees will have better living conditions. Currently, they grow right next to the asphalt surface, raise the curbs separating it and cause the asphalt surface to wave and crumble.
An important assumption of the project is to lay cables supplying electricity to the new street lamps in the middle of the walking path, under its surface. In this way, work on the ash rows will be limited to a minimum.
The work is performed by Q-REKBUD. They are scheduled to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2024.
Main photo source: UM Warsaw