The first city I visited in Poland was Gdansk. The town centre was mostly destroyed in the Second World War and subsequently rebuilt in the old Art nouveau style (photo 1), although some of the buildings were left almost unscathed (photo 2). It was just down the road from Gdansk in Westerplatte that the Second World War started in 1939.
In Malbork an old castle was mostly destroyed in WWII and has been reconstructed (photo 1). Although nicely done it has no feeling of rusticity or authenticity. The whole area was completely snowbound including the boats on the river (photo 2). As a result of the snow cover the locals have to use sleds instead of prams (photo 3).
In Warsaw the changing of the guard (photo 1) at the tomb of the unknown soldier was quite amusing. Warsaw's town centre (photo 2) was totally rebuilt after the war as it was totally destroyed by the Germans who went house to house dynamiting the buildings. The reconstruction is impressive as it has been done tastefully and truthfully, the problem being that the bricks that were "donated" by cities that were previously largely unscathed but ended up having to destroy their own old and attractive town centres to meet the quotas. The former Royal Palace is amongst the buildings rebuilt (background of photo 3). Many of its contents were returned from East Germany, which is where they had been stashed.
Warsaw's Jewish population suffered horrifically during the holocaust, but miraculously the massive Jewish cemetery was untouched and undesecrated. It is a particularly atmospheric place with snow on the tombs, ground and trees.
