Warsaw is the capital of Poland and its largest city. It is located on the Vistula river roughly 370 km from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2004 was estimated at 1,692,900, with an urban agglomeration of approximately 2,760,000. The city area amounts to 516.9 sq km, with an agglomeration of 6100.43 sq km.

Warsaw, also the capital of Masovian Voivodship, is home to many industries, including manufacturing, steel, electrical engineering, and automotive; it features 66 institutions of higher learning, including Warsaw University, Stefan Wyszygnski University, Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw School of Economics, and a Medical Academy. Warsaw is home to over 30 theatres, including the National Theatre and Opera and the National Philharmon ic Orchestra.

Warsaw straddles the Vistula river, approximately 370 kilometres from both the Carpathian mountains and Baltic Sea. It is located in the heartland of the Masovian Plain, and its average altitude is 100 m above sea level, although there are some hills (mostly artificial) located within the confines of the city.

Famous people :

Mordechai Anielewicz (1919-1943), commander of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising
Eugeniusz Bodo (1899-1943?), singer and actor
Zbigniew Brzezinski (b. 1928), political scientist, advisor to US President Jimmy Carter.
Fryderyk Chopin, (1810-1849), the greatest Polish composer
Maria Sktodowska-Curie, (1867-1934), pioneer researcher into radioactivity, two-time Nobel Prize winner
Lucyna Cwierczakiewiczowa (1829-1901), the first Polish cookbook author
Witold Gombrowicz (1904-1969), novelist and drama writer
Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1972), Jewish theologian and philosopher
Agnieszka Holland (b. 1948), internationally acclaimed film director
Adam Jarzebski (ca 1590-1649), composer and violinist, author of the first guide to Warsaw
Jacek Kaczmarski, (1957-2004), songwriter, poet and author
Ryszard Kapuscinski (b. 1932), writer and journalist
Krzysztof Kieslowski (1941-1996), internationally acclaimed film director
Krzysztof Komeda, (1931-1969), free jazz pioneer, composer
Janusz Korczak (1878 or 1879-1942), writer, publicist, educator, children's rights advocate.
Ryszard Kuklinski (1930-2004), a CIA spy during the Cold War
Kazimierz Kuratowski (1896-1980), mathematician

Legislative power in Warsaw is vested in a unicameral City Council (Rada Miasta), which comprises 60 members. Council members are elected directly every four years. Like most legislative bodies, the City Council divides itself into committees which have the oversight of various functions of the city government. Bills passed by a simple majority are sent to the mayor (the President of Warsaw), who may sign them into law. If the mayor vetoes a bill, the Council has 30 days to override the veto by a two-thirds majority vote.

Each of the 18 separate city districts has its own council (Rada dzielnicy). Their duties are focused on aiding the President and the City Council, as well as supervising various municipal companies, city-owned property and schools. The head of each of the District Councils is named the Mayor (Burmistrz) and is elected by the local council from the candidates proposed by the President of Warsaw.

Warsaw has one international Airport, Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport, located just 10 km away from the city center. With over 60 international and domestic flights a day and with over 7,070,000 passengers in 2005 it is by far the biggest airport in Poland. Immediately adjacent to the main Frederic Chopin Airport terminal complex is the Etiuda terminal which serves both domestic routes and the international routes flown by low-cost carriers.

There are also plans to build a second international airport, mostly for service to other European Union countries. It is to be located either just outside the city limits, at a former military airfield, or in a suburb to the north or west.

The first railroad reached Warsaw in 1848 (the Warsaw-Vienna line). Nowadays Warsaw is one of the main railway nodes and exchange points in Poland. Cheap and fairly efficient, the PKP (Polskie Koleje Pagnstwowe, or Polish State-owned Railways) are one of the principal means of transport in Poland.

The main train station is Warszawa Centralna. Both the domestic and the international connections run from there to almost every major city in Poland and Europe. There are also 5 additional major train stations and a number of smaller stations for suburban lines.

The railway crosses under the city through a tunnel (tunel Ã…'rednicowy). It is approximately 2.2 km long and runs directly under the city center. It is part of an east-west line connecting the Warszawa Zachodnia, Warszawa Centralna and Warszawa Wschodnia train stations through the tunnel and a railway bridge over the Vistula River.
_{This article is licensed under the [GNU Free Documentation License]. It uses material from Wikipedia
Warsaw Image : msg-quad.pl}

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Tags: capital, poland, carpathian mountains, baltic sea

Date Added: 22 April '06

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