CENTRAL SQUARE (PLAC CENTRALNY)

The central square was the heart of the city. From here, five wide avenues radiated out in the shape of a pentagon, leading to residential areas called sectors and indicated by letters of the alphabet. It was to be surrounded by housing estates, party buildings, a theater to the south and the city hall to the north. But the project could not be fully realized because of its enormous cost and the death of Stalin in 1953, which put a stop to the architectural madness. As a result, the city hall, which was supposed to compete with the Empire State Building, never saw the light of day (but the gardens of the city hall do exist) and the project of an obelisk worthy of the one in Washington remained forever in the cards. Instead, on the adjacent Rose Street, there was a 7 t statue of Stalin, the object of many riots during the socialist era. In reality, Nowa Huta exudes a real charm, that of the utopia of the perfect city, and a kind of melancholy towards the failed socialist dream.

If from Centralny Square one walks along Solidarności Avenue all the way to the end, one will arrive at the Sendzimir steel mill (Huta im. Sendzimira, ul. Ujastek 1). The visit is forbidden to the public, but it is worth going there to see its huge sign and the building of the Administrative Center of the steel plant. It is the best example of social realist architecture in Poland. Because of its architectural appearance, the Center is nicknamed Vatican and Doge's Palace.