Zygmunt’s Column, in the centre of Plac Zamkowy, is the oldest secular statue
in Warsaw. It was erected in 1644 by Zygmunt III’s son Władysław IV. The
monument, which stands 22 m (72 ft) high, consists of a Corinthian granite
column supported on a tall plinth and topped with a bronze statue of the
ruler, who is depicted with a cross in his left hand and a sword in his
right. The figure is the work of Clemente Molli, and the whole monument was
designed by Augustyn Locci the Elder and Constantino Tencalla, two Italian
architects working for the king. This monument, unusual in European terms,
glorifies the secular ruler in a manner which had until then been reserved
for saints and other religious subjects. Despite repeated damage and
repairs, the statue retains its original appearance. The column on which it
stands, however, has already been replaced twice. An older, fractured shaft
can be seen on the terrace near the south façade of the Palace Under the Tin
Roof.

This Mannerist-Baroque church was built for the Jesuit order between 1609 and
1629, at the same time as the monastery. Although it had a somewhat
chequered history, it survived without major changes until 1944, when it was
almost completely destroyed. When it was rebuilt after World War II, the
church’s somewhat unusual architecture was restored on the basis of the
original plans, which had survived. Located in a narrow space, it has a
unique layout; especially original is the way in which the chancel is
flooded by light falling from the lantern in the elliptical dome over the
apse. The crypt, which contains a stonecutter’s workshop, is in the space
once occupied by the basements of the Gothic town houses that stood on the
site.

The existing post-Augustan Church is the result of two major reconstructions
in the Baroque style, carried out in 1631–6 and in the first half of the
18th century. The latter phase of rebuilding took place under the direction
of architect KaÏrol Bay, who designed the undulating façade. The late
Baroque decoration of the interior was destroyed in 1944. Only a partially
burned crucifix survived. After the war, the interior was minutely restored
to a design by Sister Alma Skrzydlewska and the crucifix incorporated into a
modern design. In the 1980s, the church was a meeting place for the
political opposition to the Communist government.

Until the end of the 18th century, this rectangular market square was the
most important place in Warsaw. The houses around the square were built by
the most affluent members of the community. Most of them date from the
1600s, and it is these that give the square its period character. In the
centre there was once a town hall, a weigh house and stalls, all demolished
in 1817. In their place now stands a statue of the Mermaid (Syrenka) .

Each row of houses bears the name of one of the people involved in the
Four-Year Sejm. On the north side is Dekerta – named after Jan Dekert, mayor
of Warsaw in the 18th century. All the houses are interconnected and now
host the Historical Museum of Warsaw , which displays
typical interiors of townspeople’s homes and craftsmen’s studios.

Warsaw is one of the few European capitals where a large portion of the old
city wall survives. Construction of the wall began in the first half of the
14th century and continued in phases up to the mid-16th century. A double
circumvallation, reinforced with fortresses and towers, encircled the town.
The earliest part of the fortifications is the Barbican, erected around 1548
by Gianbattista of Venice. It was built on the site of an earlier outer gate
and was intended to defend the Nowomiejska Gate (Brama Nowomiejska). The
northern part of this defensive building, in the form of a dungeon
reinforced by four semicircular towers, survived as the external wall of a
town house. After World War II, parts of the wall were rebuilt and the
Barbican, which had ceased to exist for a long period, was restored to its
full scale.