logo

This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
  • BEST OF WARSAW
  • News
  • Events
  • Eat
  • Drink
  • Shop
  • Neighborhoods
  • More…
    • Features
    • Best of Summer
    • Food Halls & Hubs
    • Going Out
    • Education
    • Culture
    • Hotels
  • Magazine

08.01.2023

FeaturesInsider News

Miniature Park Becomes Park of Shame

Having switched locations six times in its short lifespan, its latest tenancy – on the corner of Świętokrzyska and Marszałkowska – has proved its undoing, with the stunning open air exhibit repeatedly falling foul of vandals. In fact, such is its current state, some press reports have dubbed it ‘the Park of shame’.

A remarkable labor of love, it presented a range of meticulously detailed 1:25 scale models of some of the city’s non-existent landmarks. Showcasing the lost architectural gems that earned Warsaw its reputation as ‘the Paris of the East’, visitors were able to get up close to such treasures as the Saski Palace, the wooden Summer Theater that once stood in Saski Gardens, the Great Synagogue demolished after the Jewish Ghetto Uprising and, even, the city’s first shopping center.

With each building taking a team of historians, architects and 3D printing boffins months to create, models typically weighed 100 to 120 kilos and were built using the same material as Lego bricks.

However, despite previously thrilling tens of thousands of visitors, the Park Miniatur – and its protection – repeatedly failed to earn the interest of City Hall and today it stands broken and smashed.

Having appealed to the city for a secure and sheltered space, founders of the Park revealed that they have stopped pressing authorities for help given their history of inertia. “We no longer turn to the city because going to meetings with them for the sake of it just doesn’t make sense,” said Rafał Kunach, one of the park’s founders.

Rumours persist that the buildings that have survived may be moved elsewhere in January and restored, but as things stand that could prove wishful thinking taking into account the money and hours needed to renovate this treasure.


Photos: Kevin Demaria

STAY IN THE LOOP!
For more Warsaw news, reviews, and tips, sign up for our weekly newsletter

This field is hidden when viewing the form
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Read more

10.06.2025

Vote for Warsaw’s Tree in the Polish Tree of the Year 2025 Competition!

05.06.2025

End of an Era: Warsaw’s Intraco Skyscraper Faces the Wrecking Ball

05.06.2025

Warsaw Opens Central Square: A Greener, Smarter City Center Emerges

Read more

10.06.2025

  • Features

Vote for Warsaw’s Tree in the Polish Tree of the Year 2025 Competition!

05.06.2025

  • Features

End of an Era: Warsaw’s Intraco Skyscraper Faces the Wrecking Ball

05.06.2025

  • Features

Warsaw Opens Central Square: A Greener, Smarter City Center Emerges

logo

Guide to good living
and fast times in Poland’s
capital

  • News
  • Insights
  • Events
  • Eat
  • Drink
  • Neighborhoods
  • Features
  • Culture
  • Best of Warsaw
  • Magazine

Magazine

  • Editorial Team
  • Newsletter Signup
  • Policy

Advertise With Us

  • Insider Media Kit
  • Guidelines
  • Distribution

Contact

  • Subscriptions
  • Career

VALKEA MEDIA S.A., www.valkea.com ul. Ficowskiego 15, Warszawa, Poland; tel. 22 257 75 00; e-mail: insider@warsawinsider.pl
All information ©2022 Warsaw Insider.