Lazienki Park and Chopin's Monument, Warsaw

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Scultped in 1908, this bronze monument to Warsaw’s most famous composer sits beside a small pond which, on a clear sunny day, creates a reflection in the water. Chopin is sitting beside a sculpted willow tree searching for inspiration from nature. It gives the feeling of the wind blowing as the tree branches sway to one side and Chopin looks away from where the wind appears to be coming.

I visited the monument twice – the first time the weather was beautiful and, of course, I didn’t have my camera (we were out for dinner and I didn’t want to carry it along). The second time I went so I could get pictures, of course, it rained. But it didn’t deter me. I enjoyed walking around the monument grounds, which are full of rose bushes that were past their peak of blooming. I sat on one of the many park benches to just absorb the feeling of the monument, now very quiet with few visitors. Beside me I noticed a small bust of Franz Liszt, the Hungarian composer that was friends with Chopin.

The monument is located on Aleje Ujazdowskie in the upper part of Łazienki Park. On Sundays in the summer you can enjoy free piano concerts at the statue.

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This palace has everything needed to be a legend, big families in its history as the Lubomobirski, the Poniatowski ... , dramas and fire, a site with spectacular beauty and even a classical theater on the lake

It is a small palace , on an island , in a small lake and initially it was a bathhouse.

The building is rebuilt, but the furnishings and collections are original

On the lakeis the theater of the island, where rampant peacocks

it is nspired by Roman amphitheaters , crowned by six statues of poets of antiquity and the stage is on an island that mimics the ruins of the Roman Forum

Este Palacio tiene todo lo que necesita para ser una leyenda , grandes nombres en su historia , los Lubomobirski , los Poniatowski... , dramas e incendios , un sitio con una belleza espectacular y hasta un teatro clásico en medio del lago

Es un palacio pequeño , que está sobre una isla en un pequeño lago y que inicialmente fue una casa de baños .

El edificio es reconstruido , pero el mobiliario y las colecciones son originales

Sobre el lago el teatro de la isla , donde campean los pavos reales , inspirado en los anfiteatros romanos está coronado por seis estatuas de poetas de la antigüedad y el escenario está en una isla que imita las ruinas del foro Romano

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If you have time and good weather do not forget to take a walk in the park and if you can try to hear a concert

The park was built in the seventeenth century and takes its name from the bath house located in the park, called the Palace on the Water as it was built on the lake

A part of the palace is worth a special visit but you must walk through the gardens, see their greenhouse , the Belvedere, the White House

Get lost in these paths watching the statues of their great men and finish in the pond where it is payd homage to Chopin (Atention! try to hear a concert here)

Si tienes tiempo y hace buen tiempo no dejes de darte un paseo por el parque y si es posible escucha un concierto

El parque se construyó en el siglo XVII y toma el nombre por la casa de baños que se encuentra en el parque, el llamado Palacio sobre el Agua   ya que se construyó sobre el lago

A parte del palacio que merece una visita especial hay que pasear por los jardines, ver su invernadero , el Belvedere , la Casa Blanca

Perderse por sus paseos viendo las estatuas de sus grandes hombres para acabar en el estanque donde es homenajea a Chopin (Ojo! intenta oír aquí un concierto )

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Lazieki Park is huge, you can spend hours and hours hiking or walking the paths. We found several signs posted showing you the various routes and things to see, like the Water Palace you can see here.

Many water elements, ponds, lakes, waterways, all contribute to the overall relaxed atmosphere of the park, along with the many cottonwood trees. We were there in late May and the trees were throwing their abundance of seeds to the wind, it made the park look, in places, as if there had just been a snowstorm.

Statues are scattered around the park, like the photo here of the man/soldier mounted on a horse, stomping his opponent into the ground.....sorry I did not write down who is depicted here, so if anyone knows please write me.

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Okay, even I know who Chopin was, but if you want to read more biographical/historical things you can try the link to:
http://www.ourchopin.com/biography.html

As for us, we just enjoyed the setting in which the people of Warsaw had decided to put their tribute to this great composer. The area around the Chopin Monument, with its small pond is just the place to take a load off your feet after hiking through the Lazieki Park. Thanks for introducing us this place Daria.

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Central Park in New York has pigeons, Lazieki Park here in Warsaw has Peacocks...
They seem to have taken over the park, they wander among the people, rest on the walls, climb the various statues and monuments found there and if you look "suspicious" to the, they WILL attack you. While taking the photos that you see here one of the peacocks that was doing a fine display of tail feathers, took exception to having his photo taken from so close up and decided that a Nikon camera looked like a rival... Lucky for me that I had a protective lens over my regular lens when the peacock pecked it and ME several times. Needless to say I beat a hasty retreat knowing who the better bird was. But being wounded in battle was worth the photos you can see here.
This is a great place in the middle of a modern city where you can wander the park and enjoy a small piece of nature.

Favourite park in central Warsaw.
Palaces, museums, restaurants, monuments, concerts, ponds, old trees ... altogether a great park full of friendly animals.

See my Warsaw travelogues for more pictures.

I can hardly think of a nicer park in any of other european cities.

In case you arrive to Warsaw in the summer time or early fall it is worth to reserve your sunny Sunday afternoons for out-door piano concerts with Chopin's music that are held on every Sunday at noon and 4PM in Lazienki Garden by the Chopin's Monument. They are free of charge and for the detailed set up you can go to: http://www.tifc.chopin.pl/lazienki_en.html

In the beginning of August there are also organized the Chopin Days in Warsaw (called Chopiniana) that will be held from Aug. 3rd to Aug. 9th in various locations in Warsaw (mostly the Old Town and Lazienki Garden). They are not only focused on Chopin's music but also on its influence on eq. jazz music in Poland, movies and Mazovia district in general.