Warsaw [antikvár]

HISTORICAL FRAMEWORKWarsaw is one of the youngest European capitate. Despite its relatively short history, its fortunes were often changing. Periods of rapid growth intermingled with decline and destruction.Although the first Settlements in the area of the present city date back to the l Oth Century, the originai town surrounded with fortifications was built in the second half of the 13th Century. The population grew quickly and the town expanded both in its area and meaning. In the I4th Century Warsaw was an important town in Mazovia, the province which joined the Polish Crown after the childless death of the last Mazovian duke in 1526. Warsaw obtained the same rights as other towns of the kingdom.At the turn of the 16th Century Warsaw became the capital of Poland. The process took some time. After the great fire at Wawel Castle in Cracow, King Sigismund III Vasa moved to Warsaw Castle in 1596, but he did not settle permanently and together with all his court, until 1611. What decided about Warsaw becoming the state capital were politicai reasons and the town's convenient situation, closer to the Baltic and Lithuania. A newchapter in the town's history began. Artists, scholars, merchants and craftsmen flew in; magnates built their palaces, as well as churches and monasteries.The second half of the 17th and early 18th centuries were far from prosperous. The capital was destroyed by successive Swedish invasions and a devastating plague. Under the Saxon kings the town started developing again, but it flourished during the reign of King Stanisiaw Augustus Poniatowski. Banks and factories were opened, arts and crafts developed, the population increased. The Four-year Sejm, convened in Warsaw in 1788-1792, passed the 3rd May Constitution in 1791.Towards the end of the 18th century Poland was partitioned among Prussia, Austria and Russia. It took place in three stages: in 1772, 1793 and 1795. Warsaw found itself in the Prussian sector.After the defeat inflicted on the Prussian army by Napoleon Bonaparte, the Duchy of Warsaw was established in 1807. It did not exist long. The French were soon defeated and in 1813 Warsaw was taken by the Tsarist army. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 brought