Rozbiórka byłego soboru Aleksandra Newskiego na placu Saskim w Warszawie. Studium przypadku z dziedziny polityki i administracji władz centralnych i samorządowych odrodzonej Rzeczypospolitej

Michał Zarychta

Vol. 32 No. 2 (2018)

ISSN:

1427-7476

Section: Varia

Demolition of the Former Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the Saski Square in Warsaw. Case Study in the Field of Politics and Administration of Central and Local Government Authorities of the Reborn Polish Republic

Michał Zarychta

Instytut Pamięci Narodowej

Remembrance and Justice, Vol. 32 No. 2 (2018), pages: 416-439

Publication date: 2018-12-30

PDF (Język Polski)

Abstract

When Poland regained its independence, a decision was made to pull down the Orthodox St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral as part of clearing Warsaw’s public space from the remains of the symbolic politics of partition. This matter was widely commented on both among the political elites of the Second Polish Republic and the residents of Warsaw, and the inhabitants of whole Poland were informed about it. Social organisations and the Town Hall of Warsaw were the first to take the issue of demolition of the Cathedral. Information on this subject appeared in the press and reached the Government of the Polish Republic. The Presidium of the Council of Ministers took a stand on this matter at the request of its Chairman, Ignacy Jan Paderewski. It was unambiguous – the Cathedral had to be demolished, and the Ministry of Public Works was to do it. Due to the interventions of the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment and the Ministry of Military Affairs, demolition was ceased. This subject was again taken up by the Legislative Sejm which, after conducting public consultations and lively discussions at the plenary session, postponed the demolition for a later period (interestingly, requests for demolition and maintaining the Cathedral were presented to the Sejm by representatives of one party). Then, the issue of demolition was taken up by the government of Gen. Władysław Sikorski (which met with a failed counteraction of members of national minorities) and commissioned to the Ministry of Public Works. The subcontractor chosen by the Ministry failed and only the City Hall of Warsaw completed the demolition works, and then gave the Saski Square for the representative needs of the Polish authorities in July 1926. These works were managed by the future Mayor of Warsaw, Zygmunt Słomiński. The article is a case study of demolition of the former Alexander Nevsky Cathedral as an action requiring the cooperation of many state and local government institutions of the reborn Polish State, an action which resulted in the polarisation of views, often not coinciding with the political affinity.

Keywords

II Rzeczpospolita • Imperium Rosyjskie • magistrat warszawski • Ministerstwo Wyznań Religijnych i Oświecenia Publicznego • polityka symboliczna • sobór Aleksandra Newskiego w Warszawie • urbanistyka Second Polish Republic • Russian Empire • Warsaw City Hall • Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment • symbolic politics • Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Warsaw • urban planning

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Citation rules

Zarychta, M. (2018). Demolition of the Former Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the Saski Square in Warsaw. Case Study in the Field of Politics and Administration of Central and Local Government Authorities of the Reborn Polish Republic. Remembrance and Justice, 32(2), 416–439. Retrieved from https://czasopisma.ipn.gov.pl/index.php/pis/article/view/76

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