View source for Piłsudski Square

{{Short description|Square in Warsaw, Poland}}{{Single source|date=March 2025}}{{About|a square||Pilsudski (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Warszawa plac Pilsudskiego (dron).jpg|thumb|250px|Warsaw skyline from Piłsudski Square. Left to right: Sofitel Warsaw Victoria Hotel, [[Holy Trinity Church, Warsaw|Holy Trinity Church]], [[Palace of Culture and Science]], Flagpole in the centre of the square, [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw|Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]].]]
[[File:Warsaw Poland abcd 1939.jpg|thumb|250px|Piłsudski Square, 1939.]]
[[Image:Msza św na Pl Zwycięstwa.jpg|thumb|250px|Piłsudski Square (then Victory Square) during Pope [[John Paul&nbsp;II]] visit to Warsaw; [[Holy Mass]], 1979.]]

'''Piłsudski Square'''{{efn|previously '''Victory Square''' ({{Lang|pl|plac Zwycięstwa}}, 1946–1990) and '''Saxon Square''' ({{Lang|pl|plac Saski}}, 1814–1928)}} ({{langx|pl|plac marsz. Józefa Piłsudskiego}}), is the largest [[city square]] of [[Poland|Poland's]] [[Warsaw|capital]], located in the [[Warszawa-Śródmieście|Warsaw city centre]]. The square is named after [[Marshal of Poland|Marshal]] [[Józef Piłsudski]] who was instrumental in the restoration of Polish statehood after [[World War I]].<ref>[http://www.placpilsudskiego.pl Strona placu Józefa Piłsudskiego.] Official website. {{in lang|pl}}</ref>

==Current and previous names==
Over the centuries, the square has been named successively as Saxon Square (''Plac Saski'') after Poland's Saxon kings, with the [[Saxon Palace]] standing adjacent to the square, but destroyed in World War II; then Piłsudski Square (after [[Józef Piłsudski]]) during the [[Second Polish Republic]]; then briefly, Adolf-Hitler-Platz during Germany's [[Occupation of Poland|World War II occupation]] of Warsaw; and, after 1946, Victory Square ({{langx|pl|plac Zwycięstwa}}) in honour of Poland's and her allies' victory in [[World War II]]. Since the fall of communism in Poland, it is again called Piłsudski Square.

Piłsudski Square is the site of the [[Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Warsaw|Tomb of the Unknown Soldier]], erected on top of the underground foundations of the [[Saxon Palace]], destroyed by the Nazis in World War II.

==History==
The square has been the scene of many historic events over the centuries. Important guests of Warsaw and Poland have been officially welcomed there. [[Military parade]]s have been held at the square since the 19th century Polish [[Partitions of Poland|partitions]]. From the 1890s to the 1920s, the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] [[Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Warsaw|Alexander Nevsky Cathedral]] stood there. As with most of the other Moscow Patriarchate churches in Warsaw, it was demolished in mid-1920s by the Polish authorities, less than 15 years after its construction, and in 1928, the square was renamed after Józef Piłsudski.

It was on Piłsudski Square (then Victory Square) in 1979 that [[Pope John Paul II]] addressed a large gathering of his countrymen at an open-air [[Holy Mass]] during his first visit to Poland soon after his 1978 elevation to the [[papacy]]. This event marked a more confrontational approach to the Soviet Union by the papacy and contributed to the eventual [[fall of communism in Poland]]. In April 2005, his death was mourned there also. [[Pope Benedict XVI]] celebrated an open-air Mass on the square on 26 May 2006, during his first pastoral visit to Poland. The square is now a location of some luxury shops, such as Italian ''[[Valentino (fashion house)|Valentino]]'' and others.

== Location ==
The square is located in front of the 15–hectare [[Saxon Garden]]s extending south-west, close to the [[Zachęta]] and the [[Holy Trinity Church, Warsaw|Holy Trinity Church]]. The nearest [[Warsaw Metro|metro]] station is [[Nowy Świat-Uniwersytet metro station|Nowy Świat-Uniwersytet]], a seven-minute walk away.

== See also ==
{{Commons category|Piłsudski Square in Warsaw}}
* [[Saxon Palace]] in prewar Warsaw
* [[Józef Piłsudski Monument, Warsaw]]

== Notes ==
<references group="lower-alpha" />
==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{in lang|pl}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20070918011852/http://www.warszawa.vr360.pl/ Virtual Tour], at ''Warszawa.vr360.pl''.
{{Squares in Warsaw}}
{{Warsaw|state=collapsed}}
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{{Coord|52|14|28.41|N|21|0|45.94|E|type:landmark|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pilsudski Square}}
[[Category:Squares in Warsaw]]
[[Category:Śródmieście Północne]]
[[Category:Józef Piłsudski]]