Do you believe in magic? Mysteries in the other side of the Vistula River…

Poland. Warsaw. Evading the noisy and touristic Old Warsaw, we crossed the Vistula River to the east bank…

At the eastern bank of the Vistula River the Praga district is located.Wait, did I hear well? Did I read that right? Praga in Warsaw? Praguein Czech Republic? Hmmm, a ‘branch’ in Poland?

Lost somewhere in Praga…who knows where? We stood at a junction in front of a Cathedral. Holding a miserable map and poor printed notes after a sloppy internet research. And now what? Which direction to follow? What kind of a plan to carry out?

“Do you need help?”, a voice asked in British accent. A middle- aged diminutive man, clear face, vivid eyes, upright posture, a Gentleman. We spluttered something, something uncertain and obscure. The stranger though, somehow did make sense “Please, you can follow me, it’s in my way”…Mudded for a second but definitely ‘seduced’ by his ‘magic flute’, we followed. And here starts a tour back to time, a deep dive in history…

The historical Praga was a small settlement located at the eastern bank of the Vistula river, directly opposite the towns of Old Warsaw and Mariensztat, both being parts of Warsawnow. First mentioned in 1432, it derived its name from the Polish verb prażyć, meaning to burn or to roast, as it occupied a forested area that was burnt out to make place for the village. Separated from Warsaw by a wide river, it developed independently of the nearby city, and on February 10, 1648 king Władysław IV of Poland granted Praga with a city charter. However, as it was mostly a suburb and most buildings were wooden, the town was repeatedly destroyed by fires, floods and foreign armies. Currently the only surviving historical monument from that epoch is the Church of Our Lady of Loreto

Although there were numerous attempts to build a permanent bridge across the river, none succeeded and Praga remained a separate entity well into the 18th century. Communication between the capital and Praga was maintained by privately run ferries and, in the winter, over the ice. Finally, in 1791, during the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, Praga was attached to Warsaw as a borough.

The Battle of Praga, or Battle of Warsaw of 1794, was a Russian assault during the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. It was followed by a massacre in which over 20,000 inhabitants of the Praga district lost their lives.

Unlike the western parts of Warsaw, Praga remained relatively untouched during World War II and in the postwar period of reconstruction, the capital was home to many ministries and public facilities.

The district experienced a revival following the end of Communism in 1989, as young artists moved into many of the former factory buildings, drawing crowds in search of something different from the old town.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praga

An amateur tour guide? Or an elf with magical powers and supernatural skills? In one way or another, he inducted us to the genuine, rough, shady but lively side of Warsaw. A man coming from a fairy of Romance culture introduced us to the undamaged during WWII part of the city, where you can actually see and feel the continuity of time…

Who was he? He told us his story. A part of his story. What brought him to the city. Obviously a man, another ‘Sir Elf’ would have inducted him too in the underground soul of Warsaw.

He came out of the blue and discreetly disappeared leaving behind him three enchanted devotees of Praga’s pulse…

Some Varsovians still think that a night out in Praga is a bit too edgy for comfort, remembering the days when the neighbourhood’s soaring crime rate earned it the nickname «the Bermuda Triangle». For decades, it was home to the poorest of Warsaw’s poor, and the derelict streets were ruled by the criminal underworld.

But in recent years, those who have ventured across the VistulaRiver have found that Praga is blossoming into one of new Europe’s creative capitals. Today, renovated pre-war factories and warehouses are the favourite haunts of the artistic, as bars, clubs, galleries and restaurants have transformed the historic back alleys.

https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/aug/27/warsaw.poland