stadion dziesieciolecia

Stadion Dziesięciolecia (Polish for 10th Anniversary Stadium) is the biggest stadium in Warsaw and one of the biggest in Poland. During the years of People's Republic of Poland it was one of the most advertised construction sites and one of the main places where party and state festivals were held. Currently it is used as a market place.

History

In 1953 the Association of Polish Architects started an open contest for the project of an "Olympic Stadium for the city of Warsaw". It was won by the team led by Jerzy Hryniewiecki, Zbigniew Ihnatowicz and Jerzy Sołtan and later the same year the construction was started. The stadium was constructed mostly with rubble from houses destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. The project involved the construction of an open air oval-shaped olympic stadium: it contains a football pitch and a 400-metre racing track. Theoretically the terraces with wooden benches provided seats for 71 008 people, but during the biggest festivals organised there it housed more than 100 000 spectators. In addition, the stadium was equipped with a training field, a small sports dome, 900 parking spaces and was surrounded with a park. The stadium was also connected with a nearby bus station and a train station opened specifically for the transport of spectators. Soon after its opening, it became the Poland's national stadium. It housed most important international football matches and athletics competitions, as well as communist party galas, concerts, and commemorative festivals. In addition, it served as the final lap of the Peace Race. In 1983, due to technical problems, the stadium was abandoned. In 1989 it was rented by the City of Warsaw to the company Damis, which founded there the Jarmark Europa market, which soon became one of the biggest bazaars in the world. With over 5 000 companies based there and many more not registered it is the biggest facility of its kind in Poland. According to the Polish Centralne Biuro Śledcze agency, the yearly turnover exceeds 12 000 000 000 zlotys (almost 3 000 000 000 Euro in 2001). However, since the stadium is home to traders of illegal goods, illegal immigrants and countless unregistered stores, the official data for the same period cite this number at approximately 500 million zlotys. The top tier of the market is full of vendors of such items as clothing, souvenirs, pirated CDs and movies. The market is quite a spectacle, as one can observe the purchase and sale of all kinds of goods. It is notorious for the illegal activity that occurs there. The main form is the pirating of media, and the sale of stolen goods, such as electronics. It is rumored that highly illegal goods, such as ex-Soviet weapons can be purchased. In the early 1990s when the Red Army was leaving Poland, one could also buy Soviet heavy weapons and military vehicles there for a reasonable price. According to the Polish Police the Jarmark Europa is the biggest node of illegal market in Poland, providing inhabitants of Warsaw as well as tourists from other countries (most notably Germany) with smuggled cigarettes, alcohol and drugs. Between 1995 and 2001 more than 25 000 traders were sued, while approximately 10 million pirated CDs and video tapes were confiscated. It is commonly believed that this was simply the tip of the iceberg. Currently the government of the City of Warsaw is preparing a plan of revitalisation of the stadium which could be once again turned into a sports facility.

Stadion Dziesieciolecia

History

See also: