Skaryszewski Park is one of the most beautiful in Warsaw - you’ll find a pleasant 55 hectare site filled with wide alleys originally designed for horse-drawn carriages, man-made hills, waterfalls, lakes and landscaped flowerbeds. It’s perfectly acceptable to sprawl out on the grass wherever you like here and have a picnic in the sun.
Originally founded in 1905, Skaryszewski Park went under the name Paderewski Park up until 1945. Within its manicured grounds are several points of interest, including a monument commemorating Allied pilots who flew missions to supply insurgents fighting in the Warsaw Uprising. The memorial is located at the exact site where B24 bomber was shot down in 1944, killing all but one of the seven crew on board. The sole survivor, Henry Lloyd Lyne, unveiled the monument in 1988, and today it is the sight of the British Embassy’s annual Remembrance service. In 2000 Lloyd Lyne, a retired farmer, was presented with a recovered piece of the plane by Queen Elizabeth II; he passed away at age 93 in March 2016.
Another far grander monument, frowned upon by the locals, was up until its removal in 2018 located near the entrance to the park and commemorated the killing of twenty-six Red Army soldiers by the Nazis in 1944. Originally, the monument which featured a low-relief sculpture of a Red Army soldier, was constructed over the graves of the soldiers in a different area of the park. In 1968, their bodies were exhumed and moved to the Red Army cemetery on ul. Żwirki i Wigury. The monument itself was also relocated to the more prominent position on the main alleyway, where it remained until its removal due to decommunisation laws.
Apart from its fascinating history, Skaryszewski Park is known as a place to relax, picnic, feed birds and take dogs for a walk. With large bushes and overhanging tress, two duck ponds, and secret paths aplenty, it's a more wild and laid-back alternative to its well-manicured sister, Łazienki Park.
Comments
Susan Victoria Skarr Nash
Richmond, TX
My birth name was Susan Skaryczewski.I am told this park has been named after my father's family. Would someone please give me any more details?