Eclectic Praga Północ

After more than a year of dating a woman residing in Nowa Praga, I have finally resolved to get to know the area better. The neighbourhood which in mind had been a squalid and off-putting place turned out to only partly reflect my image.

For about a decade the central part of Praga Północ has been undergoing a transformation from a god-forsaken, shady district into a modern, even posh area. The vicinity to the city centre which is just across Most Śląsko-Dąbrowski has definitely catalysed the un-coordinated modernisation. One of such examples are the buildings between ul. Stalowa, ul. Czynszowa and ul. Strzelecka. The modern one to the left has been squeezed between run-down, no longer inhabited tenements. The one to the right definitely is up-and-coming with its renovation potential.

While walking across the district (on Sunday, 6 August 2023) I made my way into a desolated courtyard by ul. Stalowa. The gate leads to a typical shrine put up at the very centre of the spot. I was a bit of scared while roaming there, as no living soul was around. Actually it benefitted me, as no scoundrel hang around. The tenement is not inhabited and the snap does not render the smell of excrements I had to endure.

 

The shot from ul. Równa depicts a typical landscape of Praga with all its elements - from the left:

- a relatively new block of flats built in the 1990s, with a quaint wall painting and graffiti,

- not too fancy cars parked on what used to be grass,

- a tall, yet narrow partly inhabited tenement with a dark gate passage,

- stand-alone rubbish containers (odour in the summer guaranteed),

- terraced garages (built in tines when car theft were a plague here) overgrown by ivy.

The only missing elements are inebriated pan Heniek and pan Ziutek sipping a beverage bought in a nearby monopolowy.

 

Ul. Czynszowa. The tram terminus resembles Italy. A narrow street, balconies typical for housing estates in Rome, a tramway in a symbiosis with the road and the pavement. Enlarge the photo to find out each of the buildings was erected in a different decade - the oldest blocks date back to pre-war times, some remember the communist era, while the newest were put up in 1990s and early 2000s.

 

The corner of ul. Równa and ul. Czynszowa, just next to the tram terminus is the essence of the district's climate. The Marian shrine looks like it is looked after by locals residents. The old mattress and pieces of furniture had laid there for weeks. A rubbish container calls for a roofed box. In the background, an old couple rambling towards the nearby church for a Sunday mass.

The building at ul. Środkowa 9 was erected in 1869 and for decades played host to Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Dzieci Ulicy. Thoroughly renovated between 2019 and 2021, now serves the same functions as it had done many years ago - is a home to Zespół Ognisk Wychowawczych im. Dziadka Lisieckiego. Note the building in the background. Though it looks like a brand-new block of flats, a careful examination and the study of Google Street View reveals it is an old tenement which has undergone an all-out refurbishment.

Staring at the spot by ul. Środkowa, closer to ul. 11 Listopada, I wondered when the time had stopped here? The pre-war tenements had their windows replaced, most dwelling remain inhabited. For some reason the large wall to the right nearly lacks windows, yet some of them have been bricked over. The terraced garage presumable date back to late communism. The wall paintings are relatively new. Cars parked outside the buildings hint at limited affluence of their dwellers (note the Skoda Octavia on WXT black plates - the vehicles has probably not change headroom since driving out of a dealer's showroom in late 1998). 

A close-up of the wall painting from the previous snap reveals it shows an engine. I wonder what the purport of the artwork is, but I captured the scene mostly to show you a row of already unused loos. Worth keeping in mind sanitary conditions in this area were poor for a long time.

The building at the corner of ul. Konopacka and ul. Stalowa is one of few ones which bear testimony of WW2 fights. Bullet-made holes in the wall have not been filled. Plaster has come off here and there. The shop reminds of a post-war procurement co-operative. Satellite dishes, open windows and laundry hung out to dry indicate some of the dwellings remain inhabited.

The climate of old Praga Północ is slowly fading, but I doubt the pace of transformation speeds up. The district no longer has such untapped potential as two decades ago, but it should take a wise liaison of city authorities and the private sector to make use of it in a way which would benefit the entire community.