Warsaw

Warsaw (pop. 1,644,500), largest city and capital of Poland, on the Vistula River. It is a commercial, industrial, cultural, and educational center, and transportation hub. Chief products are machinery, precision instruments, motor vehicles, electrical equipment, textiles, and chemicals. Warsaw has frequently been a focal point in European history. It replaced Kraków as Poland's capital in 1596 and subsequently fell into Swedish, Russian, Prussian, and German hands. Much of the city, which was razed in World War II, has been carefully reconstructed, including Warsaw's medieval old town, Stare Miasto.

See also: Poland.