Visit Warsaw for New Year's Eve and you'll have no lack of options. Old Town Warsaw is one center of celebrations, and fireworks displays light up the Vistula River. On Defilad Square, near the Palace of Culture, a program of live concerts draws crowds. New Years Eve Sylwester in Warsaw is very popular, with many people heading into the Old Town Square close to the Wisla River for a spectacular fireworks display. Most restaurants, theatres, clubs and bars hold some kind of event on New Year's Eve and those that want to keep on partying after the stroke of midnight have no shortage of options to choose from.
Warsaw's mixture of architectural styles reflects the turbulent history of the city and country. During WWII, Warsaw was razed to the ground by bombing raids and planned destruction. After liberation, rebuilding began as in other cities of the communist-ruled PRL. Most of the historical buildings were thoroughly reconstructed. However, some of the buildings from the 19th century that had been preserved in reasonably reconstructible form were nonetheless eradicated in the 1950s and 1960s (e.g. Leopold Kronenberg Palace). Mass residential blocks were erected, with basic design typical of Eastern bloc countries.
Several commemorative events take place every year. Gatherings of thousands of people on the banks of the Vistula on Midsummer’s Night for a festival called Wianki (Polish for Wreaths) have become a tradition and a yearly event in the programme of cultural events in Warsaw. The festival traces its roots to a peaceful pagan ritual where maidens would float their wreaths of herbs on the water to predict when they would be married, and to whom. By the 19th century this tradition had become a festive event, and it continues today. The city council organize concerts and other events. Each Midsummer’s Eve, apart from the official floating of wreaths, jumping over fires, looking for the fern flower, there are musical performances, dignitaries' speeches, fairs and fireworks by the river bank.
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