The Central Square was designed as the focal point of Nowa Huta, begun in 1949 as a socialist-realist town for steelworkers. Five avenues radiate from it, and the layout borrows from Baroque planning, with sight lines converging on a single point.
The surrounding architecture surprises anyone expecting concrete slabs. Socialist realism here reached for Renaissance proportions, arcades and classical detailing, because the new architecture was meant to be legible and national in form.
The Avenue of Roses leads off the square. It once held a statue of Lenin, removed in 1989 after years of protest. The square itself now carries Ronald Reagan’s name, which many read as the most pointed turn in the district’s history.