Chmielna Street at Zielna, looking towards Marszałkowska; this stretch now lies under Plac Defilad
Ruined building of the former Vienna Railway Station on Aleje Jerozolimskie, at the edge of today's Plac Defilad
Excavating the foundations of the Palace, 1952
The steel frame of the tower rising during construction, 1953
The finished Palace seen from across Marszałkowska, with the Rotunda and the Universal office tower in the foreground, 1960s
The Palace with the newly built Plac Centralny in front, 2025
Before the Second World War this part of Śródmieście was a dense quarter of tenement streets such as Chmielna, Złota, Zielna and Wielka, with the Vienna Railway Station at the corner of Marszałkowska and Aleje Jerozolimskie. After the wartime destruction the remaining buildings were cleared and the Palace of Culture and Science, a gift from the Soviet Union, was built in 1952–1955, surrounded by the vast Plac Defilad. In recent years the square has been redeveloped, with the Museum of Modern Art and the new Plac Centralny.