Three Crosses Square

Plac Trzech Krzyzy, Square of the Three Crosses, links Nowy Swiat with Aleje Ujazdowskie and is part of Warsaw's historic Royal Route. Augustus II the Strong had the three gilded crosses raised here in 1724, giving the square its name and recalling the stations of a Baroque way of the cross. At the centre rises the neoclassical Church of Saint Alexander, built 1818-1825 to plans by Piotr Aigner as a rotunda inspired by the Pantheon, almost completely destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt in simplified form. The square is now lined with luxury boutiques such as Hermes and Louis Vuitton, the headquarters of the SARP architects' association and the Bibenda restaurant. Traffic hub and shop window of Polish elegance at the same time.