Post-Communist Bloc Mentality: Part I
Part I: Architecture
The Eastern (Communist) Bloc was the group of Communist states which aligned with the Soviet Union’s political thought during the Cold War spanning from 1947 to 1991. This collective comprised of the USSR and Satellite States. The rise of Communism in the Bloc affected all aspects of the Bloc’s sphere, including social and economic. I will be focusing in this series on Poland and how the presence of communist thought has affected aspects of life.
Architecture
In this part, I will be talking about Architecture. After the Second War, a majority of Poland was devastated physically. Because of this, the new Communist government constructed government-sponsored Blocs for people to live in, thus why Communist Europe was called the Eastern Bloc. Even though Poland has been free of Communist dominance since 1989, much of the infrastructure instituted during Communist Poland remains largely unchanged.
Naturally, Western influence has crept into Poland but it’s architecture largely remains unchanged in rural areas. Many of the streets where I am staying during my visit have been here since the days of Communism, along with the buildings. This results in strange contrasts between commercialized and socialized buildings. Many buildings have been repurposed as well to suit capitalist ventures. The remains of the past overall have been embraced and adapted to suit people's lifestyles.
The majority of people that lived during Communism have stayed where they live. This led to the preservation of communist blocs in their physical forms, and maybe a bit mental as well (will touch on this in the next article). The generation which followed Poland’s exit of its communist era pursued housing beyond the bloc, and many even out of the country to pursue economic opportunities that weren’t present due to the anti-capitalist regulations that once were.
I believe it is also important to recognize the prevalence of religious institutions in Poland as well. While Communism opposed religion, that did not deter the Polish faith in the Catholic Church. To this day, the Polish population remains largely Catholic (over 90%) and the amount of churches is almost inane. I plan on touching on why this is in another part of this series.
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The Polish people have embraced the remnants of Communist architecture and continue to look into ways to revitalize Poland while forging a unique identity.
Be sure to resteem and follow to see the next installment in my series of Post-Communist Bloc Mentality, thanks for reading!
Great read mate! looking forward to more!
Thank you, see you tomorrow!
Do you know more about who the architects themselves were (if that's even possible to track down)? I wonder what it was like training to be an architect for this style, compared to some of the designs found in other communist countries at the time. Fascinating stuff.
Alot of what was specifically shown in my article has been renovated since Poland transitioned away from communism. The town in the pictures specifically is Pińczów. There's a quarry in Pińczów which provided stone for many projects, including the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw. Thanks for the comment and be sure to read the next article tomorrow!
What I find interesting, is that architecture has a deep effect on our psychology.
Most people tend not to think of building this way, but architecture literally shapes our environment. We live in them, we work in them, they are manifestations of who we are just as anything else we create is.
Thanks for the write up : )
I agree with what you said. Architecture is merely the manifestation of the human spirit and Poland's architecture reflects the Polish transition away from Communism.
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