Obrońców Street

Obrońców Street lies partly in the oldest section of Saska Kępa. Its name was officially designated by a Warsaw City Council resolution on 27 September 1926.^[2] Much of the development between Wał Miedzeszyński and Francuska streets dates to the interwar period. Between 1934 and 1938, the Wawer District Water Company constructed a covered canal beneath the street.^[3] In September 1939, the street was a site of combat during the Invasion of Poland.^[4] After the German occupation, the Warsaw Reconstruction Office decided to preserve the street's existing transport role.^[5] Plans were made to transform it into a pedestrian route leading to a church.^[6]

In August 1948, Pablo Picasso visited the headquarters of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers at 28/30 Obrońców Street.^[7] Artists such as set designer and painter Teresa Roszkowska [pl] and sculptor and medallist Stanisław Sikora [pl] had studios on the street. Poet Konstanty Ildefons Gałczyński dedicated his poem Toast na Saskiej Kępie to Henryk Ładosz [pl], whose apartment he frequently visited.^[8] The street is also associated with landmarks like the former Bracia Pakulscy [pl] shop, the Camping café, and the Sułtan café, referenced in a song by Kalina Jędrusik for Kabaret Starszych Panów.^[9]

The street's architecture and history are leveraged by public institutions and private entities, such as for organizing urban exploration games.^[10]

• No. 1 – Łepkowski family house, built before 1932, designed by Stanisław Kolendo [pl].^[11] Formerly the Economic School^[12] and French Embassy,^[13] it features distinctive pilasters on its facade.^[14]
• No. 1a – Villa from c. 1934, designed by Romuald Gutt.^[11]
• No. 2 – Ołdakowski family villa, built in 1928, designed by Bohdan Pniewski.^[11] Its original surroundings and furnishings are preserved in pre-war photographs.^[15]
• Nos. 3/5 – Row houses from 1937, designed by Julian Ambroziewicz [pl].^[11]
• Nos. 5–23 – Part of the Łaski Colony, built in 1926 by Włodzimierz Gall. These row houses share load-bearing walls, forming a cohesive street frontage. Each features a pediment, small porch, and garden, with corner houses having balconies with balustrades.^[16] Some sources suggest materials from the demolished St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral were used.^[17] A 1930 Kurier Warszawski article noted: "The Łaski Colony looks attractive and picturesque, especially Obrońców Street, offering a straight perspective toward Wawer, illuminated by arc lamps, creating a positive impression as a preview of a future villa district akin to Poznań's Sołacz".^[18]
  • No. 5 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
  • No. 7 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
  • No. 9 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19] Artist Kazimierz Szemioth [pl] created works there.^[20]
  • No. 11 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
  • No. 13 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
  • No. 15 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19] Home of Teresa Roszkowska [pl].^[21]
  • No. 17 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
  • No. 19 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
  • No. 21 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
  • No. 23 – House from c. 1930, listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
• No. 10 – Brzeziński family villa, built after 1935 by Piotr Kwiek. Described as one of Saska Kępa's most extravagant villas, it features a rooftop terrace with a circular-opening canopy, porthole windows, slender columns, and a wavy facade.^[17]
• No. 14 – Wolski family villa, built in 1927 by Aleksander Więckowski.^[11] It features an arcaded porch at the main entrance and a garden-side conservatory.^[22] Listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
• No. 24 – Blind Children's Home, operated by the Society for the Care of the Blind [pl]. Funded by former property owner Kazimierz Sztajer, commemorated by a plaque.^[23]
• No. 25 – Felicja Trębicka villa, designed by Stanisław Nowicki, completed in 1934. An example of Art Deco with defensive architecture elements like a tower.^[17] It served as a Polish Red Cross sanitary point (No. 307) from September to November 1939^[24] and a military hospital for five days during the Warsaw Uprising.^[25] Now used as office space.^[17]
• No. 26 – Julian Ambroziewicz's own house, built in 1938.^[11] Known as the "house with a thermometer" for its vertical glass brick slit and notable for its tall reinforced concrete pergola.^[17] In July 1949, following the owner's arrest, it was temporarily converted into a Security Service "trap" where suspects were detained for several days.^[26] Listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
• No. 27 – Ludwik Hirszfeld villa, built c. 1938 by Józef Łowiński [pl].^[11]
• Nos. 28/30 – Building hosting the Association of Polish Artists and Designers during Pablo Picasso's 1948 visit. From 1946 to 2000, it housed Stanisław Sikora's [pl] sculpture studio.^[27] It now contains the Experimental Lithography Workshop, a branch of the Culture Promotion Centre.^[28]
• No. 31 – Former Maria Skłodowska-Curie Girls' High School,^[29] now the College of Social Service Workers.^[30] Residents included Count Ludgard Grocholski, industrialist Karol Meyerhoff, and engineer Anatol Minkowski [pl].^[31]
• No. 33 – Filarewicz family villa, built c. 1930, likely designed by Józef Vogtman [pl].^[11] Notable for a heraldic cartouche above the entrance, semicircular window, and pilasters.^[32] Listed in the register of monuments.^[19]
• Nos. 36/38 – A pedunculate oak designated a natural monument in 2019.^[33]
• No. 45 – Multi-family house from c. 1936, designed by Borys von Zinserling [pl].^[11]

• 
  15 Obrońców Street: Commemorative plaque for Teresa Roszkowska
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  28/30 Obrońców Street: Commemorative plaque for Stanisław Sikora
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  28/30 Obrońców Street: Commemorative plaque for Pablo Picasso
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  24 Obrońców Street: Commemorative plaque for Kazimierz Sztajer
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  47/47A Obrońców Street: Statue of the Virgin Mary