About This Location
Gnojna Góra is one of the most unusual viewpoints in Warsaw’s Old Town. The terrace sits on the Vistula escarpment, just behind the historic streets, with open views over the river and the Praga side of the city. The name means exactly what it sounds like. From the Middle Ages until the mid-1800s, this spot was a dumping ground for the Old Town’s waste. Over the centuries the pile grew into a real hill, famous for its smell, rats, and the constant struggle to control it. The dump was finally closed in 1844 and covered over, but the name stayed. Today, it is hard to imagine what used to be here. The calm grass slope and the wide paved terrace feel like a clean break from the past. Still, this is a good place to remember how close daily life once was to the city walls - and how Warsaw has repeatedly reinvented its landscape, not only its buildings. Near the terrace stands the Strong Man statue, Siłacz. It shows a muscular nude figure straining under a heavy boulder. The sculpture is linked to Stanisław Czarnowski, who received recognition for this work in 1908, and the figure seen today is a later bronze casting based on that earlier design. Seen together, the hill and the statue tell the same story. This is a place built from what a city throws away, turned into a viewpoint - with a figure nearby that looks as if it is still carrying Warsaw’s weight.