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Mieszko I (read it "Mieshko") was ruler of Poland princedom. He decided to accept christianity as a state religion and be baptised in 966. He abandoned pagan believes and married Bohemian princess Dobrawa. This conversion was a political move, not a spiritual need of Mieszko but it introduced Poland to Christiandom and decrease the likelihood of attacks from Christian states in west and south. It was also important that christianization took place through Bohemian state, not Germany.

Chrisitanization is first historically proven event in Polish history. With Christianity came Latin culture and literacy. Incoming clergy helped education and diplomacy to florish in Poland, that placed it firmly in the sphere of Western European culture, tradition and politics.

Reign of Casimir the Great, 1333-1370

Fragmentation of the realm lasted until 1320, when Władysław Łokietek was crowned, but it was only during the rule of his son - Casimir - that the kingdom was unified and strengthened.

In 1333, when the young prince took power, Poland was not in the best situation - John of Luxembourg claimed the right to the Polish throne, the Teutonic Knights were a threat in the north, the Czechs in the south, and individual principalities recognized various suzerains, not necessarily favorable to the new king.

Despite this, Casimir, using diplomacy or force and introducing internal reforms, was able to stay on the throne and strengthen the country.

To commemorate the king's achievements and his attitude, which enabled the development of the state on social, economic, military and cultural levels, he was given the nickname "Great".

To this day, the proverb "he found Poland made of wood and left it made of brick" is popular, symbolizing a number of changes that took place during the reign of Casimir the Great.

The next two stages will also be devoted to the achievements of Casimir the Great.

On 20th August 1944 during the Warsaw Uprising, Polish partisans stormed and captured the larger of the two buildings that made up Warsaw's Central Telephone Exchange, which was known as the PAST-a (short for "Polska Akcyjna Spółka Telefoniczna"). This was one of the most significant battles of the uprising and much of it was captured on film. A large Kotwica is now permanently mounted on top of the building....

Kotwica - the symbol of the Polish resistance: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotwica

Kino Femina was a cinema which operated from 1938 to 2014. Prior to the rebuilding of Warsaw after the Second World War the cinema's address was 35 Leszno Street - it is now 115 Aleja Solidarności.

After the cinema closed down it was eventually converted into a supermarket, which opened in 2016.

From November 1940 to August 1942 the building was within the walls of the Warsaw ghetto and became a theatre in June 1941, with Jerzy Jurandot as the artistic director. The tragic fate of the Jewish artists who performed there is commemorated by a plaque near the entrance. The only other traces of the building's history are some photos showing the cinema's heyday in the 1960s.

The nearby tram stop is still called "Kino Femina"....