Latest news with #VistulaRiver
Fox News
07-08-2025
- General
- Fox News
Angler expecting a fish pulls up rare 700-year-old sword: ‘Real treasures'
A 700-year-old sword was recently reeled in by a fisherman in Poland — offering a rare glimpse into warfare in the Middle Ages. The discovery was announced by the Capital Conservator of Monuments in Warsaw last month. In a Facebook post, the department said the lucky angler found the sword in the Vistula River. "It was supposed to be this big a fish – but it turned out to be this big a sword!" the post read. "As you can see, the Vistula hides some real treasures." The fisherman surrendered the sword to local authorities, who transferred it to local experts. A team is now working to preserve the artifact for future study. "A sword this old, found in what is now Warsaw, is unique." The Facebook page's post noted that the sword is preserved "almost in its full length" and features both a spherical pommel and a cross mark on its grip. Anna Magdalena Łań, a chief specialist with the city of Warsaw, told Fox News Digital that experts are still studying the sword. "The sword is dated to the 13th or 14th century, which is the time when Warsaw was founded," Łań noted in an email translated from Polish to English. "A more precise date may be determined thanks to the cross mark, which is the 'signature' of the blacksmith who made it," she added. "Research is ongoing." She said the length of the sword, including the hilt, is over 31 inches. "I don't know the weight, but the sword is quite light because [of a] very large extent of corrosion," Łań said. "A sword this old, found in what is now Warsaw, is unique." "The sword was found in a river, meaning it was discovered without context – that is, without other artifacts that could tell us more about it." The circumstances of why the sword was dropped in the river are now lost to time. Łań noted that swords were not deposited ritually in 13th-century Poland; they were more of a pagan tradition than a Christian one. She concluded, "The sword was found in a river, meaning it was discovered without context – that is, without other artifacts that could tell us more about it." The weapon is one of many fascinating archaeological discoveries made in Poland this year. In Gdańsk, Poland, archaeologists recently found a medieval knight's tomb beneath a former ice cream parlor. Months earlier, a pair of pedestrians found a 2,500-year-old dagger on a Polish beach, on the coast of the Baltic Sea.
South China Morning Post
14-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
What to see in Warsaw to discover its tragic past, from museums to memorials and monuments
'You can ignore history and just look at Warsaw as a modern city. But if you are curious, then you can find something on every corner.' These words are from Witold Wrzosinski, director of the Jewish Cemetery on Okopowa Street in the Polish capital, the largest Jewish cemetery in the city. The Warsaw native, who oversees the 33-hectare (82-acre) last resting place for the city's Jews, is not wrong. Anyone who visits the Polish capital who does not come away having learned something of its rich and often tragic history must be walking the streets with blinkers on. Warsaw looks like a chic and modern metropolis. The architecture is appealing, while the underground stations are stylish and sometimes so clean that they almost seem sterile. People walk along the Vistula River promenade in Warsaw. Photo: Shutterstock Headstones stand in the Jewish Cemetery on Okopowa Street in Warsaw. Photo: Shutterstock There are many parks to retreat from the hustle and bustle of city life, including the centrally located Lazienki Park, which is the city's largest.
