Five Corners Square

The Five Corners Square (Polish: Plac Pięciu Rogów) is an urban square in Warsaw, Poland, within the Downtown district. It is located at the intersection of Bracka, Chmielna, Krucza, Szpitalna, and Zgoda Streets. The square was constructed in 2022.

Name
Traditionally it is known as the Five Corners Square. The name refers to its shape, formed by surrounding it tenements. Such name is, among others, used by the official city website.

The square does not have an official name. On 25 August 2022, the Warsaw City Council have passed a resolution to name it after Pola Negri, a 20th-century film and stage actress and singer. However, on 28 September 2022, the voivode of the Masovian Voivodeship ruled it to be void, and as such, the name never became official. Such decision was made as in the city already was a street named after Negri, and local laws forbid name repetition. The council had unsuccessfully contested it, filing its case to the Voivodeship Administrative Court on 13 October 2022.

History
The intersection of Bracka, Chmielna, Krucza, Szpitalna, and Zgoda Streets, that makes modern square, was formed in the 18th century.

Between 1776 and 1782, at the corner of Bracka and Chmielna Streets was located a wooden circus and animal-fighting arena building, known as Heca or Szczwalnia.

In the 19th century, around the square were developed tenements.

On 17 November 1913, at 25 Bracka Street was opened the Jabłkowski Brothers Department Store, the first, and for a long time, the largest department store in Poland. It was owned by the Jabłkowski Brothers, until 1950, when it was nationalised. The building was and returned to the Jabłkowski family in 1996.

In September 2011, next to it was opened the New Jabłkowski Building, designed as an office space. During it construction it was also proposed to redevelop the area from a traffic congested intersection into a pedestrian urban square.

In 2016 the city begun searching for an architectural concept for the square, and hired developer in 2020. The construction lasted from March 2021 to July 2022, and it was officially opened on 5 July.

The square was designed to priotize pedestrians over cars. The roads were removed and car traffic heavily limited, and only accessible to local businesses and inhabitants. The exception is intersection of Krucza and Szpitalna Street, which was turned into a bus-only lane and a bike path. The square was covered with a large concrete panels, and there were placed numerous benches and lightposts, and were planted 22 field maples. The nearby streets were also renovated.

On 15 May 2023, at the square was unveiled the sculpture ''Chick. Thrush the Singer (Polish: Pisklę. Drozd śpiewak'') by Joanna Rajkowska. It has a form a 2-metre tall egg which, emits light sounds and vibrations, that can be heard and felt after hugging it. They take a form of sounds of a small trush chick, including its hearbeat, it hitting the shell with its beak, and first chirps of a chick bird.

Characteristics
The Five Corners Square is located at the intersection of Bracka, Chmielna, Krucza, Szpitalna, and Zgoda Streets, in the Downtown district, within the neighbouring of North Downtown. It is designated pedestrian, with car traffic heavily limited, and only accessible to local businesses and inhabitants. The exception is intersection of Krucza and Szpitalna Street, which functions as a bus-only lane and a bike path. The square is covered with a large concrete panels, with spaces for businesses and restaurants, as well as numerous benches. There are also planted 22 field maples. It is surrounded mostly by historical 19th-century tenements, as well as historical Jabłkowski Brothers Department Store built in 1914, and the neighbours New Jabłkowski Building from 2011.

At the square is also placed the sculpture ''Chick. Thrush the Singer (Polish: Pisklę. Drozd śpiewak'') by Joanna Rajkowska. It has a form a 2-metre tall egg, thar emits light sounds and vibrations, which can be heard and felt after hugging it. They take a form of sounds of a small trush chick, including its hearbeat, it hitting the shell with its beak, and first chirps of a chick bird.