1795-1914
Warsaw remained the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia to become the capital of the province of South Prussia. Liberated by Napoleon's army in 1806, Warsaw was made the capital of the newly created Duchy of Warsaw. Following the Congress of Vienna of 1815, Warsaw became the center of the Congress Poland, a constitutional monarchy under a personal union with Imperial Russia. During this period under the rule of the relatively liberal Russian Emperor Alexander I, Warsaw experienced much growth such as the founding of the Royal University of Warsaw was established (1816) and what is today’s main street of the city – Aleje Jerozolimskie – was marked out. In 1818, the Town Hall on the Old Town Market was pulled down, because it was too small for the city which had expanded after incorporation of the jurydykas. The city’s authorities moved to Jabłonowski’s Palace (by the Great Theater), where it stayed until World War II.
Following the repeated violations of the Polish constitution by the Russians (especially after the Alexander I’s death, when the reactionary Nicholas I assumed the power), the 1830 November Uprising broke out. It started with the assault on Belvedere - the residence of Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich, the commander-in-chief of Polish army and de facto viceroy of the Congress Poland – as well as at the Arsenal. The 1830 uprising led to the Polish-Russian war (1831), whose the greatest battle held place on 25 February 1831 in Grochów – a village which is in the modern northern part of the district Praga Południe. Because of the stalling of Polish commanders the war ended in the defeat and in the curtailment of the Kingdom's autonomy. The Emperor established the military administration in Warsaw. An estate of pretty manors on the north of New Town was eradicated and on this place the Citadel was built, where was a fortress and prison. The Sejm was suspended, the Polish army – dissolved and the University – closed.
With time, the Emperor’s severe attitude to Poland softened and Warsaw could develop again. In 1845, the first railway on the Congress Poland territory and the second in the Russian Empire was opened – the Warsaw-Vienna Railway, to standard gauge; in 1862 – the Warsaw-Saint Petersburg Railway (to broad gauge). In 1875 and 1908, two railway bridges were built, whereas in 1864 – the first iron road bridge on stone supports: Most Kierbedzia – one of the most modern bridges in Europe of that time. Nowadays, the Śląsko-Dąbrowski bridge lies at the same supports. Only then the city’s authorities started to rebuilt Praga, which had been heavily damaged during the Kościuszko’s and November Uprisings as well as by Napoleon’s war. In 1862, the University was opened again, in 1898 the Nicholas II Technical Institute (the Warsaw Technical University’s predecessor) was established.
Warsaw flourished in the late 19th century under Mayor Sokrates Starynkiewicz (1875–92), a Russian-born general appointed by Tsar Alexander III. Under Starynkiewicz Warsaw saw its first water and sewer systems designed and built by the English engineer William Lindley and his son, William Heerlein Lindley, as well as the expansion and modernization of horsecars, street lighting and gas works. Starynkiewicz also founded the Bródno Cemetery (1884) – even nowadays one of the biggest European cemeteries. As a remembrance of the great President, one of the Warsovian squares bears the name of Starynkiewicz – although he was the representative of the Russian authorities.
In 1904, the first power plant was built, which enabled the city to install electric lamps on the streets and – in 1908 –to open the first electric tram route. In 1914, the third bridge was opened – Most Józefa Poniatowskiego.
But Warsaw's development was accompanied by an intensive assault on Polish national identity. The Russian authorities closed Polish schools and built more and more Orthodox churches. These acts met a strong opposition. On 27 February 1861 a Warsaw crowd protesting the Russian rule over Poland was fired upon by the Russian troops. Five people were killed. On 22 January 1863 a new uprising broke out. The Underground Polish National Government resided in Warsaw during January Uprising in 1863–4. However, this uprising was mainly in the character of guerilla, therefore Warsaw did not distinguish itself in it. But, as a penalty, President Kalikst Witkowski, the Russian general and predecessor of Sokrates Starynkiewicz, constantly imposed tributes on Warsaw. The last serious riots took place in 1905 (after the St. Petersburg’s “bloody Sunday”), when the Cossacks and police fired to the people demonstrating in Warsaw. In 1897 Warsaw was 56.5% Polish, 35.8% Jewish and 4.9% Russian.
Read more about this topic: History Of Warsaw