Warsaw Old Town Reconstruction (1944-1953)
After the Warsaw Uprising, German forces systematically destroyed the Polish capital's Old Town. Architects and residents rebuilt it using pre-war photographs, paintings, and memory.
The reconstruction was completed and the Old Town resettled.
UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage site in 1980, explicitly recognizing the reconstruction as heritage in its own right.
Shows a rebuilt landmark can gain official legitimacy, while raising the question of whether a facsimile preserves history or just its image.
