10th-Anniversary Stadium
Stadion Dziesięciolecia in 2006
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| Full name | Stadion Dziesięciolecia Manifestu Lipcowego (original name) July Manifesto 10th-Anniversary Stadium |
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| Location | Warsaw, Poland |
| Owner | Skarb Państwa |
| Capacity | 71,008 (original) |
| Opened | July 22, 1955 |
| Closed | September 6, 2008 |
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Gwardia Warszawa Legia Warszawa Polonia Warszawa Poland national football team (1955-1983) |
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10th-Anniversary Stadium (Polish: Stadion Dziesięciolecia), opened in 1955, was for decades the largest stadium in Warsaw, and one of the largest in Poland. Under the Polish People's Republic, it was one of the most advertised construction sites and a principal venue for Party and state festivities. In the 1980s the stadium became dilapidated, as no funds could be found to refurbish it. After 1989 it was used mainly as a bazaar called Jarmark Europa, becoming famous as the place to buy a whole range of goods, most notably clothes, software, hardware and media. Its demolition began in September 2008, and the new National Stadium is constructed in its place to serve as one of the venues for Euro 2012.
In 1953 the Association of Polish Architects held an open contest for the project of an "Olympic Stadium for the city of Warsaw". It was won by the team led by Jerzy Hryniewiecki, Zbigniew Ihnatowicz, and Jerzy Sołtan and later the same year the construction was started. The stadium was constructed mostly with rubble from buildings destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.
The project involved the construction of an open air oval-shaped Olympic stadium: it contains a football pitch and a 400-metre racing track. Theoretically the terraces with wooden benches provided seats for 71,008 people, but during the biggest festivals organised there it accommodated more than 100,000 spectators. In addition, the stadium was equipped with a practice field, a small sports dome, 900 parking spaces and was surrounded by a park. The stadium was also connected to a nearby bus station and a railway station opened specifically for the transport of spectators.
Soon after its opening, it became Poland's national stadium. It housed most important international football matches and athletics competitions, as well as communist party galas, concerts, and commemorative festivals. In addition, it served as the final lap of the Peace Race. In 1968, it was the site of Ryszard Siwiec's self-immolation in protest at the invasion of Czechoslovakia during a propaganda festival.
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