Parises of Another Europe
Meeting with Błażej Brzostek
A discussion about Warsaw and myths that collide with one another within reconstruction disputes, inspired by Błażej Brzostek's book "Parises of Another Europe".
The author compares Warsaw and Bucharest. Cities on the crossroads. Situated in "Another Europe", that is, in an undefined space between the East and the West. On the one hand, both cities were dubbed "Little Paris", but on the other hand, they were also classified as "Asian". They were described as “a combination of Cossack Sich with Saint-Germain Boulevard” or “the last outpost of the West, the first port of the Orient.”
By quoting numerous, often astonishing narrations formulated by visitors and residents, Błażej Brzostek tells a story of two centuries of Bucharest and Warsaw. He writes about cities that gave up their character in favour of absorbing foreign models, only to look for their own identity over time. About strange Parises of Another Europe, accused of dullness, susceptible to influences, defending their originality.
