Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at nearly two million residents within a greater metropolitan area of more than three million residents, which makes Warsaw the seventh most-populous city in the European Union. Warsaw is an alpha global city, a major cultural, political and economic hub, and the country's seat of government. It is also capital of the Masovian Voivodeship.
Warsaw traces its origins to a small fishing town in Masovia. The city rose to prominence in the late 16th century, when Sigismund III decided to move the Polish capital and his royal court from Kraków. Warsaw served as the de facto capital of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, and subsequently as the seat of Napoleon’s Duchy of Warsaw. The 19th century and its Industrial Revolution brought a demographic boom which made it one of the largest and most densely populated cities in Europe. Known then for its elegant architecture and boulevards, Warsaw was bombed and besieged at the start of World War II in 1939. Much of the historic city was destroyed and its diverse population decimated by the Ghetto Uprising in 1943, the general Warsaw Uprising in 1944 and systematic razing.
The reconstructed Old Town, which represents examples of nearly every European architectural style and historical period, was listed as a World Heritage Site in 1980. Other architectural attractions include the Royal Castle, Sigismund's Column, the Wilanów Palace, the Palace on the Isle, St John's Archcathedral, Main Market Square, and numerous churches and mansions along the Royal Route.