One of the most prominent buildings in Warsaw, and one of the ugliest, is the wedding cake skyscraper, so named because ... well ... it looks like a wedding cake. This design came out of Stalin's Russia, where Moscow has several examples, and it was exported to some of the Soviet satellites. I once spent a week in a similar building at Moscow State University in 1976.
This particular example, the Palace of Culture, was donated by Stalin immediately after the second world war as part of the reconstruction process. Actually, he donated the plans, but the Poles paid for its construction. They could hardly refuse the gift, though there was a campaign for its demolition post 1989. It survived and it seems to serve as a cinema and theatre complex, plus viewing platform, these days.
The view from the top is much better than the view of the building from the bottom! By the way, the poster draped over the front of the building commemorates the start of the second world war with the invasion of Poland in 1939. The building's immediate surrounds are a pastiche of office blocks, shops and sometimes poor quality residential apartments.
AS
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