Na Gnojnej bawimy się....
In pre-war Warsaw there was a street connecting Grzybowska Street to the Hala Mirowska market. Originally called Gnojna, after the local dungheap, it was officially renamed to Rynkowa Street in 1902, but colloquially the old name stuck.
During the 1920s the street became home to a restaurant owned by Józef Ładowski, who was known as "Gruby Josek" (Fat Joe). The restaurant closed in October 1932 after Ładowski died of a heart attack, but was immortalised in a popular song called "Bal Na Gnojnej" (Party On Gnojna Street) - also known as "Bal U Grubego Jośka" or "Bal U Starego Jośka".
The song is still played by street musicians in Warsaw today, even though Gnojna no longer exists. From 1940 to 1942 the street was at the northern edge of the smaller of the two parts of the Warsaw ghetto. The area through which it ran is now a leafy green space.
Józef Ładowski was buried in the Jewish Cemetery on Okopowa Street. The only member of his family known to have survived the Second World War was his daughter, Alicja Ładowska, who emigrated to Canada. Her son is the jazz pianist Ron Davis, who included three versions of "Bal Na Gnojnej" on his 2010 album "My Mother's Father's Song"....
Na Gnojnej bawimy się....
In pre-war Warsaw there was a street connecting Grzybowska Street to the Hala Mirowska market. Originally called Gnojna, after the local dungheap, it was officially renamed to Rynkowa Street in 1902, but colloquially the old name stuck.
During the 1920s the street became home to a restaurant owned by Józef Ładowski, who was known as "Gruby Josek" (Fat Joe). The restaurant closed in October 1932 after Ładowski died of a heart attack, but was immortalised in a popular song called "Bal Na Gnojnej" (Party On Gnojna Street) - also known as "Bal U Grubego Jośka" or "Bal U Starego Jośka".
The song is still played by street musicians in Warsaw today, even though Gnojna no longer exists. From 1940 to 1942 the street was at the northern edge of the smaller of the two parts of the Warsaw ghetto. The area through which it ran is now a leafy green space.
Józef Ładowski was buried in the Jewish Cemetery on Okopowa Street. The only member of his family known to have survived the Second World War was his daughter, Alicja Ładowska, who emigrated to Canada. Her son is the jazz pianist Ron Davis, who included three versions of "Bal Na Gnojnej" on his 2010 album "My Mother's Father's Song"....