The Royal Castle in Warsaw

The Royal Castle in Warsaw is defined by its long, burnt-orange facade and the jagged clock tower rising above the red-tiled roof. While kings lived here for centuries, the building standing today is a reconstruction. In September nineteen thirty-nine, German bombs hit the roof, and by nineteen forty-four, retreating forces blew the remaining walls to piles of rubble. A committee of citizens later salvaged what they could, including surviving marble floors and gilded carvings, to recreate the rooms exactly as they were.