Drinking alcohol on the boulevards that line the Vistula River in Warsaw – a popular meeting spot – is permitted, Poland’s top administrative court has ruled. The decision marks a victory for the city’s mayor, who had brought the case.
In 2018, Warsaw city council adopted a resolution allowing alcohol – consumption of which is generally banned in public places in Poland – to be drunk on the Vistula Boulevards (Bulwary wiślane) that run along the river as well as on Poniatówka Beach, another popular riverside gathering spot.
However, some local residents issued a formal challenge, saying that allowing drinking there would create disturbances at night. In February last year, the provincial administrative court accepted their complaint and invalidated the city’s resolutions, reports Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski filed an appeal against that ruling to the Supreme Administrative Court (NSA). Yesterday, the NSA accepted the city’s arguments and overturned the lower court’s decision – thereby confirming that the resolutions allowing the consumption of alcohol can stand.
Take advantage of the glorious weather we have been having in 🇵🇱 and enjoy all the fun that the Vistulan Boulevards in @ewarsaw have to offer!
The west bank of the #Vistula between the Poniatowski and Gdańsk bridges houses plenty of spots to eat & drink, play sports and relax. pic.twitter.com/MceK9ooOE4
— Poland.pl (@Poland) August 29, 2019
“The Vistula Boulevards are there to provide residents with rest and relaxation,” said Karolina Zdrodowska, Warsaw’s director for entrepreneurship and social dialogue, in response to the ruling.
However, she assured those living nearby that “the relevant services will ensure order in this area”, helping to “reconcile the needs of visitors spending time by the river with the needs of residents of the area”.
The conflict between those, especially young Varsovians, who want to socialise along the river and residents who complain about the resultant noise and disruption was the subject of a hit 2019 song, “Schodki” (Stairs), by Mata, one of Poland’s leading rappers.
The video, shot on the eponymous riverside stairs that line the Vistula, has so far racked up over 71 million views on YouTube.
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
