Skating rink

During the winter months, the icy winter streets of nineteenth-century Warsaw became skating rinks. These were places of fabulous fun for children and young people, as was certainly the case with ul. Oboźna, an enticingly steep and winding street that ran right by the Chopin residence in Casimir Palace. While enjoying himself on the ice around the turn of 1826, the teenage Chopin had an accident, although the consequences were not overly drastic. Piotr Mysłakowski quotes Eugeniusz Skrodzki’s account as follows: ‘A few days later, Chopin was skating around the iced-over stream here, where the channel that runs down from the high ground in front of Holy Cross Church to ul. Oboźna was built for the fountain forty years ago. I, a mere lad of seven or eight, had just given my parents the slip and was trying my hand on the ice. As the two of us were skating away, Chopin suddenly fell on the ice, either because he hit a stone or because his skates were poorly secured, and blood started oozing from his head. I looked on in fear as he went pale and lost strength. I mechanically gave him a handful of snow. Luckily, Mr Kozłowski saw the whole thing. Mr Kozłowski was the wealthy owner of several houses on ul. Oboźna and the father of the distinguished lady Tekla Rapacka, now famous for her philanthropy. He was housebound, due to an infirmity in his legs, and had to content himself with looking out the window. He shouted to his household, who came rushing to help. His caretakers and his brother Tomasz were on the pond in a flash. They virtually carried the wounded party to his parents’ house. There was, however, more fear than pain involved. Even though the surgeon Dr Szwencki was called for immediately, Fryderyk was at school as usual the next day’.