Anna German and Uzbekistan: Urgench, the city where she was born

If you fly to Khiva, you land in Urgench, about 30 km from the old town. Anna German was born in this city on 14 February 1936, and since August 2023 a monument to her has stood beside the school of arts that carries her name. We are a tour operator in Tashkent, and on our tour from Warsaw we stop at the monument on the way to the airport.

From Urgench to Wrocław

Urgench is the capital of the Khorezm region; in 1936 it was part of the Uzbek SSR. During Anna’s childhood the family moved around Central Asia, and in 1946 she left with her mother for Poland. She grew up in Wrocław, where she studied geology at the university and first sang on the student stage. Since 2012 a plaque at ul. Trzebnicka 5 in Wrocław has carried her name.

Songs for Poland and the Soviet Union

In 1964 she won an award at the Sopot festival, and in 1967 she sang at Sanremo. In Poland many people know her for “Tańczące Eurydyki”. Soviet audiences loved her for “Nadezhda” (“Hope”), a song from 1973. She died in Warsaw in 1982.

The monument by the school of arts

The city’s school of arts is named after Anna German. On 25 August 2023 a monument to her was unveiled beside it, and at the opening it was called the first monument to the singer anywhere in the world. Her biographer Olga Nafikova was among the people who started the project.

Uzbekistan remembers her every February, the month of her birthday, and the Embassy of Poland in Tashkent has held concerts in her name.

A stop on the way to Urgench airport

Urgench airport is about 30 km from Khiva, so a trip to Khiva by air starts or ends here. Our Uzbekistan from Warsaw tour is timed to the LOT flights, and its last full day is in Khiva. In the evening our driver takes you to Urgench airport for the flight to Tashkent, and on the way we stop at the monument to Anna German. From Tashkent you fly home to Warsaw at 03:15.

The week before that follows the classic route by train: the Afrosiyob from Tashkent to Samarkand and Ulugh Beg’s observatory, two days in Bukhara, then the high-speed train across the desert to Khiva. You book the LOT flight, and we arrange hotels, trains, guides and transfers on the ground.

On any other tour with Khiva we add the stop on request. Tell us when you book, and we fit it into the transfer from or to the airport. Your guide speaks English, and that is included in the price; a Polish-speaking guide is available on request.

With a free day in Khorezm, you can see the clay desert fortresses of ancient Khorezm; other trips from Khiva are in around Khiva. For the day inside the walls, read Khiva in 1 or 2 days.

The flight from Warsaw, entry without a visa and the rest of the Polish thread, from Hevelius to General Anders, are in our guide to Uzbekistan tours from Poland.

In short

• Anna German was born in Urgench on 14 February 1936, left for Poland with her mother in 1946 and grew up in Wrocław.
• Since 25 August 2023 a monument to her has stood in Urgench, beside the school of arts that bears her name.
• Urgench airport is about 30 km from Khiva, and our LOT tour from Warsaw stops at the monument on the way to the evening flight.
• On other Khiva tours we add the stop on request; an English-speaking guide is included, and a Polish-speaking guide is available on request.