The historic district of the New Town was formed at the turn of the 14th century as an independent city. The official recognition of the New Town occurred in 1408, when it was separated from the Old Town by an act issued by Janusz I the Old, Duke of Masovia.At that time the new city encompassed the territory of the New Town Market Square and streets - Freta, Kościelna, Koźla, Przyrynek, Stara and Zakroczymska. It was independent from the Old Town authorities and had its own vogt, council and a town hall. In 1411 the Parish Church of St. Mary was erected, and according to the 1546 mensuration there were 204 estates in the Warsaw New Town. The largest investment of that time was the Sigismund Augustus bridge built between 1568-1573 by Erazm Cziotko (c. 500 m (1,600 ft) long).Unfortunately it was destroyed in 1603 by the drifting ice floes.During the Warsaw Uprising (1 August – 2 October 1944) the New Town was completely destroyed due to the extensive bombardment of the insurgent positions by the Germans. Many historic edifices, that served as hospitals and shelters for the inhabitants were razed to the ground. The reconstruction of the New Town started in 1954, but some of the significant buildings were not restored by the Communist authorities (e.g. Kotowski Palace).