Presidential Palace, Warsaw
Encyclopedia
The Presidential Palace (in Polish
, Pałac Prezydencki; also known as Pałac Koniecpolskich, Lubomirskich, Radziwiłłów, and Pałac Namiestnikowski) in Warsaw
, Poland
, is the elegant classicist latest version of a building that has stood on the Krakowskie Przedmieście
site since 1643. Over the years, it has been rebuilt and remodeled many times. For its first 175 years, the palace was the private property of several aristocratic families. In 1791 it hosted the authors and advocates of the Constitution of May 3, 1791
.
It was in 1818 that the palace began its ongoing career as a governmental structure, when it became the seat of the Viceroy of the Polish (Congress) Kingdom
under Russian occupation (Namiestnik of the Kingdom of Poland
). Following Poland's resurrection after World War I, in 1918, the building was taken over by the newly reconstituted Polish authorities and became the seat of the Council of Ministers. During World War II, it served the country's German
occupiers as a Deutsches Haus and survived intact the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
.
After the war, it resumed its function as seat of the Polish Council of Ministers.
Stanisław Koniecpolski, owner of the town of Brody
(80 km. east of Lwów) and of numerous latifundia
situated in Poland's eastern borderlands; hence the palace's first name was "Pałac Koniecpolskich"—the "Koniecpolski
Palace". It was said that he owned so much landed property that he could cross the breadth of the Commonwealth
while spending every night in one of his own manors. The palace was not completed in the Hetman's lifetime, as he died unexpectedly in 1646 at his Brody residence, a few weeks after taking a young wife.
The palace's architect was Constantino Tencalla, architect to Poland's King Władysław IV and designer of King Zygmunt's Column, in front of the nearby Royal Castle, commemorating Sigismund III of Poland
. The palace was completed by Koniecpolski's son Aleksander
in the style of a baroque
residence, imitating those of northern Italy and Genoa
. A view of the palace in a Warsaw panorama of 1656 by Erik Dahlberg
confirms this.
The next owner of the palace was Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski
—Grand Crown Hetman and Crown Chancellor, and later the leader of a rebellion against the king—who bought the palace from Aleksander Koniecpolski
.
In 1674 the palace became, for the next 144 years, the property of the Radziwiłł family.
It was bought from descendants of Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski — Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski and Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski
— by Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł of the Nieśwież–Ołyka line, whose wife Katarzyna
was a sister of King Jan III Sobieski. After her death, her son Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł I
began renovation of the palace and tidied up its surroundings. He entrusted this task to the king's architect, Augustyn Locci.
The next-to-last heir in tail of Nieśwież and Ołyka was Karol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł, Voivode of Vilnius
, son of Michał Kazimierz "Rybeńko" Radziwiłł. He had inherited huge estates from his father and uncle which made him the wealthiest magnate
in Poland in the second half of the 18th century, and one of the richest men in Europe. He leased out the palace to Franciszek Ryx to house a theater which staged plays and threw masked balls. During the Four-Year Sejm of 1788-1792, he invited all the members of the four deliberating estates to dine there daily. Two meals were served every day: breakfast before the day's session, for 300 people, and dinner after the session. One of the most impressive feasts given by him was on St. Catherine's Day, November 25, 1789, the 25th anniversary of King Stanisław August's coronation, and commemorating the Union
of Lithuania
with the Polish Crown. Four thousand guests were invited, and the feast cost over 2 million złotys.
On the night of May 2—3, 1791, a conspiratorial group of members of the Four-Year Sejm who were bent on saving the Commonwealth met at the palace to strategize means to secure the adoption, next day, of the May 3rd Constitution. This document is called "the first constitution of its kind in Europe" by historian Norman Davies
.
Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł II died a sick and blind man at age 57. His property was inherited by Dominik, son of his half-brother Hieronim. Dominik, who had been wounded at the Battle of Hanau
, died heirless on November 11, 1813. The line of the Nieśwież–Ołyka heirs in tail died out with him.
In 1818 the palace became the seat of the Viceroy of the Polish (Congress) Kingdom
(when it acquired the name 'Pałac Namiestnikowski' - the Palace of Namestnik of Kingdom of Poland). The first Viceroy, from 1815, was Józef Zajączek
(1752-1820), former aide-de-champ to Hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
, deputy to the Four-year Sejm, secretary of the Assembly of Friends of the Government Act (i.e., of the May 3rd Constitution), a division commander during the Polish-Russian War of 1792, hero of the Battle of Zieleńce, a Polish Jacobin
, a soldier in Jan Henryk Dąbrowski
's legions, a general of Napoleon's. At the last he adopted a servile attitude toward Alexander I
, King of Poland and Tsar of Russia, who created him a duke in 1818. Zajączek had lost a leg at the Berezina River
and was carried about by his valets in an armchair.
Beginning in 1818 the palace was rebuilt in classicist style by the architect Chrystian Piotr Aigner
(1756-1841). He extended the palace (its lower wings reached the line of buildings on Krakowskie Przedmieście
), placed a new grand staircase between the main body of the building and its northern wing, remodeled the palace facades, and redecorated the rooms on the first and second floors of the main body of the building. Because of its massive vaulting, the ground floor remained unchanged. Aigner had two associates: Camillo Landini, who sculpted the four stone lions guarding the palace courtyard on the Krakowskie Przedmieście side, and Mikołaj Monti, an Italian painter. The main body of the building was remodeled to the Corinthian order
and ornamented with column
s, pilaster
s, balustrade and stone statue
s. Aigner is inseparably linked with the Viceregal (Polish: Namiestnikowski) — today, Presidential—Palace as the creator of its classicist exterior, which survives unchanged to this day.
The year 1852 brought disaster to the palace. A fire burned the main body of the building almost to the ground. Only charred walls remained. Reconstruction was entrusted to Alfons Kropiwnicki (1803-1881).
In the rebuilt palace, gatherings of the Agricultural Society were held, and balls were organized when the tsars visited Poland. In 1870, a statue of Ivan Paskevich
was unveiled there. In 1879, in the palace's colonnade hall, the inhabitants of Warsaw for the first time saw "The Battle of Grunwald
", a historical painting by Jan Matejko
. At the turn of the 20th century, the Tarnowski Palace to the right (south) of the building was pulled down, and in 1899-1901 the luxurious Hotel Bristol
was built in its place, designed by Władysław Marconi. One of the shareholders in the consortium that built the hotel was the famous pianist and post-World War I Polish prime minister, Ignacy Paderewski.
In 1918 the building was taken over by the newly reconstituted Polish authorities, and renovation of the palace was entrusted to Marian Lalewicz. The building became the official seat of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (the Prime Minister) and of the Council of Ministers itself. The side wings housed the chancellery offices of the Council of Ministers. As restored by Lalewicz, the building was greatly admired by Warsaw's inhabitants and visitors. Germany's Hermann Goering, when in February 1937 calling there on Prime Minister General Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, took such a keen interest in the palace that he arrived late to his meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck
.
In 1939 the palace suffered minimal damage. In 1941-1942 it was radically reconstructed into a Deutsches Haus by the Polish architects Janusz Nagorski and Jan Lukasik. In the course of the work, rococo
ornamentation in the rooms overlooking the garden was renovated with great care. A couple of grisaille
paintings were uncovered on the staircase, featuring eagle and weapon motifs. The Germans wanted to remove the eagles as Polish national emblems, but allowed them to remain after it was explained that these were Napoleonic eagles, a favorite motif of the French Empire period. On the ground floor of the right wing, a restaurant was put in, with wooden beam ceiling and a spacious cloakroom. The palace survived the Warsaw Uprising
intact.
After Warsaw's liberation, the palace was thoroughly reconstructed by Antoni Brusche and Antoni Jawornicki. In 1965 Bertel Thorvaldsen
's classicist equestrian statue of Prince Józef Poniatowski, which previously had stood before the now destroyed Polish General Staff building (the "Saxon Palace") on nearby Piłsudski Square (once known as "Saxon Square"), was relocated to the courtyard before the "Viceroy's Palace."
After World War II, the palace again served as the seat of the Council of Ministers
until the latter moved to its current seat in Ujazdowskie Avenue.
Since July 1994, the palace has been the official seat of the President of the Republic of Poland replacing the smaller Belweder
palace. However, the current President of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski
has decided to move the residence back to Belweder in honor of Jozef Pilsudzki and first Presidents of Poland.
, modelled after the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius
in Rome
. It was sponsored by Polish aristocracy and executed between 1826 and 1832. It was not put in place on account of the tsar's opposition and stood in Ivan Paskevich
's manor of Gomel
(Eastern Belarus) from 1842 to 1922.
After the Soviet-Polish War, the statue of Prince Józef was brought back to Warsaw. It stood before the Polish General Staff building (the Saxon Palace) and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
within the Palace. Though the statue was destroyed in World War II
. It was deliberately and completely destroyed by the Germans in 1944 (blew up on December 16). The statue was reconstructed between 1948-51 and recast in 1965 from the original mold
by Paul Lauritz Rasmussen (financed by Danish people).
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Pałac Prezydencki; also known as Pałac Koniecpolskich, Lubomirskich, Radziwiłłów, and Pałac Namiestnikowski) in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, is the elegant classicist latest version of a building that has stood on the Krakowskie Przedmieście
Krakowskie Przedmiescie
Krakowskie Przedmieście is one of the most impressive and prestigious streets of Poland's capital.Several other Polish cities also have streets named Krakowskie Przedmieście. In Lublin, it is the main and most elegant street...
site since 1643. Over the years, it has been rebuilt and remodeled many times. For its first 175 years, the palace was the private property of several aristocratic families. In 1791 it hosted the authors and advocates of the Constitution of May 3, 1791
Constitution of May 3, 1791
The Constitution of May 3, 1791 was adopted as a "Government Act" on that date by the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Historian Norman Davies calls it "the first constitution of its type in Europe"; other scholars also refer to it as the world's second oldest constitution...
.
It was in 1818 that the palace began its ongoing career as a governmental structure, when it became the seat of the Viceroy of the Polish (Congress) Kingdom
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
under Russian occupation (Namiestnik of the Kingdom of Poland
Namiestnik of the Kingdom of Poland
The Namiestnik of the Kingdom of Poland was the deputy of the King of Poland —i.e., the deputy of the Emperor of Russia who, under Congress Poland , styled himself "King of Poland." Between 1874 and 1914, when the former Congress Poland was known as the Vistula Country, the title Namiestnik was...
). Following Poland's resurrection after World War I, in 1918, the building was taken over by the newly reconstituted Polish authorities and became the seat of the Council of Ministers. During World War II, it served the country's German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
occupiers as a Deutsches Haus and survived intact the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
.
After the war, it resumed its function as seat of the Polish Council of Ministers.
History
Construction of the present-day Presidential Palace in Warsaw was begun in 1643 by Crown Field HetmanHetman
Hetman was the title of the second-highest military commander in 15th- to 18th-century Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which together, from 1569 to 1795, comprised the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, or Rzeczpospolita....
Stanisław Koniecpolski, owner of the town of Brody
Brody
Brody is a city in the Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Brody Raion , and is located in the valley of the upper Styr River, approximately 90 kilometres northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv...
(80 km. east of Lwów) and of numerous latifundia
Latifundia
Latifundia are pieces of property covering very large land areas. The latifundia of Roman history were great landed estates, specializing in agriculture destined for export: grain, olive oil, or wine...
situated in Poland's eastern borderlands; hence the palace's first name was "Pałac Koniecpolskich"—the "Koniecpolski
Koniecpolski
Koniecpolski is the surname of a Polish szlachta family. Because Polish adjectives have different forms for the genders, Koniecpolska is the form for a female family member.-History:...
Palace". It was said that he owned so much landed property that he could cross the breadth of the Commonwealth
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dualistic state of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was the largest and one of the most populous countries of 16th- and 17th‑century Europe with some and a multi-ethnic population of 11 million at its peak in the early 17th century...
while spending every night in one of his own manors. The palace was not completed in the Hetman's lifetime, as he died unexpectedly in 1646 at his Brody residence, a few weeks after taking a young wife.
The palace's architect was Constantino Tencalla, architect to Poland's King Władysław IV and designer of King Zygmunt's Column, in front of the nearby Royal Castle, commemorating Sigismund III of Poland
Sigismund III Vasa
Sigismund III Vasa was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, a monarch of the united Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1587 to 1632, and King of Sweden from 1592 until he was deposed in 1599...
. The palace was completed by Koniecpolski's son Aleksander
Aleksander Koniecpolski (1620-1659)
Prince Aleksander Koniecpolski was a Polish nobleman. He became the Grand Standard-Bearer of the Crown in 1641, the Palatine of Sandomierz Voivodeship in 1656, and the Starost of Perejasław, Korsun, Płoskirow and Dolina. He was the son of the famous hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski....
in the style of a baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
residence, imitating those of northern Italy and Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
. A view of the palace in a Warsaw panorama of 1656 by Erik Dahlberg
Erik Dahlberg
Count Erik Jönsson Dahlbergh was a Swedish engineer, soldier, and field marshal, called the "Vauban of Sweden".- Life :...
confirms this.
The next owner of the palace was Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski
Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski
Prince Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski was a Polish noble , magnate, outstanding politician and military commander. Lubomirski was a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire SRI. He was the initiator of the Lubomirski Rokosz....
—Grand Crown Hetman and Crown Chancellor, and later the leader of a rebellion against the king—who bought the palace from Aleksander Koniecpolski
Aleksander Koniecpolski (1620-1659)
Prince Aleksander Koniecpolski was a Polish nobleman. He became the Grand Standard-Bearer of the Crown in 1641, the Palatine of Sandomierz Voivodeship in 1656, and the Starost of Perejasław, Korsun, Płoskirow and Dolina. He was the son of the famous hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski....
.
In 1674 the palace became, for the next 144 years, the property of the Radziwiłł family.
It was bought from descendants of Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski — Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski and Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski
Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski
Prince Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski was a Polish noble , magnate, politician and outstanding military commander. He was a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire SRI....
— by Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł of the Nieśwież–Ołyka line, whose wife Katarzyna
Katarzyna Sobieska
Katarzyna Sobieska was the sister of King of Poland Jan III Sobieski and a noble lady. She married Władysław Dominik Zasławski in 1650. She was later married to Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł on June 13, 1658....
was a sister of King Jan III Sobieski. After her death, her son Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł I
Karol Stanislaw Radziwill
Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł may refer to:* Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł , Grand Chancellor of Lithuania* Karol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł , Voivode of Vilnius and Marshal of the Bar Confederation...
began renovation of the palace and tidied up its surroundings. He entrusted this task to the king's architect, Augustyn Locci.
The next-to-last heir in tail of Nieśwież and Ołyka was Karol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł, Voivode of Vilnius
Vilnius Voivodeship
The Vilnius Voivodeship was one of voivodeships in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, created in 1413, from the Duchy of Lithuania and neighbouring lands.- Geography and administrative division :...
, son of Michał Kazimierz "Rybeńko" Radziwiłł. He had inherited huge estates from his father and uncle which made him the wealthiest magnate
Magnate
Magnate, from the Late Latin magnas, a great man, itself from Latin magnus 'great', designates a noble or other man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or other qualities...
in Poland in the second half of the 18th century, and one of the richest men in Europe. He leased out the palace to Franciszek Ryx to house a theater which staged plays and threw masked balls. During the Four-Year Sejm of 1788-1792, he invited all the members of the four deliberating estates to dine there daily. Two meals were served every day: breakfast before the day's session, for 300 people, and dinner after the session. One of the most impressive feasts given by him was on St. Catherine's Day, November 25, 1789, the 25th anniversary of King Stanisław August's coronation, and commemorating the Union
Polish-Lithuanian Union
The term Polish–Lithuanian Union sometimes called as United Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania refers to a series of acts and alliances between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania that lasted for prolonged periods of time and led to the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian...
of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
with the Polish Crown. Four thousand guests were invited, and the feast cost over 2 million złotys.
On the night of May 2—3, 1791, a conspiratorial group of members of the Four-Year Sejm who were bent on saving the Commonwealth met at the palace to strategize means to secure the adoption, next day, of the May 3rd Constitution. This document is called "the first constitution of its kind in Europe" by historian Norman Davies
Norman Davies
Professor Ivor Norman Richard Davies FBA, FRHistS is a leading English historian of Welsh descent, noted for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland, and the United Kingdom.- Academic career :...
.
Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł II died a sick and blind man at age 57. His property was inherited by Dominik, son of his half-brother Hieronim. Dominik, who had been wounded at the Battle of Hanau
Battle of Hanau
The Battle of Hanau was fought on between Karl Philipp von Wrede’s Austro-Bavarian corps and Napoleon's retreating French during the War of the Sixth Coalition....
, died heirless on November 11, 1813. The line of the Nieśwież–Ołyka heirs in tail died out with him.
In 1818 the palace became the seat of the Viceroy of the Polish (Congress) Kingdom
Congress Poland
The Kingdom of Poland , informally known as Congress Poland , created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna, was a personal union of the Russian parcel of Poland with the Russian Empire...
(when it acquired the name 'Pałac Namiestnikowski' - the Palace of Namestnik of Kingdom of Poland). The first Viceroy, from 1815, was Józef Zajączek
Józef Zajaczek
Prince Józef Zajączek , was a Polish general and politician.His first important military post was that of an aide-de-camp to hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki...
(1752-1820), former aide-de-champ to Hetman Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
Franciszek Ksawery Branicki
Count Franciszek Ksawery Branicki was a Polish nobleman of the Korczak coat of arms, magnate and one of the leaders of the Targowica Confederation....
, deputy to the Four-year Sejm, secretary of the Assembly of Friends of the Government Act (i.e., of the May 3rd Constitution), a division commander during the Polish-Russian War of 1792, hero of the Battle of Zieleńce, a Polish Jacobin
Jacobin (politics)
A Jacobin , in the context of the French Revolution, was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary far-left political movement. The Jacobin Club was the most famous political club of the French Revolution. So called from the Dominican convent where they originally met, in the Rue St. Jacques ,...
, a soldier in Jan Henryk Dąbrowski
Jan Henryk Dabrowski
-Biography:Dąbrowski was born to Jan Michal Dąbrowski and Sophie née von Lettow in Pierzchów, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth He grew up in Hoyerswerda, Electorate of Saxony, where his father served as a Colonel in the Saxon army...
's legions, a general of Napoleon's. At the last he adopted a servile attitude toward Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
, King of Poland and Tsar of Russia, who created him a duke in 1818. Zajączek had lost a leg at the Berezina River
Berezina River
The Berezina is a river in Belarus and a tributary of the Dnieper River.The Berezina Preserve by the river is in the UNESCO list of Biosphere Preserves.-Historical significance:...
and was carried about by his valets in an armchair.
Chrystian Piotr Aigner
Chrystian Piotr Aigner was a Polish architect and theoretician of architecture.-Life:...
(1756-1841). He extended the palace (its lower wings reached the line of buildings on Krakowskie Przedmieście
Krakowskie Przedmiescie
Krakowskie Przedmieście is one of the most impressive and prestigious streets of Poland's capital.Several other Polish cities also have streets named Krakowskie Przedmieście. In Lublin, it is the main and most elegant street...
), placed a new grand staircase between the main body of the building and its northern wing, remodeled the palace facades, and redecorated the rooms on the first and second floors of the main body of the building. Because of its massive vaulting, the ground floor remained unchanged. Aigner had two associates: Camillo Landini, who sculpted the four stone lions guarding the palace courtyard on the Krakowskie Przedmieście side, and Mikołaj Monti, an Italian painter. The main body of the building was remodeled to the Corinthian order
Corinthian order
The Corinthian order is one of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric and Ionic. When classical architecture was revived during the Renaissance, two more orders were added to the canon, the Tuscan order and the Composite order...
and ornamented with column
Column
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s, pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s, balustrade and stone statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
s. Aigner is inseparably linked with the Viceregal (Polish: Namiestnikowski) — today, Presidential—Palace as the creator of its classicist exterior, which survives unchanged to this day.
The year 1852 brought disaster to the palace. A fire burned the main body of the building almost to the ground. Only charred walls remained. Reconstruction was entrusted to Alfons Kropiwnicki (1803-1881).
Ivan Paskevich
Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich was a Ukrainian-born military leader. For his victories, he was made Count of Erivan in 1828 and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland in 1831...
was unveiled there. In 1879, in the palace's colonnade hall, the inhabitants of Warsaw for the first time saw "The Battle of Grunwald
Battle of Grunwald
The Battle of Grunwald or 1st Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410, during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Jogaila and Grand Duke Vytautas , decisively defeated the Teutonic Knights, led...
", a historical painting by Jan Matejko
Jan Matejko
Jan Matejko was a Polish painter known for paintings of notable historical Polish political and military events. His most famous works include oil on canvas paintings like Battle of Grunwald, paintings of numerous other battles and court scenes, and a gallery of Polish kings...
. At the turn of the 20th century, the Tarnowski Palace to the right (south) of the building was pulled down, and in 1899-1901 the luxurious Hotel Bristol
Hotel Bristol in Warsaw
Hotel Bristol was built in 1899/1900 and is in Krakowskie Przedmieście Street in Poland's capital, Warsaw.- History :Le Royal Meridien Bristol is, quite possibly, the best example of the splendour of Old Warsaw. Built in 1900 by a company whose partners included Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish...
was built in its place, designed by Władysław Marconi. One of the shareholders in the consortium that built the hotel was the famous pianist and post-World War I Polish prime minister, Ignacy Paderewski.
In 1918 the building was taken over by the newly reconstituted Polish authorities, and renovation of the palace was entrusted to Marian Lalewicz. The building became the official seat of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (the Prime Minister) and of the Council of Ministers itself. The side wings housed the chancellery offices of the Council of Ministers. As restored by Lalewicz, the building was greatly admired by Warsaw's inhabitants and visitors. Germany's Hermann Goering, when in February 1937 calling there on Prime Minister General Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, took such a keen interest in the palace that he arrived late to his meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Józef Beck
Józef Beck
' was a Polish statesman, diplomat, military officer, and close associate of Józef Piłsudski...
.
In 1939 the palace suffered minimal damage. In 1941-1942 it was radically reconstructed into a Deutsches Haus by the Polish architects Janusz Nagorski and Jan Lukasik. In the course of the work, rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
ornamentation in the rooms overlooking the garden was renovated with great care. A couple of grisaille
Grisaille
Grisaille is a term for painting executed entirely in monochrome or near-monochrome, usually in shades of grey. It is particularly used in large decorative schemes in imitation of sculpture. Many grisailles in fact include a slightly wider colour range, like the Andrea del Sarto fresco...
paintings were uncovered on the staircase, featuring eagle and weapon motifs. The Germans wanted to remove the eagles as Polish national emblems, but allowed them to remain after it was explained that these were Napoleonic eagles, a favorite motif of the French Empire period. On the ground floor of the right wing, a restaurant was put in, with wooden beam ceiling and a spacious cloakroom. The palace survived the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
intact.
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...
's classicist equestrian statue of Prince Józef Poniatowski, which previously had stood before the now destroyed Polish General Staff building (the "Saxon Palace") on nearby Piłsudski Square (once known as "Saxon Square"), was relocated to the courtyard before the "Viceroy's Palace."
After World War II, the palace again served as the seat of the Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers of Poland
The Cabinet of Poland consists of the Prime Minister and ministers. Deputy Prime Ministers and presidents of committees specified in statutes may also be appointed to the Cabinet...
until the latter moved to its current seat in Ujazdowskie Avenue.
Since July 1994, the palace has been the official seat of the President of the Republic of Poland replacing the smaller Belweder
Belweder
Belweder is a palace in Warsaw, a few kilometers south of the Royal Castle. The President of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, resides at Belweder.-History:...
palace. However, the current President of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski
Bronislaw Komorowski
Bronisław Maria Komorowski is the President of Poland. As Marshal of the Sejm , Komorowski exercised powers and duties of head of state following the death of President Lech Kaczyński in a plane crash on 10 April 2010...
has decided to move the residence back to Belweder in honor of Jozef Pilsudzki and first Presidents of Poland.
Statue
An equestrian statue of Prince Józef Poniatowski stands in the courtyard. It was commissioned in 1816 and was created by sculptor Bertel ThorvaldsenBertel Thorvaldsen
Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...
, modelled after the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius
The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is an ancient Roman statue in the Campidoglio, Rome, Italy. It is made of bronze and stands 3.5 m tall. Although the emperor is mounted, it exhibits many similarities to standing statues of Augustus...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. It was sponsored by Polish aristocracy and executed between 1826 and 1832. It was not put in place on account of the tsar's opposition and stood in Ivan Paskevich
Ivan Paskevich
Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich was a Ukrainian-born military leader. For his victories, he was made Count of Erivan in 1828 and Namestnik of the Kingdom of Poland in 1831...
's manor of Gomel
Gomel Palace
The Rumyantsev-Paskevich Residence is the main place of historical importance in the city of Gomel, Belarus. The grounds of the residence stretch for 800 meters along the steep right bank of the Sozh River...
(Eastern Belarus) from 1842 to 1922.
After the Soviet-Polish War, the statue of Prince Józef was brought back to Warsaw. It stood before the Polish General Staff building (the Saxon Palace) and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected after World War I.-History:...
within the Palace. Though the statue was destroyed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It was deliberately and completely destroyed by the Germans in 1944 (blew up on December 16). The statue was reconstructed between 1948-51 and recast in 1965 from the original mold
Molding (process)
Molding or moulding is the process of manufacturing by shaping pliable raw material using a rigid frame or model called a pattern....
by Paul Lauritz Rasmussen (financed by Danish people).
See also
- Potocki Palace
- Carmelite ChurchCarmelite Church, WarsawChurch of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and of St. Joseph commonly known as the Carmelite Church is a Roman Catholic church at Krakowskie Przedmieście 52/54 in Warsaw, Poland....
- Cross in front of Presidential Palace in Warsaw