Lazienki Park
Encyclopedia
Łazienki Park is the largest park in Warsaw
, Poland
, occupying 76 hectare
s of the city center. The park-and-palace complex lies in Warsaw's Downtown
(Śródmieście
), on Ujazdów Avenue
(Aleje Ujazdowskie) on the "Royal Route
" linking the Royal Castle
with Wilanów
palace to the south. North of Łazienki Park, on the other side of Agrykola Street, stands Ujazdów Castle
.
, in the baroque
style, for Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski. It took the name Łazienki ("Baths") from a bathing pavilion
that was located there.
In 1764 the gardens were acquired by Stanisław August Poniatowski, after his election that year as King of Poland.
The development of the classical-style gardens became a major project for King Stanisław August. The park-and-palace complex was designed by Domenico Merlini
, Johann Christian Kammsetzer
and landscape gardener Jan Chrystian Schuch
. Its principal buildings stand beside or near the Łazienki Lake and Łazienki River. Stanisław August's palace is situated on the lake and hence is known as the "Palace on the Water."
Most of the buildings in the park suffered severe fire damage during and after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising
, amid fighting between German and Polish forces. The structures nevertheless were relatively well-preserved, compared to those in the Old Town
; here the Germans had drilled holes in the palace walls for placement of explosive charges, but charges had not been placed to destroy the buildings.
Reconstruction of the park and palaces was completed within a few years after World War II
.
for King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who made it his residence.
The original bathhouse was built in a Chinese style
. The building, now a beautiful mixture of architectural styles, was then graced with reliefs and painted Dutch tiles.
The palace's furniture and paintings belong to the Classicist style. The building is dominated by an attika supported by columns, and featuring statues of mythological figures.
The palace stands on an artificial island in Łazienki Lake, and is connected to the rest of the park by two arcaded bridges. The long Łazienki Lake is divided by the palace into two parts, a smaller northern lake and a larger southern one.
The palace's ground floor includes the "Bacchus
room," royal baths, a ballroom, a portrait gallery, the Solomon
Room, a rotunda with figures of Polish kings, a lower picture gallery which contains minor works by Rubens and Rembrandt, and a chapel. Also on the ground floor is a dining room which hosted the famous "Thursday dinners
" to which Stanisław August Poniatowski invited leading artists, writers and politicians.
The first floor contains the royal apartments, an upper picture gallery
, a balcony room, the king's study, the royal bedchambers, a cloakroom, and an officer's room. The Palace on the Water was burned after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising by the Germans but German plans to blow up the palace were never carried out. It was rebuilt after World War II
.
The Roman
-inspired Amphitheater was built on the bank of the Łazienki lake, separated by a narrow strait
from its stage
. The amphitheater was built in 1790-93 by Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer. Its attic
is embellished with sixteen statues representing famous poet
s of antiquity
.
The stage
, sited on an island, was modeled after ancient Herculaneum
and embellished with decorations that imitate ruins in the Roman Forum. Performances are still staged here. The amphitheater and its stage provide a perfect setting on a summer evening, despite occasional noise from swan
s, duck
s and peacocks.
The Little White House (Biały Domek) is a garden villa
built in 1774-76 by Domenico Merlini
. It housed King Stanisław August Poniatowski's mistress and, for a time, Louis XVIII
, who lived here in 1801-05 during his exile from France. Built in the form of a square, it has identical facades, adorned with rustication
, an attic
and a small pavilion
at the top. The interiors were decorated by the prominent Polish painters Jan Ścisło and Jan Bogumił Plersch.
Though the Little White House was devastated by the Germans during World War II
, many of its interior furnishings survived. The most interesting include grotesque
paintings in the dining room, 18th-century Chinese
wallpaper
in the parlor, the king's bed in the bedchamber, and a cabinet in the form of an arbor
with trompe-l'œil paintings by Plersch.
Named after the village of Myślewice, the little palace (in Polish Pałac Myślewicki) was built for King Stanisław August Poniatowski in 1775–79 to an early-classicist design by Domenico Merlini
.
The palace's main, three-story body features a central entry niche and is flanked by quarter-circle wings. The facade is adorned by an enormous shell with sculptures of Zephyr and Flora
by Giacomo Monaldi. The gently recurved rooflines reflect then-popular Chinese designs.
Initially the palace housed royal courtier
s; later it was taken over by Prince Józef Poniatowski, whose initials appear in a cartouche
over the entrance.
The palace survived World War II. On 15 September 1958, the first talks were held here between the ambassadors of the Chinese People's Republic and the United States of America — the first attempt to establish contact between the two countries.
The Old Orangery
was erected in 1786-88 in a rectangular horseshoe shape, with the southern façade of the core structure broken up by pilasters and arcaded great windows. It houses a magnificent interior. The building contains a well-preserved wooden theatre
(one of the few in Europe to retain its original 18th-century decor), with space for over two hundred people, not including those in the royal boxes. The auditorium, consisting of stalls and surrounding balconies, is richly decorated with paintings. The walls between the balconies, divided by twin pilaster
s, are adorned with female statues holding chandeliers. To complete the classical pose, pieces from King Stanisław's extensive collection fill the long galleries behind the auditorium.
The building was built by Adam Adolf Loewe and Józef Orłowski in 1860. Neo-classicist with eclectic elements, it was designed to shelter the collection of orange trees.
The building was necessary because tsar Alexander II of Russia
, who purchased one of the largest in Europe collection of tropical plants from Nieborów
, could not transport it to Saint Petersburg
, due to climate conditions there. The collection's pride were long-lived orange trees (there were 124 of them in the collection). Unfortunately, during the World War I
, they were left without appropriate care and froze. The building consists of an oblong hall, with glass walls. Today it houses a tropical garden and a restaurant in the northern wing.
In 1822, Jakub Kubicki
erected a classicist temple to the goddess Diana
. Also called the "Temple of the Sibyl
," it stands next to the northwest part of the southern Łazienki lake. The wooden building is massive and decorated inside with mural
s with flower and fruit motifs.
, on the southwest shore of the southern Łazienki Lake. It was placed next to the fortress built by Stanisław Lubomirski, which protected Warsaw south of that point. In 1771 a bridge was built to it. During the Warsaw Uprising, only the northern part of the temple survived; the southern part has never been rebuilt.
is a neoclassical
structure, built in 1777–78 and 1822 by Jan Christian Kamsetzer
and Chrystian Piotr Aigner
. It was modeled after Caecilia Metella
's mausoleum
on the Appian Way
in Rome
and currently serves as a museum of jewelry.
The Belweder Palace was erected about 1660 and was remodeled in the first half of the 18th century in the Baroque
style. It was acquired by King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who used it as a porcelain
-manufacturing plant.
From 1818 it was the residence of the ruler of Congress Poland
, Grand Duke Constantine
, and was remodeled in 1819–22 in the Neoclassical
style by Jakub Kubicki
. As a child Frédéric Chopin
would be invited to the Belweder to be a playmate to the Grand Duke's son and to soothe the Grand Duke's nerves with his piano playing. When officer cadet
s barracked on the Łazienki Park grounds opened the November 1831 Uprising
with an attempted capture of the Grand Duke, it was from the Belweder Palace that he fled to safety.
After the re-establishment of Poland's independence, in 1918–22 the Belweder served as quarters to Józef Piłsudski, and in 1922-26 as the presidential residence of Gabriel Narutowicz
and Stanisław Wojciechowski. During Piłsudski's May 1926 Coup d'État, Wojciechowski fled the Belweder for Wilanów
, to the south.
From 1989 to July 1994, the Belweder Palace was the official residence of the Polish president
. It now houses a museum dedicated to Józef Piłsudski.
The current building was constructed in 1975 after a 1944 fire during the Warsaw Uprising destroyed the previous stone construction, but castles have existed on the spot since around the 13th century. In 1624 construction began on a stone castle under order of King Sigismund III Vasa
, with remodeling by subsequent owners Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski and Stanisław August Poniatowski, the latter of whom donated the property to the Polish Army in 1784. In the 18th century the castle was included in the Stanislavian Axis, a line of parks and palaces planned in the southern outskirts of Warsaw much like the Saxon Axis
in the city center. Since 1981 it has been the home of the Center for Contemporary Art.
Within the gardens stands the Astronomical Observatory founded by the second rector of Warsaw University, astronomer Franciszek Armiński
(1789–1848). Its tradition goes back to 1665, when the first observatory in Poland (nota bene at the Ujazdów Castle) was established by Titus Livius Burattini. Construction was started in 1822 and the observatory was formally inaugurated in 1825. The classicist façade dates to 1824 and was designed by royal architects Chrystian Piotr Aigner
, Hilary Szpilowski and Michał Kado.
, a monument to Frédéric Chopin
, which has become one of Warsaw's iconic images. It was designed in 1907 by Wacław Szymanowski for planned erection on the centenary of Chopin's birth in 1910, but its execution was delayed by controversy about the design, then by the outbreak of World War I
. The statue was finally cast and erected in 1926.
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...
, occupying 76 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s of the city center. The park-and-palace complex lies in Warsaw's Downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....
(Śródmieście
Warszawa-Sródmiescie
Śródmieście is the central borough of the city of Warsaw. The best known neighborhoods in the borough are the Old Town and New Town ....
), on Ujazdów Avenue
Ujazdów Avenue
Ujazdów Avenue is a major thoroughfare parallel to the Vistula River in the Śródmieście district of Warsaw, Poland.Origins of the avenue go to 1724-1731, when King August II ordered construction of the Calvary Road . By 1766 it was already a part of the Royal Route as Belweder Avenue leading to...
(Aleje Ujazdowskie) on the "Royal Route
Royal Route, Warsaw
The Royal Route in Warsaw, Poland, is a former communication route that led southward from the city's Old Town. It now comprises a series of connecting Warsaw streets that feature a number of historic landmarks....
" linking the Royal Castle
Royal Castle, Warsaw
The Royal Castle in Warsaw is a castle residency and was the official residence of the Polish monarchs. It is located in the Castle Square, at the entrance to the Warsaw Old Town. The personal offices of the king and the administrative offices of the Royal Court of Poland were located there from...
with Wilanów
Wilanów
Wilanów is a district of the city of Warsaw, Poland. It is home to historic Wilanów Palace, the "Polish Versailles," and second home to various Polish kings.-History:...
palace to the south. North of Łazienki Park, on the other side of Agrykola Street, stands Ujazdów Castle
Ujazdów Castle
Ujazdów Castle is a castle in the historic Ujazdów district, between Ujazdów Park and the Royal Baths Park , in Warsaw, Poland.-History:...
.
History
Łazienki Park was designed in the 17th century by Tylman van GamerenTylman van Gameren
Tylman van Gameren was a Dutch-born Polish architect and engineer who, at the age of 28, settled in Poland and worked for Queen Maria Kazimiera, wife of Poland's King Jan III Sobieski...
, in the 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...
style, for Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski. It took the name Łazienki ("Baths") from a bathing pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
that was located there.
In 1764 the gardens were acquired by Stanisław August Poniatowski, after his election that year as King of Poland.
The development of the classical-style gardens became a major project for King Stanisław August. The park-and-palace complex was designed by Domenico Merlini
Domenico Merlini
Domenico Merlini was an Italian-Polish architect whose work was mostly in the classical style.-Life and Style:...
, Johann Christian Kammsetzer
Johann Christian Kammsetzer
Johann Christian Kammsetzer or Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer was a Dresden-born architect who was active primarily in Poland.-Life:...
and landscape gardener Jan Chrystian Schuch
Johann Christian Schuch
Johann Christian Schuch was a Dresden-born garden designer and architect, active in Poland.-Life:Schuch learned gardening from his father, a House of Wettin court gardener...
. Its principal buildings stand beside or near the Łazienki Lake and Łazienki River. Stanisław August's palace is situated on the lake and hence is known as the "Palace on the Water."
Most of the buildings in the park suffered severe fire damage during and after 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...
, amid fighting between German and Polish forces. The structures nevertheless were relatively well-preserved, compared to those in the Old Town
Warsaw Old Town
Warsaw's Old Town is the oldest historic district of the city. It is bounded by Wybrzeże Gdańskie, along the bank of the Vistula, and by Grodzka, Mostowa and Podwale Streets. It is one of Warsaw's most prominent tourist attractions....
; here the Germans had drilled holes in the palace walls for placement of explosive charges, but charges had not been placed to destroy the buildings.
Reconstruction of the park and palaces was completed within a few years after 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...
.
Palace on the Water
The Palace on the Water , also called the Łazienki Palace (Pałac Łazienkowski) and the Palace on the Island (Pałac na Wyspie), was built in the 17th century by Tylman van Gameren for Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski. Between 1772 and 1793 it was remodeled by Domenico MerliniDomenico Merlini
Domenico Merlini was an Italian-Polish architect whose work was mostly in the classical style.-Life and Style:...
for King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who made it his residence.
The original bathhouse was built in a Chinese style
Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...
. The building, now a beautiful mixture of architectural styles, was then graced with reliefs and painted Dutch tiles.
The palace's furniture and paintings belong to the Classicist style. The building is dominated by an attika supported by columns, and featuring statues of mythological figures.
The palace stands on an artificial island in Łazienki Lake, and is connected to the rest of the park by two arcaded bridges. The long Łazienki Lake is divided by the palace into two parts, a smaller northern lake and a larger southern one.
The palace's ground floor includes the "Bacchus
Dionysus
Dionysus was the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine, of ritual madness and ecstasy in Greek mythology. His name in Linear B tablets shows he was worshipped from c. 1500—1100 BC by Mycenean Greeks: other traces of Dionysian-type cult have been found in ancient Minoan Crete...
room," royal baths, a ballroom, a portrait gallery, the Solomon
Solomon
Solomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
Room, a rotunda with figures of Polish kings, a lower picture gallery which contains minor works by Rubens and Rembrandt, and a chapel. Also on the ground floor is a dining room which hosted the famous "Thursday dinners
Thursday Dinners
The Thursday Dinners were meetings of artists, intellectuals, and statesmen held by the last King of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski in the era of Enlightenment in Poland....
" to which Stanisław August Poniatowski invited leading artists, writers and politicians.
The first floor contains the royal apartments, an upper picture gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
, a balcony room, the king's study, the royal bedchambers, a cloakroom, and an officer's room. The Palace on the Water was burned after the 1944 Warsaw Uprising by the Germans but German plans to blow up the palace were never carried out. It was rebuilt after 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...
.
Roman theater
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
-inspired Amphitheater was built on the bank of the Łazienki lake, separated by a narrow strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
from its stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
. The amphitheater was built in 1790-93 by Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer. Its attic
Attic
An attic is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building . Attic is generally the American/Canadian reference to it...
is embellished with sixteen statues representing famous poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
s of antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
.
The stage
Stage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
, sited on an island, was modeled after ancient Herculaneum
Herculaneum
Herculaneum was an ancient Roman town destroyed by volcanic pyroclastic flows in AD 79, located in the territory of the current commune of Ercolano, in the Italian region of Campania in the shadow of Mt...
and embellished with decorations that imitate ruins in the Roman Forum. Performances are still staged here. The amphitheater and its stage provide a perfect setting on a summer evening, despite occasional noise from swan
Swan
Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s, duck
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds, which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered...
s and peacocks.
White House
Villa
A villa was originally an ancient Roman upper-class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity,...
built in 1774-76 by Domenico Merlini
Domenico Merlini
Domenico Merlini was an Italian-Polish architect whose work was mostly in the classical style.-Life and Style:...
. It housed King Stanisław August Poniatowski's mistress and, for a time, Louis XVIII
Louis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
, who lived here in 1801-05 during his exile from France. Built in the form of a square, it has identical facades, adorned with rustication
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
, an attic
Attic style
In classical architecture, the term attic refers to a story or low wall above the cornice of a classical façade. This usage originated in the 17th century from the use of Attica style pilasters as adornments on the top story's façade...
and a small pavilion
Pavilion (structure)
In architecture a pavilion has two main meanings.-Free-standing structure:Pavilion may refer to a free-standing structure sited a short distance from a main residence, whose architecture makes it an object of pleasure. Large or small, there is usually a connection with relaxation and pleasure in...
at the top. The interiors were decorated by the prominent Polish painters Jan Ścisło and Jan Bogumił Plersch.
Though the Little White House was devastated by the Germans during 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...
, many of its interior furnishings survived. The most interesting include grotesque
Grotesque
The word grotesque comes from the same Latin root as "Grotto", meaning a small cave or hollow. The original meaning was restricted to an extravagant style of Ancient Roman decorative art rediscovered and then copied in Rome at the end of the 15th century...
paintings in the dining room, 18th-century Chinese
Chinese painting
Chinese painting is one of the oldest continuous artistic traditions in the world. The earliest paintings were not representational but ornamental; they consisted of patterns or designs rather than pictures. Early pottery was painted with spirals, zigzags, dots, or animals...
wallpaper
Wallpaper
Wallpaper is a kind of material used to cover and decorate the interior walls of homes, offices, and other buildings; it is one aspect of interior decoration. It is usually sold in rolls and is put onto a wall using wallpaper paste...
in the parlor, the king's bed in the bedchamber, and a cabinet in the form of an arbor
Pergola
A pergola, arbor or arbour is a garden feature forming a shaded walkway, passageway or sitting area of vertical posts or pillars that usually support cross-beams and a sturdy open lattice, often upon which woody vines are trained...
with trompe-l'œil paintings by Plersch.
Myślewicki Palace
Domenico Merlini
Domenico Merlini was an Italian-Polish architect whose work was mostly in the classical style.-Life and Style:...
.
The palace's main, three-story body features a central entry niche and is flanked by quarter-circle wings. The facade is adorned by an enormous shell with sculptures of Zephyr and Flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
by Giacomo Monaldi. The gently recurved rooflines reflect then-popular Chinese designs.
Initially the palace housed royal courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
s; later it was taken over by Prince Józef Poniatowski, whose initials appear in a cartouche
Cartouche
In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an ellipse with a horizontal line at one end, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name, coming into use during the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty under Pharaoh Sneferu, replacing the earlier serekh...
over the entrance.
The palace survived World War II. On 15 September 1958, the first talks were held here between the ambassadors of the Chinese People's Republic and the United States of America — the first attempt to establish contact between the two countries.
Old Orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
was erected in 1786-88 in a rectangular horseshoe shape, with the southern façade of the core structure broken up by pilasters and arcaded great windows. It houses a magnificent interior. The building contains a well-preserved wooden theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
(one of the few in Europe to retain its original 18th-century decor), with space for over two hundred people, not including those in the royal boxes. The auditorium, consisting of stalls and surrounding balconies, is richly decorated with paintings. The walls between the balconies, divided by twin 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, are adorned with female statues holding chandeliers. To complete the classical pose, pieces from King Stanisław's extensive collection fill the long galleries behind the auditorium.
New Orangery
The building was necessary because tsar Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, who purchased one of the largest in Europe collection of tropical plants from Nieborów
Nieborów
Nieborów is a village in Łowicz County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Nieborów. It lies approximately east of Łowicz and north-east of the regional capital Łódź....
, could not transport it to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
, due to climate conditions there. The collection's pride were long-lived orange trees (there were 124 of them in the collection). Unfortunately, during the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, they were left without appropriate care and froze. The building consists of an oblong hall, with glass walls. Today it houses a tropical garden and a restaurant in the northern wing.
Temple of Diana
Jakub Kubicki
Jakub Kubicki was a renowned Polish classicist architect and designer. One of the most renowned architects of his epoch, since 1781 he was the personal architect of king Stanisław August Poniatowski. Among the most notable of his works are a number of palaces and summer residences in Poland,...
erected a classicist temple to the goddess Diana
Diana (mythology)
In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt and moon and birthing, being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy...
. Also called the "Temple of the Sibyl
Temple of the Sibyl
The Temple of the Sibyl is a colonnaded round monopteral temple-like structure at Puławy, Poland, built in the late 18th century as a museum by Izabela Czartoryska.-History:...
," it stands next to the northwest part of the southern Łazienki lake. The wooden building is massive and decorated inside with mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s with flower and fruit motifs.
Egyptian temple
An Egyptian temple was also built in 1822 by Jakub KubickiJakub Kubicki
Jakub Kubicki was a renowned Polish classicist architect and designer. One of the most renowned architects of his epoch, since 1781 he was the personal architect of king Stanisław August Poniatowski. Among the most notable of his works are a number of palaces and summer residences in Poland,...
, on the southwest shore of the southern Łazienki Lake. It was placed next to the fortress built by Stanisław Lubomirski, which protected Warsaw south of that point. In 1771 a bridge was built to it. During the Warsaw Uprising, only the northern part of the temple survived; the southern part has never been rebuilt.
Water tower
The Water TowerWater tower
A water tower or elevated water tower is a large elevated drinking water storage container constructed to hold a water supply at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system....
is a neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
structure, built in 1777–78 and 1822 by Jan Christian Kamsetzer
Johann Christian Kammsetzer
Johann Christian Kammsetzer or Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer was a Dresden-born architect who was active primarily in Poland.-Life:...
and Chrystian Piotr Aigner
Chrystian Piotr Aigner
Chrystian Piotr Aigner was a Polish architect and theoretician of architecture.-Life:...
. It was modeled after Caecilia Metella
Caecilia Metella Cretica
Caecilia Metella was a daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus, who was Consul in 69 BC. She was apparently married to Marcus Licinius Crassus Junior or the Younger, a legate to Julius Caesar, the son and heir of the Triumvir Marcus Licinius Crassus and his wife Axia Tertulla.Their son was...
's mausoleum
Mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
on the Appian Way
Appian Way
The Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, Apulia, in southeast Italy...
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...
and currently serves as a museum of jewelry.
Belweder
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...
style. It was acquired by King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who used it as a porcelain
Porcelain
Porcelain is a ceramic material made by heating raw materials, generally including clay in the form of kaolin, in a kiln to temperatures between and...
-manufacturing plant.
From 1818 it was the residence of the ruler of Congress Poland
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...
, Grand Duke Constantine
Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia
Constantine Pavlovich was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I. He was the Tsesarevich of Russia throughout the reign of his elder brother Alexander I, but had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823...
, and was remodeled in 1819–22 in the Neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style by Jakub Kubicki
Jakub Kubicki
Jakub Kubicki was a renowned Polish classicist architect and designer. One of the most renowned architects of his epoch, since 1781 he was the personal architect of king Stanisław August Poniatowski. Among the most notable of his works are a number of palaces and summer residences in Poland,...
. As a child Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
would be invited to the Belweder to be a playmate to the Grand Duke's son and to soothe the Grand Duke's nerves with his piano playing. When officer cadet
Officer Cadet
Officer cadet is a rank held by military and merchant navy cadets during their training to become commissioned officers and merchant navy officers, respectively. The term officer trainee is used interchangeably in some countries...
s barracked on the Łazienki Park grounds opened the November 1831 Uprising
November Uprising
The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...
with an attempted capture of the Grand Duke, it was from the Belweder Palace that he fled to safety.
Gabriel Narutowicz
Gabriel Narutowicz was a Lithuanian-born professor of hydroelectric engineering at Switzerland's Zurich Polytechnic, and Poland's Minister of Public Works , Minister of Foreign Affairs , and the first president of the Second Polish Republic....
and Stanisław Wojciechowski. During Piłsudski's May 1926 Coup d'État, Wojciechowski fled the Belweder for Wilanów
Wilanów
Wilanów is a district of the city of Warsaw, Poland. It is home to historic Wilanów Palace, the "Polish Versailles," and second home to various Polish kings.-History:...
, to the south.
From 1989 to July 1994, the Belweder Palace was the official residence of the Polish president
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...
. It now houses a museum dedicated to Józef Piłsudski.
Ujazdów Castle
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...
, with remodeling by subsequent owners Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski and Stanisław August Poniatowski, the latter of whom donated the property to the Polish Army in 1784. In the 18th century the castle was included in the Stanislavian Axis, a line of parks and palaces planned in the southern outskirts of Warsaw much like the Saxon Axis
Saxon Axis
The Saxon Axis is a feature of the historical city centre of the city of Warsaw. It is a line running from the Vistula through the Presidential Palace, the Krakowskie Przedmieście, Saxon Square, Saxon Palace, Saxon Garden, Lubomirski Palace to Plac Żelaznej Bramy.The idea was first proposed by...
in the city center. Since 1981 it has been the home of the Center for Contemporary Art.
Observatory
Franciszek Arminski
Franciszek Armiński was a Polish astronomer.He was professor at the Warsaw University and director of the astronomical observatory in Łazienki Park, Warsaw....
(1789–1848). Its tradition goes back to 1665, when the first observatory in Poland (nota bene at the Ujazdów Castle) was established by Titus Livius Burattini. Construction was started in 1822 and the observatory was formally inaugurated in 1825. The classicist façade dates to 1824 and was designed by royal architects Chrystian Piotr Aigner
Chrystian Piotr Aigner
Chrystian Piotr Aigner was a Polish architect and theoretician of architecture.-Life:...
, Hilary Szpilowski and Michał Kado.
Chopin monument
The park is also home to the Chopin StatueChopin Statue, Warsaw
The Chopin Statue is a large bronze statue of Frédéric Chopin that now stands in the upper part of Warsaw's Royal Baths Park aka Łazienki Park, adjacent to Aleje Ujazdowskie ....
, a monument to Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
, which has become one of Warsaw's iconic images. It was designed in 1907 by Wacław Szymanowski for planned erection on the centenary of Chopin's birth in 1910, but its execution was delayed by controversy about the design, then by the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. The statue was finally cast and erected in 1926.
See also
- Thursday dinnersThursday DinnersThe Thursday Dinners were meetings of artists, intellectuals, and statesmen held by the last King of Poland, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski in the era of Enlightenment in Poland....
- Saxon GardenSaxon GardenThe Saxon Garden is a 15.5–hectare public garden in downtown Warsaw, Poland, facing Piłsudski Square. It is the oldest public park in the city...
- Ujazdów Park
External links
- Plan of the Łazienki Park VIRTUAL TOUR Łazienki in winter.