Ujazdów Castle
Encyclopedia
Castle
A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
in the historic Ujazdów
Ujazdów
Ujazdów may refer to the following places in Poland:*Ujazdów Castle in Warsaw*Ujazdów Park in Warsaw*Ujazdów, Włodawa County in Lublin Voivodeship *Ujazdów, Zamość County in Lublin Voivodeship...
district, between Ujazdów Park (Park Ujazdowski
Park Ujazdowski
Ujazdów Park is one of the most picturesque parks of Warsaw, Poland. It borders Aleje Ujazdowskie , with its many embassies and Sejm building.- History :...
) and the Royal Baths Park (Łazienki Królewskie), 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.
History
The first castle on the spot was erected by the Dukes of Masovia as early as the 13th century. However, in the following century their court was moved to the future Royal CastleRoyal 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...
in Warsaw, and the Ujazdów Castle fell into neglect. In the 16th century, a wooden manor was built there for Queen Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza
Bona Sforza was a member of the powerful Milanese House of Sforza. In 1518, she became the second wife of Sigismund I the Old, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and became the Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania.She was the third child of Gian Galeazzo Sforza and his wife...
. It was at Ujazdów Castle, on January 12, 1578, that Jan Kochanowski
Jan Kochanowski
Jan Kochanowski was a Polish Renaissance poet who established poetic patterns that would become integral to Polish literary language.He is commonly regarded as the greatest Polish poet before Adam Mickiewicz, and the greatest Slavic poet, prior to the 19th century.-Life:Kochanowski was born at...
's blank-verse tragedy
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
The Dismissal of the Greek Envoys received its premiere during the wedding of Jan Zamoyski
Jan Zamoyski
Jan Zamoyski , was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, magnate, 1st duke/ordynat of Zamość. Royal Secretary since 1566, Lesser Kanclerz ) of the Crown since 1576, Lord Grand-Chancellor of the Crown since 1578, and Grand Hetman of the Crown since 1581...
and Krystyna Radziwiłł.
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...
for his son, future King Władysław IV Vasa
Władysław IV Vasa
Władysław IV Vasa was a Polish and Swedish prince from the House of Vasa. He reigned as King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 8 November 1632 to his death in 1648....
. However, there is little evidence that the residence was ever used by the young prince, who spent much of his youth either at his father's court. Between 1659 and 1665, the building housed the mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
of Titus Livius Boratini, who there struck his famous boratynka, a type of solidus
Solidus (coin)
The solidus was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans, and a weight measure for gold more generally, corresponding to 4.5 grams.-Roman and Byzantine coinage:...
coin.
Again neglected, in 1674 the castle was bought by Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski and then rented to King August II, who ordered the construction there of a new royal residence. The castle, incorporating much of the earlier constructions on the site, was built by Tylman of Gameren, a notable 17th-century architect and engineer. The gardens surrounding the castle, later divided into two separate parks, were refurbished. About that time the Łazienki Eremity and Łazienki Palace were built. The main axis of the castle's eastern façade was also emphasized by the construction of a decorative royal canal built below the Vistula River embankment, atop which stood the castle.
The castle's design was further modified by King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who in 1764 commissioned Jakub Fontana, Dominik Merlini, Jean-Baptiste Pillement
Jean-Baptiste Pillement
Jean-Baptiste Pillement was a painter and designer, known for his exquisite and delicate landscapes, but whose importance lies primarily in the engravings done after his drawings, and their influence in spreading the Rococo style and particularly the taste for chinoiserie throughout...
and Efraim Schroeger to refurbish it. The eastern and western façades were made taller by the addition of a second floor, while the post-Gameren outbuildings were also rebuilt to the height of the main building, thus creating a large courtyard. About that time, the castle was also included in the so-called 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. The palace's reconstruction was almost complete by 1784, when work was abandoned and the building donated to the Polish Army.
Consequently, between 1784 and 1789 the castle was yet again rebuilt, this time by Stanisław Zawadzki, who converted it into military barracks. The outbuildings were enlarged substantially. Since that time the building housed the Lithuanian Foot Guard Regiment and the 10th Foot Regiment. During the Kościuszko's Uprising the castle was the main centre of conscription for the 20th Foot Regiment. After the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
, during the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n occupation of Warsaw, the building was abandoned. After the proclamation of the Duchy of Warsaw
Duchy of Warsaw
The Duchy of Warsaw was a Polish state established by Napoleon I in 1807 from the Polish lands ceded by the Kingdom of Prussia under the terms of the Treaties of Tilsit. The duchy was held in personal union by one of Napoleon's allies, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony...
it was again restored to the army and was converted into a military hospital. However, the plans of converting it to the Central Military Hospital of the Polish Army were postponed by the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
which awarded the 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...
to Russia. On April 1, 1818 the hospital was officially opened. It had place for up to 1000 wounded soldiers. After the outbreak of the November 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...
the hospital was enlarged to 1250 beds and an additional annex with place for 600 was opened in the nearby Łazienki complex.
Park Ujazdowski
Ujazdów Park is one of the most picturesque parks of Warsaw, Poland. It borders Aleje Ujazdowskie , with its many embassies and Sejm building.- History :...
and the castle became more of a barrack for the Russian military personnel. Around 1850 the outbuildings were again rebuilt by Jerzy Karol Völck, but were partially demolished 20 years afterwards. After the outbreak of World War I the building was again converted to a provisional hospital by the Russians. Captured by the German army in 1915, on April 10, 1917 it was transferred to the Polish Legions
Polish Legions in World War I
Polish Legions was the name of Polish armed forces created in August 1914 in Galicia. Thanks to the efforts of KSSN and the Polish members of the Austrian parliament, the unit became an independent formation of the Austro-Hungarian Army...
and became the main military hospital for Polish units fighting alongside the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
(the more modern Ujazdów hospital located nearby remained a German-only hospital).
After Poland regained her independence in 1918, the internal design of the castle was yet again modified. Since 1920's it housed several parts of the Warsaw NCO school. The main staircase was restored to its 18th century representative design. An interesting feature of the staircase was a set of stone tablets placed there May 15, 1927, commemorating the names of all known Polish military medics who perished in wars between 1797 and 1920. Additional tablets commemorated Karol Kaczkowski, Zdzisław Lubaszewski and a sculpture by Edward Wittig
Edward Wittig
Edward Wittig was a Polish sculptor and university professor, notable for designing many monuments in Warsaw....
commemorating all military medics. After the Polish Defensive War
Invasion of Poland (1939)
The Invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign or 1939 Defensive War in Poland and the Poland Campaign in Germany, was an invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small Slovak contingent that marked the start of World War II in Europe...
of 1939, the Red Cross organized a school for WIA soldiers. The castle was burnt out and damaged by the Germans following 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...
of 1944.
After the war the building was to be rebuilt as the Central Military House. However, the works did not start as the walls of the castle were demolished by the Communist authorities of Poland. In 1975 however, the works on reconstruction of the castle to its 18th century design were given a green light and the project by Piotr Biegański was chosen. It houses Warsaw's Center for Contemporary Art since 1981.
Centre for Contemporary Art
The Castle currently houses the Centre for Contemporary Art, with its collections and temporary exhibitionExhibition
An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs...
s, concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
s, and educational workshops. The Centre also develops unique art programs that correlate with the reconstruction and organization of the Ujazdów Castle's architectural spaces. The Centre of Contemporary Art currently realizes some 5 major exhibition projects a year. The director is an Italian, Fabio Cavallucci.
See also
- Jan Kochanowski
- Royal Castle, WarsawRoyal Castle, WarsawThe 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...