Natolin Park is a historic

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

and

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

(1.2 km²) on the southern edge of

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, in the

Natolin Natolin is a residential neighborhood in Ursynów, the southernmost district of Warsaw. Until the 1980s, Natolin and its neighbouring area Wolica, was a small village located right outside the city limits, with numerous orchards. After that it wa ...

residential neighborhood.

History

Park and palace

The history of Natolin begins at end of the 17th century, when the King of Poland

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...

started the construction of a royal

zoological garden A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is a facility in which animals are kept within enclosures for public exhibition and often bred for conservation purposes. The term ''zoological garden'' refers to zool ...

in the village of Natolin. It was a part of his royal residence of

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 The first mentions of a settlement in the area can be traced to the 13th ...

and also served as a hunting lodge. In early 1730s his successor, King

August II the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

, reformed the garden into a

pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family (biology), family Phasianidae in the order (biology), order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera na ...

breeding and hunting area. The place was thus called Bażantarnia – Pheasantry. With time the former royal grounds were passed to the mighty

Czartoryski family The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; lt, Čartoriskiai) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian- Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia. The family, which derived their kin from the Gediminids dynas ...

. In 1780 Prince August Czartoryski built on the spot his new summer residence. Located in dense forests on the escarpment of the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in ...

River, the new

classicist Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

palace was designed by a renowned contemporary architect

Szymon Bogumił Zug Szymon Bogumił Zug (20 February 1733 – 11 August 1807), born Simon Gottlieb Zug, and also known as Zugk, was a renowned Polish-German classicist architect and designer of gardens. Born in Merseburg in Saxony, he spent most of his life in the ...

while the internal design was prepared by

Vincenzo Brenna Vincenzo Brenna (1747Lanceray, p. 37, states birth year as 1745. Contemporary historians (Dmitry Shvidkovsky) agree on 1747 (Shvidkovsky, p. 293) – May 17, 1820) was an Italian architect and painter who was the house architect of Paul I of Russ ...

. The palace featured a distinctive half-open salon, with a view on the forest below the escarpment. Natolin - pomnik-sarkofag Natalii Sanguszkowej

In late 18th century the

estate, including the grounds around the Pheasantry, passed on to son-in-law of

Izabela Lubomirska Izabela is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Mrocza, within Nakło County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, also known as Cuiavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship or simply Kujawsko-Pomorskie, or Kujawy-P ...

Stanisław Kostka Potocki Count Stanisław Kostka Potocki (; November 1755 – 14 September 1821) was a Polish nobleman, politician, writer, public intellectual and patron of the arts. Life Potocki was a son of General and starost of Lwów, Eustachy Potocki and An ...

. After the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, in 1806, Potocki started an extensive modernization of the palace and the park. The Pheasantry was also renamed to its modern name of Natolin in honor of the Potocki's granddaughter,

Natalia Potocka Prince Roman Adam Stanisław Sanguszko (1800–1881) was a Polish aristocrat, patriot, political and social activist. Biography Roman Sanguszko was born on 6 May 1800 in his family manor in Volhynia. The eldest of his kin, he was the heir ...

(born 1807). The palace's reconstruction included rebuilding of the facade and the courtyard elevation, as well as notable changes in the internal design and decorations. The new design was created by another of Poland's notable architects of the epoch,

Chrystian Piotr Aigner Chrystian Piotr Aigner (1756 in Puławy, Poland – 9 February 1841 in Florence, Italy) was a Polish architect and theoretician of architecture. Life Chrystian Piotr Aigner acquired extensive knowledge of architecture in the course of several jour ...

, though some of the changes are attributed to Potocki himself. The paintings inside the palace were replaced with

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

s by Wirgiliusz Bauman. Significant changes were also applied to the surrounding park, which was converted from a typical classicist French park into a picturesque and then-popular landscape park. The park was also extended to include some romantic buildings and sculptures such as the ''Holendernia'' built between 1812 and 1814 by Aigner or two guard houses, modelled after medieval castles, built in 1832. The palace itself was also extended to include buildings that made it a full-time residence rather than a summer resort. Among the buildings added were the

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

s, a residential annex and a coach house. A small

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

chapel was also built opposite the ''Holendernia'' and a newly built monument modelled after the so-called Neron's Sarcophagus and

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

's tomb in Paris. The Alexander Potocki's death ended the splendid period of developments of Natolin. The next administrators of estate, son August and the daughter-in-law Alexandra did not maintain the property so Natolin began to fall into decline. The palace and park were used only occasionally, mainly as temporary accommodation for owners' relatives. In the first half of the 20th century Natolin passed to the Branicki family. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Natolin suffered further. At time of

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising ( pl, powstanie warszawskie; german: Warschauer Aufstand) was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occ ...

it underwent an almost total destruction. In 1945 Natolin was nationalized and given to the

Warsaw National Museum The National Museum in Warsaw ( pl, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie), popularly abbreviated as MNW, is a national museum in Warsaw, one of the largest museums in Poland and the largest in the capital. It comprises a rich collection of ancient art (Egy ...

, later becoming the residence of President of Polish Republic. In 1991, decision was made to locate a branch of the

College of Europe The College of Europe (french: Collège d'Europe) is a post-graduate institute of European studies with its main campus in Bruges, Belgium and a second campus in Warsaw, Poland. The College of Europe in Bruges was founded in 1949 by leading ...

Natolin. As a result, funds became available to gradually restore the park and the palace. In the same year a part of the park (nearly 1 km²) was declared a nature reserve. Since 1994 it is the site of one of the two

campuses.

References

External links

Natolin European Centre

College of Europe
*
Natolin
{{coord, 52, 8, 20, N, 21, 4, 25, E, region:PL-MZ_type:landmark_scale:10000, display=title Parks in Warsaw Palaces in Warsaw Neoclassical architecture in Warsaw Ursynów

History

Park and palace

See also

References

External links