The architecture of

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 populou ...

includes modern and historical monuments of architectural and historical importance. Several important works of Western architecture, such as the

Wawel Hill The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...

, the Książ and Malbork castles, cityscapes of

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

Zamość Zamość (; yi, זאמאשטש, Zamoshtsh; la, Zamoscia) is a historical city in southeastern Poland. It is situated in the southern part of Lublin Voivodeship, about from Lublin, from Warsaw. In 2021, the population of Zamość was 62,021. ...

, and

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

are located in the country. Some of them are

UNESCO World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. Now Poland is developing modernist approaches in design with architects like Daniel Libeskind, Karol Żurawski, and Krzysztof Ingarden.

History

Pre-Romanesque and Romanesque architecture

The oldest, Pre-Romanesque buildings were built in Poland after the Christianisation of the country but only few of them still exist today (palace and church complex on

Ostrów Lednicki Ostrów Lednicki is an island in the southern portion of Lednica (lake), Lake Lednica in Poland, located between the cities of Gniezno and Poznań. The word ''ostrów'' is an Old Polish, archaic Polish word for "holm" (i.e., river or lake island) ...

, the Rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the

Wawel Castle The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...

). The Romanesque architecture was then developed in the 12th and 13th centuries. The most significant buildings are the second cathedral in Kraków (only parts of it still exist in the current, third, gothic cathedral, e.g. the crypt), Tum Collegiate Church, Czerwińsk abbey, collegiate churches in

Kruszwica Kruszwica (german: Kruschwitz) is a town in central Poland and is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Bydgoszcz Voivodeship (1975–1998). It has a population of 9,412 (2004). Initially founded in the 6th ...

and

Opatów Opatów (; yi, אַפּטאַ, אַפּט) is a town in southeastern Poland, within Opatów County in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Province). Historically, it was part of a greater region called Lesser Poland. In 2012 the populati ...

as well as St. Andrew's Church in Kraków. Smaller structures were also popular, like rotundas in

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...

and

Strzelno Strzelno (german: Strelno) is a town in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland. The town is located south of Inowrocław. According to the June 2005 Census, the population numbered 22,486. It is located in the historic region of Kuyavia. ...

. Late Romanesque architecture is represented by the Cistercian abbeys in Jędrzejów,

Koprzywnica Koprzywnica is a town in Sandomierz County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,546 inhabitants (2004). Koprzywnica lies on the Koprzywianka river, in Lesser Poland. It is one of the oldest urban centers of the province, located along t ...

, Sulejów and Wąchock as well as the Dominican church in Sandomierz and the ruins of Legnica castle chapel. File:Rotunda, Wawel 01.jpg, Rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the

File:Ostrów Lednicki - ruiny palatium - MF-IMG 6255.JPG, The ruins of the palace and church complex on

File:Wawel St Leonard ed.jpg, St. Leonard's Crypt in the

Krakow Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

File:Collegiate Church in Tum.jpg, Collegiate Church in Tum File:Czerwinsk1.jpg, Czerwińsk Abbey File:Kruszwica kolegiata śś. Piotra i Pawła3(WLZ13).jpg, Collegiate Church in

File:Opatow, kolegiata sw. Marcina 3.jpg,

Collegiate Church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

File:Krakow kosciol 20071229 1246.jpg, St. Andrew's Church in Kraków File:Cieszyn 9891 crop.JPG, Rotunda in Cieszyn File:Church of St. Prokop in Strzelno.JPG, Rotunda in Strzelno File:Sulejów, kościół, ob. par. p.w. św. Tomasza, XII, XIV, XVIII.JPG, Sulejów Abbey File:Sandomierz-Jakobskirche-2.jpg, Dominican church in

Sandomierz Sandomierz (pronounced: ; la, Sandomiria) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (as of 2017), situated on the Vistula River in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy Cross Prov ...

Gothic architecture

The first Gothic structures in Poland were built in the 13th century in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

. The most important churches from this time are the cathedral in Wrocław and the Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and St Bartholomew in the same city, as well as the St Hedwig's Chapel in the Cistercian nuns abbey in

Trzebnica Trzebnica (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Trebnitz, cs, Třebnice, szl, Trzebńica) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in west-central Poland. It is the seat of Trzebnica County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called G ...

and the castle chapel in

Racibórz Racibórz (german: Ratibor, cz, Ratiboř, szl, Racibōrz) is a city in Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland. It is the administrative seat of Racibórz County. With Opole, Racibórz is one of the historic capitals of Upper Silesia, being ...

. The Gothic architecture in Silesia was further developed in the 14th century in the series of parish churches in the most important cities of the region (churches of

St. Mary Magdalene Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurre ...

, St. Elizabeth, St Mary on the Sand and St Dorothea in Wrocław, St. Nicholas' Church in

Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on t ...

, Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus Church in Świdnica, Saints Peter and Paul church in Strzegom). The 14th century is also the heyday of the Gothic in Lesser Poland, where such structures were built like the gothic

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

, the series of basilical churches in the same city (churches of St. Mary, Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi and St. Catherine) and many hall churches outside the capital city (e.g.

Wiślica Wiślica is a town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Wiślica. It lies on the Nida River, approximately south of Busko-Zdrój and so ...

, Szydłów,

Stopnica Stopnica is a town in Busko County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, in south-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Stopnica. It lies in Lesser Poland, approximately east of Busko-Zdrój and south-east ...

and

). In the same time the Greater Poland's cathedrals in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

and

Gniezno Gniezno (; german: Gnesen; la, Gnesna) is a city in central-western Poland, about east of Poznań. Its population in 2021 was 66,769, making it the sixth-largest city in the Greater Poland Voivodeship. One of the Piast dynasty's chief cities, ...

were also built. Many Gothic structures were also built in

Royal Prussia Royal Prussia ( pl, Prusy Królewskie; german: Königlich-Preußen or , csb, Królewsczé Prësë) or Polish PrussiaAnton Friedrich Büsching, Patrick Murdoch. ''A New System of Geography'', London 1762p. 588/ref> (Polish: ; German: ) was a ...

before and after the incorporation of the region into the

Polish Crown The Crown of the Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Korona Królestwa Polskiego; Latin: ''Corona Regni Poloniae''), known also as the Polish Crown, is the common name for the historic Late Middle Ages territorial possessions of the King of Poland, incl ...

according to the

Second Peace of Thorn (1466) The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń ( pl, drugi pokój toruński; german: Zweiter Friede von Thorn), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 betwe ...

. The most important sights are the castles of the

Teutonic Order The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians on ...

in Malbork,

Gniew Gniew (pronounced ; csb, Gméw, or ''Gniéw''; formerly german: Mewe) is a historic town situated on the left bank of the Vistula River, in the Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It has 6,870 inhabitants (2016). It is one of the ol ...

and

Radzyń Chełmiński Radzyń Chełmiński (; german: Rehden) is a town in Grudziądz County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland, with 1,946 inhabitants (2004). History Radzyń is located within the historic Chełmno Land, which became part of the emerging Polish ...

and the town halls and churches of

( town hall, the churches of St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist and St. James the Greater),

Chełmno Chełmno (; older en, Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional impor ...

Pelplin Pelplin (; csb, Pôłplëno; formerly German also: ''Pelplin'') is a town in northern Poland, in the Tczew County, Pomeranian Voivodship. Population: 8,320 (2009). Pelplin is located in the ethnocultural region of Kociewie in Pomerania. It is h ...

Frombork Frombork (; german: Frauenburg ) is a town in northern Poland, situated on the Vistula Lagoon in Braniewo County, within Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. As of December 2021, it has a population of 2,260. The town was first mentioned in a 13th-centur ...

and Gdańsk ( town hall and churches of St. Mary, St. Catherine and Holy Trinity). Late Gothic is represented by e.g.

Collegium Maius A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that acted as a legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Consul and Dictator of the Roman Republic (49–44 BC), and their reaf ...

of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow or the church of St. Mary in

and Corpus Christi Church in

Biecz Biecz () (german: Beitsch) is a town and municipality in southeastern Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Gorlice County. It is in the Carpathian Mountains, in the Doły Jasielsko-Sanockie, by the Ropa River. Due to its rich history, it is oft ...

. Wrocław - Archikatedra św. Jana Chrzciciela1.jpg, Wrocław Cathedral Iglesia de la Santa Cruz, Breslavia, Polonia, 2017-12-20, DD 15.jpg, Collegiate Church of the Holy Cross and St Bartholomew in Wrocław Iglesia de la Virgen María, Breslavia, Polonia, 2017-12-20, DD 17-19 HDR.jpg, Church of St Mary on the Sand in Wrocław Wawel katedra2.jpg, Krakow Cathedral Church of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven, 5 Mariacki square, Old Town, Kraków, Poland.jpg, St. Mary's Church in Krakow Bazylika kolegiacka Narodzenia NMP w Wiślicy 4.JPG, Collegiate church in Wiślica Catedral de Poznan, Poznan, Polonia, 2014-09-18, DD 10.jpg, Poznań Cathedral Catedral de Gniezno, Gniezno, Polonia, 2014-09-17, DD 07-09 HDR.jpg, Gniezno Cathedral Zespół Zamku Krzyżackiego MALBORK 01.jpg, Malbork Castle Kosciol sw. Jakuba w Toruniu.jpg, Church of Saint James the Greater in Toruń Bazylika Mariacka DSC01870.jpg, St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk Courtyard of the Collegium Maius (Kraków), 2019.jpg, Courtyard of the Collegium Maius of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow

Renaissance

The

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

came to Poland as a court fashion thanks to

King Sigismund Sigismund of Luxembourg (15 February 1368 – 9 December 1437) was a monarch as King of Hungary and Croatia (''jure uxoris'') from 1387, King of Germany from 1410, King of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor from 1433 until his death in 1 ...

, who became acquainted with this stylistics in Buda, at the court of his Hungarian uncle. Sigismund invited Italian craftsmen from Buda to

, where they created the first Italian Renaissance piece in Poland, the Tomb of

John I Albert John I Albert ( pl, Jan I Olbracht; 27 December 1459 – 17 June 1501) was King of Poland from 1492 until his death in 1501 and Duke of Głogów (Glogau) from 1491 to 1498. He was the fourth Polish sovereign from the Jagiellonian dynasty, the s ...

(between 1502 and 1506) and remodelled in the new manner the

. The Renaissance architecture was especially popular in the secular architecture (the cloth hall in Krakow, the town halls in

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. From 1975 to 1998, it was the capital of the Tarn� ...

and

as well as town houses on the market squares in

and

Kazimierz Dolny Kazimierz Dolny () is a small historic town in eastern Poland, on the right (eastern) bank of the Vistula river in Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship. Historically it belongs to Lesser Poland, and in the past it was one of the most important citi ...

). In religious architecture Renaissance influences are visible in the Zamość Cathedral, in the church of St. Bartholomew and John the Baptist in

, in the Bernardine churches of Lublin and

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

as well as in many synagogues (e.g. the Old Synagogue in Krakow and Zamość Synagogue). Moreover, a specific group of churches, inspired by the Romanesque tradition of the region, was built in

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

(

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

Pułtusk Pułtusk (pronounced ) is a town in northeast Poland, by the river Narew. Located north of Warsaw in the Masovian Voivodeship, it had a population of about 19,000 . Known for its historic architecture and Europe's longest paved marketplace ( in ...

, Brochów, Brok). The Renaissance architecture in the northern cities developed under the influence of Dutch Mannierism. The most important examples are the Great Armoury and the Green Gate in Gdańsk, as well as many town houses in Toruń and Elbląg (e.g. Jost von Kampen house in Elbląg). Wawel Krakow June 2006 002.jpg, Wawel Castle in Krakow Krakow Sukiennice A01.jpg, Cloth hall in Krakow Poznan 10-2013 img10 Town hall.jpg, Poznań town hall 2018 Tarnów, Ratusz 04.jpg, Tarnów town hall Kamienice na Starym Mieście w Zamościu 02.jpg, Town houses on the market square in Zamość Kazimierz Dolny (kamienica pod sw Mikolajem i Krzysztofem) 01.jpg, Town houses on the market square in Kazimierz Dolny Katedra Zamosc 2013.JPG, Zamość Cathedral Church, Kazimierz Dolny 02.JPG, Church of St. Bartholomew and John the Baptist in Kazimierz Dolny Krakow Old Synagogue G20.jpg, The Old Synagogue in Krakow Brochów, Kościół św. Jana Chrzciciela i św. Rocha.jpg, St. John the Baptist and St. Roch Church in Brochów Gran Armería, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 12.jpg, Great Armoury in Gdańsk Gdańsk Zielona Brama.jpg, Green Gate in Gdańsk

Baroque architecture

The early Baroque in Poland was dominated by the Roman influences (the jesuite churches in

Nesvizh Nesvizh, Niasviž ( be, Нясві́ж ; lt, Nesvyžius; pl, Nieśwież; russian: Не́свиж; yi, ניעסוויז; la, Nesvisium) is a city in Belarus. It is the administrative centre of the Nyasvizh District (''rajon'') of Minsk Region ...

, Krakow and

, as well as the Camaldolese Monastery in Kraków. In the second half of the 17th century the influences of the

Dutch Baroque architecture Dutch Baroque architecture is a variety of Baroque architecture that flourished in the Dutch Republic and its colonies during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th century. (Dutch painting during the period is covered by Dutch Golden Age painting). Li ...

were also important thanks to the

Tylman van Gameren Tylman van Gameren, also ''Tilman'' or ''Tielman'' and Tylman Gamerski, (Utrecht, 3 July 1632 – c. 1706, Warsaw) was a Dutch-born Polish architect and engineer who, at the age of 28, settled in Poland and worked for Queen Marie Casimire, w ...

(

Krasiński Palace The Krasiński Palace ( pl, Pałac Krasińskich), also known as the Palace of the Commonwealth, is a reconstructed Baroque palace in Warsaw, Poland, on Krasiński Square (''Plac Krasińskich''). Initially erected between 1677 and 1683 for the po ...

and St. Kazimierz Church in Warsaw, St. Anne's Church in Kraków, Royal Chapel in Gdańsk). The most important structures of the Polish late Baroque were built in the former

Eastern Borderlands Eastern Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Wschodnie) or simply Borderlands ( pl, Kresy, ) was a term coined for the eastern part of the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period (1918–1939). Largely agricultural and extensively multi-ethnic, it ...

( St. George's Cathedral, Dominican Church),

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

( Church of St. Johns, Church of St. Catherine), Berezwecz and

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

. Other key buildings of this period are in Krakow ( Church of the Conversion of St. Paul, Piarists Church) and

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 ...

(

Visitationist Church Church of St. Joseph of the Visitationists ( pl, Kościół Opieki św. Józefa w Warszawie) commonly known as the Visitationist Church ( pl, Kościół Wizytek) is a Roman Catholic church in Warsaw, Poland, situated at '' Krakowskie Przedmieście ...

). The secular Baroque architecture in Poland is represented by the

Ujazdów Castle Ujazdów Castle ( pl, Zamek Ujazdowski) is a castle in the historic Ujazdów district, between Ujazdów Park (''Park Ujazdowski'') and the Royal Baths Park (''Łazienki Królewskie''), in Warsaw, Poland. Its beginnings date to the 13th century ...

, Royal Castle and

Wilanów Palace Wilanów Palace ( pl, Pałac w Wilanowie, ) is a former royal palace located in the Wilanów district of Warsaw, Poland. Wilanów Palace survived Poland's partitions and both World Wars, and so serves as a reminder of the culture of the Polish s ...

in Warsaw,

Palace of the Kraków Bishops in Kielce The Palace of the Kraków Bishops in Kielce ( pl, Pałac Biskupów Krakowskich w Kielcach), was built in the 17th century as a summer residence of bishops of Kraków in Kielce, Poland. The architecture of the palace constitutes a unique mélange o ...

as well as Branicki Palace in Białystok KościółŚwApostołówPiotraIPawła-Front-WidokZPlacuMariiMagdaleny-POL, Kraków.jpg, Saints Peter and Paul Church in Krakow Saint Kazimierz Church in Warsaw - New Town.jpg, St. Kazimierz Church in Warsaw Church of St. Anne (interior), 13 sw. Anny street, Old Town, Krakow, Poland.jpg, St. Anne's Church in Kraków Capilla Real, Gdansk, Polonia, 2013-05-20, DD 01.jpg, Royal Chapel in Gdańsk Sobor Sv Yura Lviv.JPG, St. George's Cathedral in Lviv DominicanChurchLviv.jpg, Dominican Church in Lviv Vilnius University Great Courtyard 1, Vilnius, Lithuania - Diliff.jpg, Church of St. Johns in Vilnius Catherine's Church.jpg, Church of St. Catherine in Vilnius 20130421 Kielce Palac Biskupow Krakowskich 3127.jpg, Palace of the Kraków Bishops in Kielce POL Warsaw Royal Castle 2008 (3).JPG, Royal Castle in Warsaw Warszawa - Wilanów Palace.jpg, Wilanów Palace in Warsaw Widok ogrodu Pałacu Branieckich.jpg, Branicki Palace in Białystok

Neolassicism

Neoclassicism dominated Polish architecture during the second half of the 18th and first third of the 19th century as a manifestation of Enlightenment rationalism. New stylistics came from France, Italy, and partly from Germany as a reflection of general admiration only for the newly discovered

Greco-Roman antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

. The most important structures from this period are the

Palace on the Isle The Palace on the Isle ( pl, Pałac Na Wyspie), also known as Baths Palace ( pl, Pałac Łazienkowski), is a classicist palace in Warsaw's Royal Baths Park, the city's largest park, occupying over 76 hectares of the city center. From 1674 the pr ...

and Królikarnia in Warsaw ( Domenico Merlini), the Lutheran Holy Trinity Church in the same city ( Szymon Bogumił Zug) and

Vilnius Cathedral The Cathedral Basilica of St Stanislaus and St Ladislaus of Vilnius ( lt, Vilniaus Šv. Stanislovo ir Šv. Vladislovo arkikatedra bazilika; pl, Bazylika archikatedralna św. Stanisława Biskupa i św. Władysława, historical: ''Kościół Kated ...

(

Laurynas Gucevičius Laurynas Gucevičius ( pl, Wawrzyniec Gucewicz; 1753–1798) was an 18th-century architect from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and all of his designs were built there. In his youth he travelled to Italy and Paris and other countries in Western Eur ...

). Late neoclassicism, which was chronologically connected with the end of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

and capture of the former

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw ( pl, Księstwo Warszawskie, french: Duché de Varsovie, german: Herzogtum Warschau), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during ...

by the Russian Empire in 1815, was characterized by significant volumes of construction, large representative buildings, which set a new, large scale of squares and streets of

and other cities. The leading architect of the late neoclassicism in Poland is Italian

Antonio Corazzi Antonio Corazzi (born 16 December 1792 in Livorno, died April 27 1877 in Florence) was an Italian architect working in Poland from 1819 to 1847, mainly in Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style. Biography Antonio Corazzi was the son o ...

. His main buildings in Warsaw include

Staszic Palace Staszic Palace ( pl, Pałac Staszica, ) is an edifice at ulica Nowy Świat 72, Warsaw, Poland. It is the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences. History Origin The history of the Staszic Palace dates from 1620, when King Sigismund III of Poland ...

, the buildings on the Bank Square and the Grand Theatre. Other important architects were

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

(the palace and the pavilions in

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47,4 ...

landscape garden, St. Alexander's Church in Warsaw) and

Jakub Kubicki Jakub Kubicki (1758–1833) was a renowned Polish classicist architect and designer. Biography Born in Warsaw in 1758, into a bourgeois family, Jakub Kubicki graduated from the Jesuit College, at the same time that he was taking lessons fr ...

( Belvedere Palace in Warsaw). File:Warschau Lazienki Palast.JPG,

in Warsaw File:Warszawa, Królikarnia, IGP2538.jpg, Królikarnia in Warsaw File:Kościół Świętej Trójcy w Warszawie 2021.jpg, Lutheran Holy Trinity Church in Warsaw File:Wilno - katedra corrected.jpg,

File:Warszawa - Teatr Wielki Opera Narodowa.jpg, Grand Theatre in Warsaw File:MZ206 DSC0936.JPG, St. Alexander's Church in Warsaw

Style revivals

The territory of the former Polish state remained divided between

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

(

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

( Austro-Hungarian) Empire and developed unevenly. The architecture of Kraków and Galicia at that time was oriented towards the

Viennese Viennese may refer to: * Vienna, the capital of Austria * Viennese people, List of people from Vienna * Viennese German, the German dialect spoken in Vienna * Music of Vienna, musical styles in the city * Viennese Waltz, genre of ballroom dance * V ...

model. The experience of

Vienna Ring Road The Vienna Ring Road (german: Ringstraße, lit. ''ring road'') is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic Innere Stadt (Inner Town) district of Vienna, Austria. The road is located on sites wher ...

was successfully applied in

where Planty Park was created. Stylistically, it was an eclecticism dominated by

Neo-Gothic 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 ...

(

Collegium Novum The ''Collegium Novum'' (Latin: "New College") is the Neo-Gothic main building of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland, originally built between the year 1363 and 1365 and after its destruction, rebuilt in between 1873-1887. Based on ...

of the Jagiellonian University) and

Neo-Renaissance Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...

( Słowacki Theatre). Similar stylistics dominated other Polish lands. The most important examples are the Neo-Gothic churches of Józef Pius Dziekoński ( Karol Scheibler's Chapel in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of cant ...

, St. Florian's Cathedral in Warsaw,

Białystok Cathedral The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ( pl, Bazylika archikatedralna Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny w Białymstoku) also called Białystok Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Bialystok in ...

, Radom Cathedral), Konstanty Wojciechowski ( Częstochowa Cathedral), Jan Sas-Zubrzycki ( St. Joseph's Church in Krakow) and Teodor Talowski ( Church of Sts. Olha and Elizabeth in

, Church of St. Mary in

Ternopil Ternópil ( uk, Тернопіль, Ternopil' ; pl, Tarnopol; yi, טאַרנאָפּל, Tarnopl, or ; he, טארנופול (טַרְנוֹפּוֹל), Tarnopol; german: Tarnopol) is a city in the west of Ukraine. Administratively, Ternopi ...

) as well as Neo-Renaissance buildings of the

Warsaw Polytechnic The Warsaw University of Technology ( pl, Politechnika Warszawska, lit=Varsovian Polytechnic) is one of the leading institutes of technology in Poland and one of the largest in Central Europe. It employs 2,453 teaching faculty, with 357 professor ...

(1889-1901) and Bristol Hotel in the same city (1900, Władysław Marconi).

Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassic ...

designed in German Neo-Gothic stylistics St. Martin's Church in

Krzeszowice Krzeszowice (german: 1941-45 Kressendorf) is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. As of 2004, its population was 9,993. Krzeszowice belongs to ''Kraków Metropolitan Area'', and lies 25 kilometers west of the ...

and

Kórnik Castle Kórnik Castle (Polish: Zamek w Kórniku or Zamek Kórnicki) is a castle in the Polish town of Kórnik, which was constructed in the 14th century. The current neogothic design and remodeling was done in 1855 partly on the basis of architect Karl ...

, while the

Neo-Romanesque Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

architecture is represented by the

Imperial Castle An imperial castle or ''Reichsburg'' was a castle built by order of the Holy Roman Emperor, whose management was entrusted to '' Reichsministeriales'' or ''Burgmannen''. It is not possible to identify a clear distinction between imperial castles an ...

in Poznań by

Franz Schwechten Franz Heinrich Schwechten (12 August 1841 – 11 August 1924) was one of the most famous German architects of the Wilhelmine era, and contributed to the development of historicist architecture. Life Schwechten was born in Cologne, the son of a ...

. Other German architects were activ in at the time

Prussian Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

, e.g.

Friedrich August Stüler Friedrich August Stüler (28 January 1800 – 18 March 1865) was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterpiece is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Schloss. ...

( Royal Palace of Wrocław, St. Barbara's Church in Gliwice), Alexis Langer ( St. Mary's Church in Katowice, St. Michael Archangel's Church in Wrocław) or Ludwig Schneider. In the era of capitalism, many factory owners' villas and palaces are built, as well as numerous workers' housing estates and industrial buildings. File:Jagiellonian University Collegium Novum, 1882 designed by Feliks Księżarski, 24 Gołębia street, Old Town, Krakow, Poland.jpg,

of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow File:TeatrIm.JuliuszaSłowackiego-WidokZPlacuŚw.Ducha-POL, Kraków.jpg,

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre Juliusz Słowacki Theatre ( pl, Teatr im. Juliusza Słowackiego w Krakowie) is a 19th-century Eclectic theatre-opera house in the heart of Kraków, Poland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Erected in 1893, it was modeled after some of the best ...

in Krakow File:Łódź-Karol Scheibler's Chapel (3).jpg, Karol Scheibler's Chapel in Łódź File:Bazylika katedralna św. Michała Archanioła i św. Floriana Męczennika w Warszawie 2022.jpg, St. Florian's Cathedral in Warsaw File:Saint Joseph church in Kraków-Podgórze 2016-11-05.jpg, St. Joseph's Church in Krakow File:Кропивницького пл., 1, церква св. Ольги і Єлизавети, 9109-HDR-Edit ed.jpg, Church of Sts. Olha and Elizabeth in Lviv File:Gmach Główny Politechniki Warszawskiej 2018.jpg,

File:Church of St Martin of Tours , 1 Grunwaldzka street, City of Krzeszowice, Kraków County, Poland.jpg, St. Martin's Church in

File:Castillo de Kórnik, Kórnik, Polonia, 2016-12-21, DD 03.jpg,

File:Zamek Cesarski w Poznaniu.pdf,

in Poznań File:PL-Katowice-Kosciol-Mariacki-2014 02.JPG, St. Mary's Church in Katowice File:Wroclaw kosciol Michala Archaniola.jpg, St. Michael Archangel's Church in Wrocław

Art Nouveau and Folk Architecture

Art Nouveau emerged as an attempt to abandon stylization and eclecticism, invent a new architectural style that would meet the spirit of the time. The most important centre of this style was Galicia, where many buildings were built under the influence of the

Vienna Secession The Vienna Secession (german: Wiener Secession; also known as ''the Union of Austrian Artists'', or ''Vereinigung Bildender Künstler Österreichs'') is an art movement, closely related to Art Nouveau, that was formed in 1897 by a group of Austr ...

. The most important architects were Franciszek Mączyński in Krakow ( Palace of Art, House Under the Globe,

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus ( pl, Bazylika Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa w Krakowie) is a Roman Catholic church of the Jesuits in Kraków. Architecture This monumental Jesuit Church erected from 1909 to 1921 to a design by Franci ...

) and Władysław Sadłowski in Lviv (

Lviv railway station Lviv-Holovnyi railway station ( ua, Льві́в-Головни́й) is the main railway terminal in Lviv, Ukraine. It is one of the most notable pieces of Art Nouveau architecture in former Galicia. The station was opened to the public in 1 ...

, Lviv's Philharmonic, Industrial School). Moreover, some architects direct from

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

were active in

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; cs, Bílsko-Bělá, german: Bielitz-Biala, szl, Bjylsko-Bjoło) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 168,319 as of December 2021, making it the 22nd largest city in Poland, and an area of . It is a ...

, like

Leopold Bauer Leopold Bauer (1 September 1872 – 7 October 1938) was an Austrian-Silesian architect. His work was part of the architecture event in the art competition at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Work The Petr Bezruč City House of Culture in Opava Op ...

( Saint Nicholas' Cathedral, house at 51 Stojałowskiego Street) and

Max Fabiani Maximilian Fabiani, commonly known as Max Fabiani ( it, Massimo, sl, Maks) (29 April 1865 – 12 August 1962) was a cosmopolitan trilingual architect and town planner of mixed Italian-Austrian ancestry, born in the village of Kobdilj near Š ...

(house at 1 Barlickiego Street). Polish architects from the 1890s were also discovering folk motives. The leading figure of this trend was Stanisław Witkiewicz, founder of Zakopane Style. File:Palace of Art, 4,Szczepanski square,secession building, Krakow Old Town.jpg, Palace of Art in Krakow File:DomPodGlobusem-UlicaDługa-POL, Kraków.JPG, House Under the Globe in Krakow File:Двірцева пл., 9271-Pano-Edit.jpg,

File:Філармонія 1.jpg, Lviv's Philharmonic File:Bielsko-Biała - Cathedral of St. Nicholas (02).jpg, Saint Nicholas' Cathedral in Bielsko-Biała File:Willa „Oksza”, Zakopane, A-68 M 02.jpg, Villa Oksza in

Zakopane Zakopane ( Podhale Goral: ''Zokopane'') is a town in the extreme south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been ...

Modern architecture

Interwar period

Poland's regaining of independence marked a new era in art, where

modern architecture Modern architecture, or modernist architecture, was an architectural movement or architectural style based upon new and innovative technologies of construction, particularly the use of glass, steel, and reinforced concrete; the idea that for ...

developed on a large scale, in the beginning often combining achievements of functionalism with elements of classicism. The most important architects of this period are

Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz (1 September 1883, in Narva – 1 October 1948, in Kraków) was a Polish architect and conservator of monuments, a leading representative of historicism (art), historicism and modernism (architecture), modernism in Poland. Li ...

(PKO BP Building on Wielopole Street in Krakow), Marian Lalewicz ( Polish Geological Institute in Warsaw, Bank Building at 50 Nowogrodzka Street in Warsaw, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe headquarters in Targowa Street in Warsaw),

Bohdan Pniewski Bohdan Wiktor Kazimierz Pniewski (born 26 August 1897 in Warsaw, died 5 September 1965 in Warsaw) was a Polish modernist architect, professor at the Warsaw University of Technology and the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. He is mostly known as a des ...

(Patria guesthouse in

Krynica-Zdrój Krynica-Zdrój (until 31 December 2001 Krynica, rue, Крениця, uk, Криниця) is a town in Nowy Sącz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It is inhabited by over eleven thousand people. It is the biggest spa town in ...

, court at 127 Solidarności Avenue in Warsaw) and Wacław Krzyżanowski (

AGH University of Science and Technology AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków, (abbreviated as ''AGH UST'') is a public university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1913, its inauguration took place in 1919. The university focuses on innovative technologies, its research p ...

Jagiellonian Library Jagiellonian Library ( pl, Biblioteka Jagiellońska, popular nickname ''Jagiellonka'') is the library of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków and with almost 6.7 million volumes, one of the largest libraries in Poland, serving as a public libra ...

in Krakow). Important were also influences of the Polish folk art and the Expressionist architecture, clearly visible in the works of Jan Koszczyc Witkiewicz (e.g.

Warsaw School of Economics SGH Warsaw School of Economics ( pl, Szkoła Główna Handlowa w Warszawie, ''SGH''International Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

in Paris (1925) or in the St. Roch's Church in Białystok. Examples of Polish

constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...

and international style include numerous housing complexes and modern residential houses built by architects Barbara Brukalska and Stanisław Brukalski (own house at 8 Niegolewskiego Street in Warsaw, WSM housing estate in

Żoliborz Żoliborz () is one of the northern districts of the city of Warsaw. It is located directly to the north of the City Centre, on the left bank of the Vistula river. It has approximately 50,000 inhabitants and is one of the smallest boroughs of W ...

, Warsaw),

Bohdan Lachert Bohdan Lachert (13 June 1900 – 8 January 1987) was a Polish architect, member of Praesens group. He designed a lot of buildings with his friend Józef Szanajca, like modern villas ast Saska Kępa (inspired by Le Corbusier's ideas) or Polish ...

(own house at 9 Katowicka Street in Warsaw),

Józef Szanajca Józef Szanajca (17 March 1902 – 24 September 1939) was a Polish architect. Founder and member of PRAESENS group: "The Praesens group played a pioneering role in the development of modern architecture in Poland. From 1927 a link with Le Cor ...

, Helena and Szymon Syrkus (WSM housing estate in Rakowiec, Warsaw) or

Juliusz Żórawski Juliusz Żórawski (2 October 1898 in Kraków – 24 November 1967 in Kraków) was a Polish architect, theoretist of architecture, interior designer, professor of Politechnika Krakowska (since 1945). He was a designer of representative flat buildi ...

(houses at 28 Puławska Street, 3 Przyjaciół Avenue and 34/36 Mickiewicza Street, Warsaw). Construction investments took place on a larger scale in modern cities like seaport

Gdynia Gdynia ( ; ; german: Gdingen (currently), (1939–1945); csb, Gdiniô, , , ) is a city in northern Poland and a seaport on the Baltic Sea coast. With a population of 243,918, it is the 12th-largest city in Poland and the second-largest in th ...

, Katowice, and

Stalowa Wola Stalowa Wola () is the largest city and capital of Stalowa Wola County with a population of 58,545 inhabitants, as of 31 December 2021. It is located in southeastern Poland in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. The city lies in historic Lesser Polan ...

. File:PKO BP, Wielopole, Kraków.jpg, PKO BP Bank Building on Wielopole Street, Kraków File:Budynek Dyrekcji Kolei Państwowych ul. Targowa w Warszawie 2017.jpg, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe headquarters in Targowa Street in Warsaw File:BibliotekaJagiellońska-AlejaAdamaMickiewicza22-POL, Kraków.jpg,

in Krakow File:Budynek A SGH ul. Rakowiecka.jpg,

in Paris (1925) File:Saint Roch church in Białystok 2.jpg, St. Roch's Church in Białystok File:Warszawa Dom Brukalskich ul. Niegolewskiego8 1927.JPG, Brukalskis' own house at 8 Niegolewskiego Street in Warsaw File:11 kat9 archpol35 70 a.jpg,

's own house at 9 Katowicka Street in Warsaw File:Pruszkowska 6b.jpg, WSM housing estate in Rakowiec, Warsaw File:Szklany Dom ul. Mickiewicza w Warszawie 2017.jpg, House at 34/36 Mickiewicza Street in Warsaw (so-called "Glass House") File:Gdynia 234669023555.jpg,

Polish Ocean Lines Polish Ocean Lines (PLO, pl, Polskie Linie Oceaniczne) is a Polish commercial shipping company, with headquarters in Gdynia. The company was created in 1951 in a merger of three smaller shipping companies. Currently, PLO acts as a holding compan ...

building in

File:Katowice - Drapacz Chmur 01.jpg, Skyscraper in Katowice

German modernism

Famous examples in modern Poland also include the works of German architects in Silesia, like

Hans Poelzig Hans Poelzig (30 April 1869 – 14 June 1936) was a German architect, painter and set designer. Life Poelzig was born in Berlin in 1869 to Countess Clara Henrietta Maria Poelzig while she was married to George Acland Ames, an Englishman. Uncerta ...

(office building at 38-40 Ofiar Oświęcimskich Street and the Four Domes Pavilion in Wrocław), Max Berg (

Centennial Hall Centennial Hall (german: Jahrhunderthalle) may refer to: in Canada * Centennial Hall (London, Ontario), London, Ontario, Canada * Centennial Concert Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada * Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium, former name of TCU Place in ...

in Wrocław), Dominikus Böhm ( St Joseph's Church, Zabrze), Erich Mendelsohn (department stores in

Gliwice Gliwice (; german: Gleiwitz) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capi ...

and Wrocław) or

Hans Scharoun Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun (20 September 1893 – 25 November 1972) was a German architect best known for designing the Berliner Philharmonie (home to the Berlin Philharmonic) and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important ...

(the ''Ledigenheim'' at WUWA housing estate in Wrocław). File:SM Wrocław Ofiar Oświęcimskich 38-40 ID 599147.jpg, Office building at 38-40 Ofiar Oświęcimskich Street in Wrocław File:Wrocław - Jahrhunderthalle6.jpg,

in Wrocław File:Zabrze kosciol sw Jozefa 8.jpg, St Joseph's Church in Zabrze File:Dom Tekstylny Gliwice (17).JPG, Weichmann Department Store in Gliwice File:DH Kameleon.jpg, Petersdorff Department Store in Wrocław File:Wroclaw ul.KopernikaParkHotel-PIP.jpg, ''Ledigenheim'' at WUWA housing estate in Wrocław

After 1945

Reconstruction of cities and monuments after the war had a diverse character. Valuable examples of cultural restitution can be reconstructions of the old towns in

and Gdańsk. However, reconstruction of buildings in the ''

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands ( pl, Ziemie Odzyskane), also known as Western Borderlands ( pl, Kresy Zachodnie), and previously as Western and Northern Territories ( pl, Ziemie Zachodnie i Północne), Postulated Territories ( pl, Z ...

'' was strongly influenced by political aims of eradicating architecture perceived as German, and

n in particular. After the Second World War, the

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

architecture was initially developed (

Smyk Department Store The Smyk Department Store was a department store in Warsaw. Its building, at the intersection of Bracka, Widok, Krucza, and Aleje Jerozolimskie, was built from 1948 to 1952, and was designed by Zbigniew Ihnatowicz and Jerzy Romański. The buildin ...

in Warsaw, Okrąglak Department Store in Poznań), but in the years 1949-1956 it was interrupted by the

socialist realist Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ...

period. The best examples of the so-called Stalinist neoclassicism are the

Palace of Culture and Science A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

Lev Rudnev Lev Vladimirovich Rudnev (russian: Лев Владимирович Ру́днев; – November 19, 1956) was a Soviet architect, and a leading practitioner of Stalinist architecture. Biography Rudnev was born to the family of a school teach ...

and the Marszałkowska Dzielnica Mieszkaniowa housing estate in Warsaw as well as the planned city of

Nowa Huta Nowa Huta (, literally "The New Steel Mill") is the easternmost district of Kraków, Poland. With more than 200,000 inhabitants, it is one of the most populous areas of the city. Until 1990, the neighbouring districts were considered expansions o ...

in Krakow. After the period of the socialist realism the architects could again develop the international style. The most important sights include the Kijów Cinema and the Cracovia Hotel in Kraków, Ściana Wschodnia in Warsaw, railway stations in Warsaw ( Centralna,

Ochota Ochota () is a district of Warsaw, Poland, located in the central part of the Polish capital city's urban agglomeration. The biggest housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of h ...

, Śródmieście, Powiśle, Stadion, Wschodnia),

Spodek Spodek (meaning "saucer" in Polish language, Polish) is a multipurpose arena complex in Katowice, Poland, opened on 9 May 1971. Aside from the main dome, the complex includes a gym, an ice rink, a hotel and three large car parks. It was the large ...

in Katowice and the works of Oskar Nikolai Hansen. The brutalist architecture is represented by the Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art and the Arka Pana Church in Kraków, the Plac Grunwaldzki housing estate in Wrocław and the Superjednostka residential unit in Katowice. File:Cedet w Warszawie 2018.jpg,

in Warsaw File:POL Poznań Okrąglak.jpg, Okrąglak Department Store in Poznań File:PKiN widziany z WFC.jpg,

in Warsaw File:MDM Marszałkowska Dzielnica Mieszkaniowa plac Konstytucji 02.jpg, Marszałkowska Dzielnica Mieszkaniowa in Warsaw File:Nowa Huta - Plac Centralny z lotu ptaka.jpg,

in Krakow File:Kijow Centrum Cinema, 34 Krasinskiego Av, Krakow, Poland.jpg, Kijów Cinema in Krakow File:Pasaż wiecha.jpg, Ściana Wschodnia in Warsaw File:Warszawa 1975 WDC 42783.jpg,

Warszawa Centralna Warszawa Centralna, in English known as Warsaw Central Station, is the primary railway station in Warsaw, Poland. Completed in 1975, the station is located on the Warsaw Cross-City Line and features four underground island platforms with eight tr ...

railway station File:Hala Spodek 2007-10.jpg,

in Katowice File:Bunkier Sztuki spring 2014.jpg, Bunkier Sztuki Gallery of Contemporary Art in Krakow File:Krakau - Arka Pana7.jpg, "Arka Pana" Church in Kraków File:Уроцлаўскія замалёўкі 32.jpg, Plac Grunwaldzki housing estate in Wrocław

After 1989

Among the most important contemporary polish architects are the post-modernists Marek Budzyński ( Warsaw University Library, the Supreme Court), Romuald Loegler (Centrum E housing estate in Kraków and the chapel in the Batowice Cemetery in the same city) and Dariusz Kozłowski (Seminary of the Salesian Society in Krakow) as well as the neo-modernists Stefan Kuryłowicz (The Focus building in Warsaw), JEMS ( Agora headquarters in Warsaw), Krzysztof Ingarden ( Wyspiański Pavilion in Krakow) and Zbigniew Maćków ( Silver Tower Center in Wrocław). After the creation of the Third Republic, starchitects

Arata Isozaki Arata Isozaki (磯崎新, ''Isozaki Arata''; born 23 July 1931) is a Japanese architect, urban designer, and theorist from Ōita. He was awarded the RIBA Gold Medal in 1986 and the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2019. Biography Isozaki was ...

(

Manggha Manggha (full name: Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, until 2007: Manggha Centre of Japanese Art and Technology) is a museum in Kraków, Poland. Until 2005, it was a branch of the National Museum of Kraków. History In 1920, Feliks ...

Norman Foster Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Nor ...

( Metropolitan,

Varso Varso or Varso Place is a neomodern office building complex in Warsaw, Poland. It was designed by Foster and Partners and developed by HB Reavis. The complex features three buildings, of which the main one, Varso Tower, at in height, is the t ...

), Daniel Libeskind (

Złota 44 Złota 44 is a residential skyscraper (192 meters high, 52 stories) in central Warsaw, Poland. It was designed by Polish-American architect Daniel Libeskind, in association with Polish architects Architecture. It was developed by US real estate ...

) and

Helmut Jahn Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Liber ...

(

Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4 Cosmopolitan Twarda 2/4, formerly known as Twarda Tower or Hines Tower, is a mainly residential skyscraper (160 meters high, 44 storeys) in central Warsaw, Poland. The project was developed by Tacit Development Polska. The tower includes 252 ap ...

) had their projects in Poland. Other foreign architects active in Poland are Rainer Mahlamäki ( Museum of the History of Polish Jews), Renato Rizzi ( Shakespearian Theatre in Gdańsk), Riegler Riewe Architekten (

Silesian Museum Silesian Museum in Katowice ( pl, Muzeum Śląskie w Katowicach) is a museum in the City of Katowice, Poland. History The museum was founded in 1929 by the Silesian Sejm, while the region was recovering from the Silesian Uprisings. In the XX ...

) and Estudio Barozzi Veig Studio ( Szczecin Philharmonic). In 2015, Szczecin Philharmonic was awarded the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture. File:Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie 2018.jpg, Warsaw University Library File:Warszawa plac Kasińskich.jpg,

Supreme Court of Poland The Supreme Court ( pl, Sąd Najwyższy) is the highest court in the Republic of Poland. It is located in the Krasiński Square, Warsaw. One of the chambers of the Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Chamber, was suspended by a judgment of the CJ ...

in Warsaw File:Zakrzówek, Kraków, Poland - panoramio (47).jpg, Seminary of the Salesian Society in Krakow File:Warszawa-Focus.jpg, The Focus building in Warsaw File:Agora Gazeta Wyborcza ul. Czerska 2019.jpg, Agora headquarters in Warsaw File:Wyspianski Pavilion Krakow IMG 1034- fot K Ingarden 02.jpg, Wyspiański Pavilion in Krakow File:Manggha Krakow.jpg, Manggha Museum in Krakow File:Metropolitan in Warsaw 02.jpg, Metropolitan in Warsaw File:Varso 05.2022.jpg, Varso Tower in Warsaw File:Warszawa, Złota 44 (1).jpg,

in Warsaw File:Cosmopolitan Twarda 2 4 radek kołakowski.jpg,

in Warsaw File:Szczecin Philharmonic Hall 3304.jpg, Szczecin Philharmonic

Architecture schools in Poland

Literature and sources

* Tadeusz Dobrowolski, Sztuka polska, Warszawa 1970. * Tadeusz Dobrowolski, Władysław Tatarkiewicz (ed.), Historia sztuki polskiej vol. I-III, Kraków 1965. * Marek Walczak, Piotr Krasny, Stefania Kszysztofowicz-Kozakowska, Sztuka Polski, Kraków 2006. * Adam Miłobędzki, Zarys dziejów architektury w Polsce, Warszawa 1978. * Zygmunt Świechowski, Sztuka polska. Romanizm, Warszawa 2005. * Szczęsny Skibiński, Katarzyna Zalewska-Lorkiewicz, Sztuka polska. Gotyk, Warszawa 2010. * Mieczysław Zlat, Sztuka polska. Renesans i manieryzm, Warszawa 2008. * Zbigniew Bania

t al. T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...

Sztuka polska. Wczesny i dojrzały barok (XVII wiek), Warszawa 2013. * Zbigniew Bania

Sztuka polska. Późny barok, rokoko, klasycyzm (XVIII wiek), Warszawa 2016. * Jerzy Malinowski d. Sztuka polska. Sztuka XIX wieku (z uzupełnieniem o sztukę Śląska i Pomorza Zachodniego), Warszawa 2016. * Stefania Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, Sztuka II RP, Olszanica 2013. * Stefania Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, Sztuka w czasach PRL, Olszanica 2016. * Stefania Krzysztofowicz-Kozakowska, Sztuka od roku 1989, Olszanica 2020. * Anna Cymer, Architektura w Polsce 1945–1989, Warszawa 2019.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polish Architecture Polish art Polish culture