The Primate's Palace ( pl, Pałac Prymasowski) is a historical palace at the Senatorska Street in the Śródmieście district 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 populou ...

History

The construction of the palace began in 1593, from the initiative of the

Bishop of Płock A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Wojciech Baranowski Wojciech Baranowski (1548 – 23 September 1615) was archbishop of Gniezno and primate of Poland. Biography In 1581 he was ordained a priest and became the royal secretary of Stefan Batory, accompanying him during the Pskov campaign. Lat ...

. After he became the

Primate of Poland This is a list of archbishops of the Archdiocese of Gniezno, who are simultaneously primates of Poland since 1418.Deluge A deluge is a large downpour of rain, often a flood. The Deluge refers to the flood narrative in the Biblical book of Genesis. Deluge may also refer to: History *Deluge (history), the Swedish and Russian invasion of the Polish-Lithuanian Com ...

in 1655–1657. Architect Józef Fontana was hired for the reconstruction. It was however plundered again in 1704 by Saxons, Vlachs and Cossacks. Until 1795 the rooms in the palace served as the home of the primates of Poland. The building was gradually expanded. At the end of the 17th century it was expanded by architect

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 ...

. In the first half of the 18th century it was rebuilt in

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style to serve as a residence of Primate

Adam Ignacy Komorowski Adam Ignacy Komorowski of the Korczak coat of arms (24 May 16992 March 1759) was an archbishop of Gniezno, primate of Poland, provost of the Kraków cathedral chapter in 1737–1749, chancellor of the Krakow cathedral chapter in 1724–1737, arc ...

. From 1777 to 1786 the palace was thoroughly reconstructed in the Classicist style. The main body of the building was expanded with the side wings with pavilions. Architects of the interior were

Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer Johann Christian Kammsetzer or Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer ( Dresden, 1753 – 25 November 1795, Warsaw) was a Dresden-born architect who was active primarily in Poland. Life There is a record of Kammsetzer having attended the Dresden Academy of F ...

and Szymon Bogumił Zug. Since the 18th century it served various purposes and housed numerous institutions. In the interwar period it housed the Ministry of Agriculture. The palace was destroyed during the Nazi

Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, after the war it was gradually restored. It then served the city administration and, among other things, civil weddings occurred there. It used to house offices of various companies and its historical halls were used for conference and exhibition purposes. Since 2016 the palace has been refurbished and turned into a five-star hotel. It features 20 high-end rooms, a restaurant, a café and a casino.

Gallery

Image:16042011 DSC0003.JPG, Image:Miod67DSC 1207.jpg, Image:Miod70DSC 1210.jpg,

References

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