The Brühl Palace (), also known as the Sandomierski or Ossoliński Palace, was a palatial residence at

Piłsudski Square Piłsudski Square (), is the largest city square of Poland's capital, located in the Warsaw city centre. The square is named after Marshal Józef Piłsudski who was instrumental in the restoration of Polish statehood after World War I.

in central

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It was one of the largest palaces and one of the finest examples of

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

architecture in pre-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Warsaw. It is going to be rebuilt along with the Saski Palace, neighboring tenements and the modernist Beck's Pavilion; the tender was completed in 2023 and it is now at the project stage.

History

Establishment of the palace

The palace was built between 1639 and 1642 by Lorenzo de Sent for Crown Grand Chancellor

Jerzy Ossoliński Prince Jerzy Ossoliński h. Topór (15 December 1595 – 9 August 1650) was a Polish nobleman (''szlachcic''), Crown Court Treasurer from 1632, governor (''voivode'') of Sandomierz from 1636, ''Reichsfürst'' (Imperial Prince) since 1634, Crow ...

Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

style. It was built on the plan of an elongated rectangle with two hexagonal towers at garden side of the building. The palace was adorned with sculptures – an allegory of Poland above the main portal, four figures of kings of Poland in the

niche Niche may refer to: Science *Developmental niche, a concept for understanding the cultural context of child development and growth *Ecological niche, a term describing the relational position of an organism's species *Niche differentiation, in ec ...

s and a statue of

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

crowning the roof. A possible inspiration for the palace's upper pavilion and its characteristic roof was Bonifaz Wohlmut's reconstruction of Belvedere in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, 1557–1563. After the Chancellor's death the property was inherited by his daughter

Helena Tekla Ossolińska Princess Helena Tekla Lubomirska ''née'' Ossolińska (died 1687) was a Polish noblewoman A noblewoman is a female member of the nobility. Noblewomen form a disparate group, which has evolved over time. Ennoblement of women has traditionally b ...

, wife of Aleksander Michał Lubomirski, Starost of Sandomierz (from whom it takes its name). Later, between 1681 and 1696, it was rebuilt and remodeled by Tylman Gamerski and Giovanni Bellotti for Prince

Józef Karol Lubomirski Prince Józef Karol Lubomirski (1638–1702) was a Polish szlachcic, noble. He was owner of Dubno, Wiśnicz, Tarnów and Zasławski family, Zesław, Koniuszy, Crown Koniuszy since 1683, Court Marshals of the Crown, Crown Court Marshals since ...

– Aleksander Michał's son.

18th century

In 1750,

Heinrich von Brühl Heinrich, Count von Brühl (, 13 August 170028 October 1763), was a Polish-Saxon statesman at the court of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and a member of the powerful German von Brühl family. The incumbenc ...

bought the palace as a residence. Between 1754 and 1759 it was rebuilt according to designs by Johann Friedrich Knöbel and

Joachim Daniel von Jauch Joachim Daniel von Jauch (22 March 1688 – 3 May 1754) was a German-born architect who supervised the baroque development of Warsaw in Poland. Early life and work Joachim Daniel von Jauch was born into the Jauch family in Güstrow, Germany on 22 ...

. The palace was enhanced and covered with a

mansard roof A mansard or mansard roof (also called French roof or curb roof) is a multi-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope at a steeper angle than the upper, and often punctured by dormer wi ...

. Two outbuildings were added to the palace complex surrounding a triangular

courtyard A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary a ...

that sometimes served as a parade ground. From that time the palace was known as the Brühl Palace. On 27 May 1787, the palace played a key role in a plot by Russian ambassador to Poland, Otto Magnus von Stackelberg. He derailed yet another Polish policy which seemed threatening to Russia. With few major wars in the past decades, the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

of the Commonwealth was improving, and its

budget A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...

had a notable surplus. Many voices said that the money should be spent on increasing the size, and providing new equipment for, the

Polish army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

. However, as a large Polish army could be a threat to the Russian garrisons controlling Poland, von Stackelberg ordered his proxies in the

Permanent Council The Permanent Council (; ) was the highest administrative authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1775 and 1789 and the first modern executive government in Europe. As is still typically the case in contemporary parliamentary p ...

to spend the money on a different goal: for the huge sum of 1 million zlotys (representing most of the surplus), the council bought the Brühl Palace – and promptly donated it to 'Poland's ally', Russia, to serve as Russia's new

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

. At the end of the eighteenth century, Dominik Merlini gave the interior a neoclassical look.

20th century

During 1932–1937, the palace was adapted for use as the

Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

of the new Polish Republic. The architect this time was Bohdan Pniewski, who added a new modern building and modernized the interiors of all the buildings in the palace complex. It was deliberately and completely destroyed by the Germans on 18 December 1944 (during

, shortly after the

Warsaw Uprising The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from ...

21st century: Reconstruction plans

Around 2008, Warsaw's municipal government authorities decided to rebuild the Brühl Palace. The new building was to have a facade referring to its historic shape, but a new private investor may adapt the interiors to the needs of either office space or a hotel. On 11 November 2018, during celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Poland's restored independence, President

Andrzej Duda Andrzej Sebastian Duda (born 16 May 1972) is a Polish lawyer and politician who has served as the sixth president of Poland since 2015. Before becoming president, he served as a Member of the Sejm from 2011 to 2014 and before becoming Member of ...

signed a declaration on the rebuilding of the Brühl Palace. In July 2021 Duda submitted to the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

a draft act on the reconstruction of the Brühl Palace,

Saxon Palace The Saxon Palace () in Warsaw, Poland, was a historic architectural landmark located on Piłsudski Square in the heart of the Polish capital. Originally built in the 17th century as a noble residence, it was later expanded and transformed into a r ...

, and three tenement houses at Królewska Street in Warsaw, which was passed later that month.

References

:: In-line: :: General: *

Gallery

Image:Ossolinski Kazanowski Palace.jpg, ''Ossoliński Palace (left) and

Kazanowski Palace The Kazanowski Palace (), also known as the Radziejowski Palace, was a large palace in Warsaw, occupying the place where the Charitable Center ''Res Sacra Miser'' stands today. History When prince Władysław Vasa (future King Władysław IV of Po ...

(right) in the 1650s'' Image:Pałac Sandomierski w Warszawie.JPG, ''As Lubomirski Palace - L. (before 1754)'' Image:Pałac Bruhla.JPG, ''Rear façade of the palace (before 1915)'' Image:Zniszczony pałac Brühla w Warszawie.jpg, ''Palace after the war'' Image:Warszawa-fundamenty pałacu Bruhla.jpg, ''Foundations of Brühl Palace''

External links

Warsaw before 1939

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruhl Palace, Warsaw Buildings and structures in Poland destroyed during World War II Demolished buildings and structures in Poland Cultural history of Warsaw Palaces in Warsaw Houses completed in 1642 Houses completed in 1696 Rococo architecture in Warsaw 1642 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Former palaces in Poland World War II sites in Warsaw Former buildings and structures in Warsaw