The Krasiński Palace (), also known as the Palace of the Commonwealth (), is a reconstructed

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

palace in

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 ...

, on Krasiński Square (''Plac Krasińskich''). Initially erected between 1677 and 1683 for the powerful Krasiński family, it was heavily damaged during

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 ...

and rebuilt in the mid-20th century.

History and architecture

The palace was built in 1677–83 for the Voivode of Płock, Jan Dobrogost Krasiński, according to design by Tylman van Gameren. It was decorated with

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

reliefs showing the triumph of the legendary "ancestor" of the Ślepowron and Korwin Polish clans, the Roman commander Manius Valerius Maximus Corvinus Messalla (263 BC) and sculptural work, all by Andreas Schlüter. Jan Dobrogost Krasiński, who also served as the royal clerk (''Referendarz''), was a descendant of old

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

n nobility and an heir to a large fortune. After his father's death he wished to erect a magnificent residence in the capital which was to fulfill his excessive political ambitions and show his enormous pride, which made him cultivate and develop a 16th-century legend about the antique origin and alleged royal connections of his family. Krasiński was well acquainted with French culture and architecture; he was interested in hiring qualified and renowned French artists and architects that would perform the work. He kept a detailed accountancy book in which he systematically recorded progress in construction. The whole idea was realized according to the design of Tylman van Gameren. He was of Dutch origin, educated in Italy, and he was brought to Poland by the Lubomirski family. He made a large number of various designs for Lubomirskis, the Royal Family, the representatives of different noblemen and gentry families as well as for the Catholic Church. Some Warsaw architects were also employed to build the palace as building contractors, as suppliers of materials or to control the master craftsmen, bricklayers or artisans. These people were Joseph Bellotti, Jacob Solari, Izydor Affaita and Maderni. The main role in decorating the palace was played by German sculptor, Andreas Schlüter, who had previously cooperated with Tylman. The first floor ''porte-fenêtre'' (vertical French door and window) was crowned with a

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

supported by two angels bearing the founder's

monogram A monogram is a motif (visual arts), motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbo ...

''JK'' for Jan Krasiński. The

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es were made by

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 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, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

's court painter Michelangelo Palloni. Among his notable works in the palace, most worth mentioning are the plafond and

es in the (the space between the portal and ceiling) of the palace's vestibule. Moulding which remain in vestibule and partly in the stairwell, also the heads of pilasters or festoons on external elevations made of stucco as well as the armorial cartouche of the façade from the garden side were made by unknown artists under the supervision of Joseph Belloti. The lost paintings in the vestibule destroyed during World War II were painted by Michael Palloni. The interiors were partially finished by 1699. Other paintings by

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

Antonio da Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for so ...

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

and

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

are no longer present. The palace-garden complex was created on a vast property between Długa and Świętojerska Streets, in the place of the old manor house with small garden that belonged to Krasiński. Krasiński purchased some surrounding plots to extend the gardens. According to Gameren's conception, the palace was intended as a French style palace ''entre cour et jardin'' (between the entrance court and the garden) with

cour d'honneur A court of honor ( ; ) is the principal and formal approach and forecourt of a large building. It is usually defined by two secondary wings projecting forward from the main central block ('' corps de logis''), sometimes with a fourth side, co ...

, two symmetrical outbuildings,

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, plats, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the ...

garden ('' à la française'') with three radial alleys and a palace in the center of the axis, but it was never fully accomplished. In 1765 the palace was purchased by the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth; the Polish State) and became the seat of the Treasury Commission. After a fire in 1783 it was remodelled according to Domenico Merlini's design. During the interwar period, the palace housed the

Supreme Court of Poland The Supreme Court ( ) is the highest court in the Poland, Republic of Poland. It is located in the Krasiński Square, Warsaw. The legal basis for the competence and activities of the Supreme Court is the Constitution of Poland, Polish Consti ...

. The palace was burned down and partially demolished by the Germans during

, with the outer shell remaining mostly intact. Today it is a part of the

Polish National Library The National Library (, ''BN'') is the national library of Poland, subject directly to the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The main seat of the National Library is located in the Ochota district of Warsaw, adjacent to the Moko ...

's Special Collections Section (specializing in manuscripts and old prints) from the Załuski Library (only 5% of the former collection remains in the palace, the rest was deliberately destroyed by the Germans after the collapse of 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 ...

in October 1944). Between 2014–2016, the palace underwent an extensive revitalization. On 21 May 2024, the palace opened its doors to visitors for the first time in its history. It houses a large permanent exhibition consisting of some of the priceless objects from the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, ...

including Sankt Florian Psalter,

Holy Cross Sermons The Holy Cross Sermons () are the oldest extant prose text in the Polish language, probably dating from the late 13th century, although the extant manuscripts date to the 14th century. The documents are named after the place where they were orig ...

, manuscripts of the chronicles of Gallus Anonymus and Wincenty Kadłubek, Medieval and Renaissance works of European thinkers as well as works by

Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who wrote in Latin and Polish and established poetic patterns that would become integral to Polish literary language. He has been called the greatest Polish poet before ...

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, Juliusz Słowacki,

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish epic writer. He is remembered for his historical novels, such as The Trilogy, the Trilogy series and especially ...

, Zbigniew Herbert,

Henryk Górecki Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...

and

Agnieszka Osiecka Agnieszka Osiecka (Polish pronunciation: ; 9 October 1936 – 7 March 1997) was a Polish poet, writer, author of theatre and television screenplays, film director and journalist. She was a prominent Polish songwriter, having authored the lyrics to ...

. The palace offers a free admission six days per week except on Tuesdays.

Images

Image:Krasinski Square Warsaw.jpg, Krasinski Square, 1890s Image:Pałac Krasińskich w Warszawie przed 1939.jpg, The Palace in 1939 Image:Pomnik Kilińskiego waf 2012-2719-23 (1945).jpg, Soon after

Image:Biblioteka Narodowa (Pałac Krasińskich2) (fot. Janusz Drzewucki).jpg,

Garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

Image:Krasiński Palace in Warsaw, 2021.jpg, Krasiński Palace next to the

Image:Andreas Schlueter Palac Krasinskich 1.jpg,

Pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

: ''Triumph of Marcus Valerius Corvinus'' by Andreas Schlüter Image:Ogród Krasińskich- IV 2016.jpg, Krasiński Garden

Notes

References

External links

*
Sąd Najwyższy
Historical pictures of the palace. *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasinski Palace Houses completed in 1683 Palaces in Warsaw Baroque architecture in Warsaw Baroque palaces in Poland Rebuilt buildings and structures in Warsaw 1683 establishments in Europe Muranów (City Information System area) National Library of Poland

History and architecture

Images

See also

Notes

References

External links