The Krasiński Palace, also known as the Ursynów Palace and the Delight Palace, is a

Renaissance Revival 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 of ...

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 ...

, located at 166 Nowoursynowska Street in the

Ursynów Ursynów () is a district of the city of Warsaw, Poland. It has an area of 43.79 km2 (16.88 sq mi), and in 2023, it was inhabited by 149,775 people, making it the 5th most populous and 3rd largest district of the city. Located in its western ...

district. It was built in its current form between 1858 and 1860 for the

Krasiński family The House of Krasiński (plural: Krasińscy) is an old Szlachta, Polish noble family, whose members held the title of Count in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, granted to them on 29 June 1856 by Franz Joseph I of Austria, Franz Joseph I. The name ...

to a design by architect Zygmunt Rospendowski. The original palace was built there in 1776 for the

Potocki family The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent szlachta, Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Po ...

. It is part of the campus of the

Warsaw University of Life Sciences The Warsaw University of Life Sciences (, SGGW) is the largest agricultural university in Poland, established in 1816 in Warsaw. It employs over 2,600 staff including over 1,200 academic educators. The University is since 2005 a member of the Eu ...

History

A small palace, originally known as the Delight Palace (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Pałac Rozkosz'') was constructed in 1776, and commissioned by princess Elżbieta Izabela Lubomirska, as a wedding gift for her daughter, Aleksandra Lubomirska, and son-in-law

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. He was involved in public education and active in the period that has been terme ...

. For some time it was inhabited by Józef Maisonneuve, and from 1785 to 1799, it was the residence of the Potocki family. Kostka Potocki had expanded the palace, with plans drown by architect

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 jo ...

. It was later owned by Grzegorz Wykowski, and later, Ignacy Kochanowski. Since 1822, it was the residence of writer

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth's Constitution of 3 May 1791. Early life and education Julian Ursyn Ni ...

. He had renamed it to Ursynów Palace after himself, which inspired the name of the modern city district of

. Originally, he also considered names America (Polish: ''Ameryka'') and Washington (Polish: ''Waszyngton'') instead, in commemoration to his stay in the United States. He had organised there a library collecting rare and valuable books.Wiesław Głębocki, Tadeusz Kobyłka: ''Pałace Warszawy''. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Sport i Turystyka, p. 52. ISBN 9788321728148. (in Polish)Marek Kwiatkowski: ''Architektura mieszkaniowa Warszawy''. Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1989, p. 216. ISBN 83-06-01427-8. (in Polish)Tadeusz S. Jaroszewski: ''Księga pałaców Warszawy''. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Interpress, 1985, p. 67. ISBN 83-223-2047-7. (in Polish) Between 1832 and 1840, it was leased by physician Jan Fryderyk Wilhelm Malcz, and later, it was shortly owned by Potocki family. From 1857, it belonged to the

. The palace was completely rebuilt between 1858 and 1860. It was redesigned in the

style by architect Zygmunt Rospendowski. The façade was decorated with

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

s by Faustyn Juliusz Cengler, depicting

Grand Guardian of the Crown Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), s ...

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

Stanisław Koniecpolski Stanisław Koniecpolski (1591 – 11 March 1646) was a Polish military commander, regarded as one of the most talented and capable in the History of Poland in the Early Modern era (1569–1795), history of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. ...

Stefan Czarniecki Stefan Czarniecki (Polish: of the Łodzia coat of arms, 1599 – 16 February 1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Polish szlachta, nobleman, general and military commander. In his career, he rose from a petty nobleman to a magnate hol ...

Paweł Jan Sapieha Paul John Sapieha () (1609–1665) was a Polish–Lithuanian nobleman (szlachcic). Sapieha became a Hussar Rotmistrz in 1633, courtier in 1635, Obozny of Lithuania in 1638, Podstoli of Lithuania in 1645, voivode of the Vitebsk Voivodeshi ...

, and

Jan Tarnowski Jan Amor Tarnowski (Latin: Joannes Tarnovius; 1488 – 16 May 1561) was a Polish nobleman, knight, military commander, military theoretician, and statesman of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. He was Grand Crown Hetman from 1527, and wa ...

. In the niches were placed the sculptures of

Fortuna Fortuna (, equivalent to the Greek mythology, Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Religion in ancient Rome, Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular thr ...

and Ceres, goddesses from

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

. The tympanum included the

Ślepowron coat of arms Ślepowron is a Polish heraldry, Polish coat of arms. It was used by several szlachta families in the times of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. From the fifteenth century, the descendants of the Ślepowron family began to use names taken fro ...

(symbol of Krasiński family), and sculptures of children, symbolising four seasons of the year. In 1857, the Ursynów estate, including the palace, was property of Eliza Branicka, wife of the poet

Zygmunt Krasiński Count Napoleon Stanisław Adam Feliks Zygmunt Krasiński (; 19 February 1812 – 23 February 1859) was a Polish poet traditionally ranked after Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki as one of Poland's Three Bards – the Romantic poets who ...

, and after his death, wife of economist Ludwik Józef Krasiński. Following her death, her second husband remained the owner until his death in 1895. It was inherited by writer Adam Krasiński, who in 1906, gave it for the usage of the Polish Educational Society, which organised there educational institutions. In 1921, the palace was inherited by

Edward Bernard Raczyński Count Edward Bernard Raczyński (19 December 1891 – 30 July 1993) was a Polish diplomat, writer, politician, President of Poland- in-exile (between 1979 and 1986). He was the longest living (101), and oldest serving Polish President (from ...

, who then donated it to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Public Education. It was parcially destroyed by the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1956, the

Council of Ministers Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...

have given the palace, and the surrounding area, to the

, which had developed there their campus. In 1989, the palace became the seat of the university authorities. Its façade was renovated in 2008, and the building underwent extensive renovation between 2014 and 2017.

Characteristics

The building is a two-storey

palace. Its façade is decorated with

s by Faustyn Juliusz Cengler, depicting

, and

. In the niches are placed the sculptures of

and Ceres, goddesses from

, and its tympanum includes the

(symbol of Krasiński family), and sculptures of children, symbolising four seasons of the year. Located at 166 Nowoursynowska Street, it forms part of the campus of the

, and is the seat of its authorities. Around the palace is a garden complex, which borders the Ursynów Escarpment Nature Reserve.Adam Snopek:
Problemy funkcjonowania rezerwatu przyrody na kampusie akademickim: Przykład rezerwatu Skarpa Ursynowska (Warszawa) i Forêt de Dorigny (Écublens, Szwajcaria)
, ''Przegląd Przyrodniczy'', no. 27 (4/2016), p. 138. 2016. (in Polish) It includes the ''Niemcewicz's Tree'' (Polish: ''Drzewo Niemcewicza''), an over 200-years-old eastern American black walnut tree that has the status of the

natural monument A natural monument is a natural or cultural feature of outstanding or unique value because of its inherent rarity, representative of aesthetic qualities, or cultural significance. They can be natural geological and geographical features such as w ...

. Dating to the times of Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, and being of the North American species, the tree is speculated to have been planted from the seeds that he had received from

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, the first president of the United States. Next to the palace is also located a small pond with an area of 0.146 ha.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasinski Palace, Ursynow 1776 establishments in Poland 1776 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth 1860 establishments in Poland Residential buildings completed in 1776 Residential buildings completed in 1860 University and college buildings completed in 1860 Palaces in Warsaw Renaissance Revival architecture in Poland Ursynów Warsaw University of Life Sciences Objects of cultural heritage in Warsaw University and college buildings in Poland University and college administration buildings