Sapieha Palace, Vilnius
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Sapieha Palace (, ) is a High Baroque
palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...
in Sapiegos str.,
Antakalnis Antakalnis (''literally'' ) is an elderships of Lithuania, eldership in Vilnius, Lithuania. Antakalnis is one of the oldest, and largest historical suburbs of Vilnius. It is in the Eastern section of Vilnius, along the left bank of the Neris, ...
district of
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
, Lithuania. It is the only surviving palace of several formerly belonging to the
Sapieha The House of Sapieha (; ; ; ) is a Polish-Lithuanian noble and magnate family of Ruthenian origin,Энцыклапедыя ВКЛ. Т.2, арт. "Сапегі" descending from the medieval boyars of Smolensk and Polotsk. Vernadsky, George. ...
family in the city. The palace is surrounded by the remains of the 17th-century formal park, with
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 ...
s, ponds, and avenues. The impressive Baroque gate secures the entrance to the park from Antakalnis street and the other gate is on the opposite side of the park, near the palace. Both of them were restored in 2012.


History

On the site where the Sapieha Palace was eventually built at the end of the 16th century, either Stefan Bielawski or Teodor Lacki constructed a brick palace. In 1619, it became the property of Piotr Nonhard, the Starost of
Varėna Varėna () is a city in Dzūkija, southern Lithuania. It is the capital of the district of Varėna. Currently, there are 7,794 residents. The Varėna district is the largest and most forested municipality of Lithuania as more than 50% of the di ...
and Horodniczy of Vilnius. The palace changed hands several times; among its owners was Hetman
Michał Kazimierz Pac Michał Kazimierz Pac (; – 4 April 1682) was a nobleman and prominent military leader of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and of one the most influential members of the magnate Pac family. Educated by Jesuits and Mikołaj Krzysztof "the ...
. Finally, in 1682, Kazimierz Jan Sapieha purchased it from the Jesuits. The Hetman planned to transform the palace into the center of an extensive residential complex, which, in addition to the palace itself, included a garden, a hunting area, two courtyards (a ceremonial one and a service one), as well as a church-mausoleum dedicated to the Lord Jesus, along with a
Trinitarian The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...
monastery. The entire complex was completed around 1717. Around the estate, the Sapieha
jurydyka Jurydyka (plural: jurydyki, improperly: jurydykas), is a legal entity in the Polish legal system from bygone centuries (originating from Latin: ''iurisdictio'', jurisdiction), denoting a privately owned tract of land within a larger municipality, ...
began to grow, eventually extending as far as Rokantiškės. The architect of both the palace and the church was Giovanni Battista Frediani. The stucco decoration was executed by Pietro Petri, while the painting work was done by Michelangelo Palloni. The garden was designed by a Frenchman whose first name remains unknown, possibly Lamot who was active at the court of King John III Sobieski. The previous structure was not demolished but expanded to a larger size, with some elements removed. As a result, the palace is positioned diagonally relative to the garden, which was designed on the western side, parallel to the Dyneburg route. The entrance to the palace courtyard is located on the southern side, through the Vilnius Gate. The building’s design, featuring distinctive pseudo-defensive corner tower pavilions and arcaded loggias on the side facades, drew inspiration from Italian
Renaissance architecture Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...
, particularly the Poggio Reale villa, popular in the contemporary Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The direct inspiration appears to be the Villa Regia in Warsaw, built by King
Władysław IV Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: People Mononym * Włodzis ...
. External stairs led to a vaulted vestibule, from which one entered the representative section on the upper floor, while residential quarters were located in the corners. Originally, the palace had multi-floor arcades on its sides, which were later built up to gain more space inside the building. Jan Kazimierz Sapieha the Younger by building the luxurious Sapieha Palace ensemble wished to surpass the
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 ...
projects and to show his power and ability to be a
Grand Duke of Lithuania This is a list of Lithuanian monarchs who ruled Lithuania from its inception until the fall of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in 1795. The Lithuanian monarch bore the title of Grand duke, Grand Duke, with the exception of Mindaugas, who was crown ...
and
King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...
.


19th century

In 1809 the palace was acquired by the Russian government and restructured (according to
Józef Poussier Józef is a Polish variant of the masculine given name Joseph. Art * Józef Chełmoński (1849-1914), Polish painter * Józef Gosławski (1908-1963), Polish sculptor Clergy * Józef Glemp (1929-2013), Polish cardinal * Józef Kowalski (19 ...
's design) into a military hospital in 1843. Much of the rich interior was destroyed throughout the 19th century.


20th century

The exterior of the palace was
restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004, by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard Aus ...
only in 1927-1928 and the building housed
University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...
's
ophthalmology Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...
institute until
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 ...
. Since the war, it has been used as a military hospital again and fell into disrepair.


21st century

In the early years of the century the complex housed the Sapieha Hospital (). Since 2012, the palace has been undergoing restoration, in an attempt to bring it as close as possible to its original Baroque appearance.


See also

*
Sapieha Palace, Warsaw Sapieha Palace () is one of the palaces in Warsaw New Town district of Warsaw, Poland. Started by the powerful Sapieha family who gave the name to the building, it currently houses the Environmental Protection School Complex. History 18th centu ...
*
Slushko Palace Slushko Palace (, ) in Vilnius, Lithuania is a Baroque palace situated on the left bank of Neris River in the Old Town elderate, former Antakalnis suburb of the city. The palace was erected in 1690–1700 by voivode of Polock Dominik Słuszko ...


References


External links


Pictures of the ensemble


Bibliography

* {{Residential Castles and Manors in Lithuania Palaces in Vilnius Houses completed in 1697 1697 establishments in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Baroque palaces in Lithuania