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| The Royal Castle in Warsaw
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the decision to rebuild the Royal Castle, one of the greatest symbols of the Polish state.
The castle, which was destroyed during World War II, first appears in historical records at the end of the 13th century, when the Princes of Mazovia of the House of Piast built a stronghold where the Royal Castle stands today. In the 14th century, the granite Grodzka Tower was built and at the beginning of the 15th century the Gothic Greater Court was built as the residence of the prince. The Smaller Court and numerous other buildings appeared soon after. Following the death of the last prince, Mazovia was incorporated into the Kingdom of Poland.
In 1569-1572, King Zygmunt August ordered the castle to be converted into a royal residence. Giovanni Battista Quadro and Jakub Pario prepared a Renaissance design for renovating the medieval structure. In 1569, the Royal Castle became the site where the Sejm of the Republic of Poland held debates. Zygmunt III Vasa chose the castle in Warsaw as his permanent royal residence. In 1596-1619, on his commission, the castle was converted again according to designs prepared by G. Rodondo and M. Castello. The bulk of the castle was finally completed in 1619, in the form it kept until its destruction in 1944.
A clock with four faces was installed on Zygmuntowska Tower in 1622, and in 1644 a monument to Zygmunt III Vasa, founded by his son Władysław IV, was placed on a tall column near the castle. During the reign of these two kings, the castle was a marvelous gallery of art. Visitors were amazed by its splendid interiors, precious tapestries and outstanding paintings. Władysław IV's Opera was one of the best in Europe. An experiment involving a flying machine was carried out on the castle's terrace. During the Swedish Deluge of 1655-1656, the castle was devastated and the art collection stolen. After 1658, the king returned to the castle along with the state's main offices and archives. Monarchs Jan Kazimierz, Michał Korybut and especially Jan III Sobieski, famous for his victory at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, took great care in restoring the castle's interiors to their former glory.
During the Northern War 1700-1721, the castle was again occupied by the Swedes, who destroyed the western turrets along the wall, the Theater Room and the cupola of the Grodzka Tower. The Swedes also vandalized the interiors and made the ministerial rooms into stables. More repairs were made in 1704-1705. In the 18th century, the Saxon house of Wettin acceded to the Polish throne, with Saxon kings and Stanisław Leszczyński reigning alternately. Despite political problems, various construction work on the castle continued. The most important project at that time, the conversion of the eastern wing in 1740-1746, giving it a splendid Rococo facade overlooking the Vistula, was implemented during the reign of August III.
The castle flourished, not only from the artistic point of view, during the reign of Poland's last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski (1764-1795). The boldest initiatives of the Polish Enlightenment originated at the castle in this period, such as the School of Cadets, the National Theater and the National Education Commission. The castle chambers witnessed the composition and acceptance of the provisions of the May 3 Constitution in 1791. The constitution sealed reforms aimed at making Poland a modern state, and it was the first such written initiative in Europe and the second in world history, after the U.S. Constitution. King Stanisław August commissioned numerous designs for converting the castle. A new wing linking the castle with the Pod Blach± Palace was built in 1779-1782 to house the Royal Library. The castle interiors were redecorated according to designs prepared by J. Fontana, D. Merlini and J. Ch. Kamsetzer. As a result, magnificent formal and residential rooms came into being in 1768-1786. They included the king's residential chambers, the Throne Room, Ballroom, Knights' Room, Audience Room and King's Bedroom, decorated with paintings by M. Bacciarelli, Canaletto (B. Belotto) and J. B. Plersch, and sculptures by J. Monaldi, A. Le Brun and others.
After Poland regained independence, the castle was turned into a formal state facility. In 1926, it became the residence of the president of Poland and the venue of the most important state ceremonies and meetings. Apartments for people of merit were arranged in the castle at the decision of President Stanisław Wojciechowski. The great Polish writer Stefan Żeromski lived there until his death.
On the tragic "Black Sunday," Sept. 17, 1939, the Royal Castle was set ablaze by Nazi bombs and artillery. Parts of the interior survived, thanks to fire-resistant ceilings built in the interwar period and to Warsaw residents who rushed to extinguish the fire. During the first months of the German occupation, the castle was completely devastated and looted by the enemy. However, Poles managed to save many works of art, architectural details and paneling sets for future renovation. The Germans prepared and consistently implemented plans to liquidate the castle. Hitler condemned the structure to extermination as a symbol of Polish statehood. In February 1940, only the plundered walls remained of what was once the Royal Castle. The Nazis drilled 10,000 holes for dynamite explosives in the walls, and in 1944, following the Warsaw Uprising, on the eve of the city's liberation, the walls were blown up. Only the southwestern corner, the lower part of Grodzka Tower, cellars and the building of the Royal Library survived.
Preparations for rebuilding of the Royal Castle began immediately following the liberation of Warsaw. Grodzka Gate was reconstructed from surviving fragments in 1947, the monument to King Zygmunt was placed on a 22-meter granite column in 1949, and in 1950 architects started design work on rebuilding the castle. By 1964, the site was cleared and a year later the reconstruction of the basement was completed. The decision to entirely rebuild the castle was made Jan. 20, 1971, chiefly thanks to many years of efforts made by Prof. Stanisław Lorentz. The Citizens' Committee for the Rebuilding of the Royal Castle in Warsaw was established in 1971. Poles, both those living in the country and abroad, raised funds for the reconstruction. In 1974, the external walls of the castle were ready and work began on interior decoration. In 1977, the restoration of 36 chambers was completed, and two years later the castle received the official name of the Royal Castle in Warsaw-Monument of National History and Culture. In 1984, on the 45th anniversary of the German invasion of Poland, the Royal Castle was opened to the public.
The external form of the rebuilt castle is based on historical sources. All fragments of the surviving walls and the interiors' layout were preserved. The general contractor of the project, the Ateliers of Historic Building Conservation (PKZ), under the direction of Prof. Jan Bogusławski, cooperated with an academic commission headed by Lorentz, a historical and archeological commission headed by Prof. Aleksander Gieysztor, and an architectural and conservation commission headed by Prof. Jan Zachwatowicz.
Every effort was made to reconstruct the building as faithfully as possible, for example, bricks with Gothic measurements were especially produced and the quarry of Szydłowiec, closed long ago, was reopened in order to obtain the appropriate material for stonework and sculpture decorations. The furnishings of the Stanisław August formal and residential rooms were reconstructed from authentic elements. Conservators restored the Royal Apartment and the Great Apartment (including the Throne Room, Canaletto Room, Marble Room and Ballroom), the Senators' Room, the Matejko Rooms, Duke Stanisław's Apartment, the Royal Chambers and the Old Deputies' Chamber.
The restoration work was conducted on the basis of surviving authentic parts and designs and archival pictures stolen at the beginning of the war from the Gestapo headquarters. Around 300 paintings, nearly 60 sculptures, and well over 100 pieces of furniture, bronze ware and tapestries survived the war. Also saved were images of Polish kings from the Marble Room and portraits of foreign monarchs from the Conference Studio. Now, just as it was before the war, Canaletto's views of Warsaw hang on the walls of the Canaletto Room, restored from authentic period elements. Bacciarelli's Panorama of Warsaw was reconstructed in the Old Audience Room. Original designs made by J.Ch. Kamsetzer in the 18th century were used to carry out the faithful reconstruction of the Knights' Room. Some of the interiors were furnished with carefully selected furniture, paintings and utilitarian objects from appropriate periods. While the conservators cared for every historic detail, the building was equipped with a modern air-conditioning system, elevators and fire protection, anti-burglary and electronic protection systems. All the devices were installed without any need to change the basic shape of the castle, and an underground level was built especially for technical purposes below the castle cellars and ancient foundations.
Last year, the implementation of a 10-year plan to complete the castle's reconstruction started with the restoration of the facade. At present, the renovation of the Kubicki Arcades, Pod Blach± Palace and Castle gardens is planned.
The Royal Castle's collections are presented at various permanent exhibitions, including writer Stefan Żeromski's Apartment, President Ignacy Mo¶cicki's Studio, the Rooms of the Polish Government-in-Exile, Orders Room and Numismatic Studio. The cellars house daily-use items excavated at the site of the Royal Castle or elsewhere in the Old Town. Oriental rugs from Teresa Sahakian's collection are presented at Pod Blach± Palace. The castle also organizes temporary exhibits -in February and March Death in the Culture of Old Poland was presented at the castle.
In 1981, an international group of UNESCO experts named the Historic Center of Warsaw, composed of the Old Town and the Royal Castle, to UNESCO's World Heritage List.
2004-01-01, Biuro Promocji Miasta
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