Wilanów Palace (Warsaw): architecture, history, museum and practical information for tourists

Wilanów Palace (Warsaw) - one of the most valuable monuments of Polish baroque. The historic mansion was built in the late 17th century. However, each successive owner rebuilt it.

History of the palace

The building combines a traditional Polish manor house with details of an Italian country villa and a French palace. построил для короля Речи Посполитой Яна III Собеского и Марии Казимиры, его жены, итальянский архитектор Августин Лоцци. In Ilyanivsky Palace , Ian III Sobieski and Maria Kazimira, his wife, the Italian architect Augustine Lozzi, built for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Later it was rebuilt several times by architects such as Giovanni Spazzio, Jan Zygmunt Deibel, Shimon Bogumil Zug, Peter Aigner and Francis Maria Lanci.

After the death of the king, the palace was inherited by his sons, and then to the property of noble families: the magnates of the Senes, Czartoryski, Lubomir, Potocki and Branicki. Each subsequent family introduced certain changes into the appearance of the building, the interior of the palace, the garden and its infrastructure. It is worth noting that in 1805, on the initiative of the then owner, Stanislav Kostka Pototsky, part of the palace was taken under the creation of one of the first public museums in Poland.

Interior and exterior

The Vilani Palace was declared a historical monument in 1994. The architecture of the palace (the facade with one-story wings in half-columns with pilasters) combines the art of building the European tradition of the old Polish farmstead. The royal apartments, located in the central part, are decorated in the Baroque style. The interiors in the southern wing are a real example of the artistic manner of the 18th century. The northern wing was decorated in the 19th century by Count Potocki, then the owner of the estate.

The whole floor is dedicated to the Polish portrait gallery of the 16th-19th centuries. On the canvases of artists immortalized images of monarchs, representatives of great aristocratic families, cultural figures, glorified the country. To the right of the main gate visitors can see neoclassical buildings, the so-called old kitchen and guardhouses, built in 1775-1776 by architect Zug. Stables were set under the leadership of Lanci (1848-1850).

Wilanów Palace is surrounded by a two-level garden. The park was created according to the scheme of the French geometrical plantings of the XVII-XVIII centuries. The landscape part of the pond retains its English character. The area is decorated with statues, fountains and small samples of park architecture.

Museum in the Palace

In 1805, on the initiative of Alexander and Stanislav Kostka Pototsky, a museum was founded in Vilianovo. The Wilyan Palace became state property after 1945. In 1954, when careful restoration work was carried out and valuable frescos and sculptures were found, a new life began at the palace and park. At the same time, the interiors were thoroughly reconstructed.

In 1962, on the anniversary of the siege of Vienna, the palace was opened to the public. The museum operated until 1995, as a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw, and then it was transformed into an independent institution. Starting in 2013, it is called the palace-museum of King John III in Viljanovo. Since the first years of the XXI century, the activities of the panopticon are funded by the European Union and the Ministry of Culture of the country.

The museum organizes temporary exhibitions, conferences and seminars, conducts research, publishes books both scientific and popular, organizes educational events on the cultural values and natural heritage of Vilanuva. Palace And the park also became a venue for cultural events, concerts and meetings.

Wilanów Palace (Warsaw). How to get there?

Palace Open all year round, except for the end of December and early January, as well as the most important religious holidays - Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, Christmas, Assumption and November 1. The palace is also closed to the public on Tuesdays.

The entrance fee to the museum is 20 PLN, preferential - 15, to the park - 5 and 3 respectively. On Thursdays, the entrance to the territory is free, but it is based on tickets issued at the ticket office.

Many tourists are worried, what is the Wilanów Palace? How to get to it? This is no less frequently asked question. The museum is located about 10 km from the center of Warsaw, at the end of the historic Royal Route. There are numerous bus lines.