Visiting the Royal Castle,
one has to remind oneself that most of it was reconstructed between 1971 and
1984, although the darker elements of the decor were actually salvaged from the
ruins. The original was destroyed, along with much else, by the Nazis during
the Second World War. The castle is located on a plateau overlooking the Vistula
River. It was built for the Dukes
of Mazovia and expanded when King Zygmunt III Vasa moved the capital to Warsaw.
From the early 17th until the late 18th century, it was the residence of the
Kings of Poland. It subsequently housed the parliament and is now a museum
displaying tapestries, period furniture, coffin portraits and collections of
porcelain and other decorative arts. Work is currently underway to recreate the
castle gardens, set on the slopes of the Vistula
River, which were also badly
scarred when the Nazis leveled the rest of the castle complex.
Lazienki Park
Besides several sumptuous palaces, Lazienki
Park contains the Chopin
Monument, where the
annual Chopin Festival is held each summer and the Orangerie, set within
extensive 18th-century gardens. The Palac Lazienkowski or Palace on the
Water is best viewed from near the monument to Jan Sobiewski, on the bridge
where ulica Agrykola crosses the water. Originally built in 1624, for King
Zygmunt III Vasa,Zamek Ujazdowski or Ujazdowski
Castle now houses the Center of
Contemporary Art. The 1764 Palac Belweder or Belvedere
Palace was the residence of King
Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski and later of Poland’s
20th-century presidents.
Wilanow Palace
In the mid-1600s, King Jan III Sobieski commissioned Augustyn Locci to build
the Baroque palace and garden of Wilanow
for his summer residence. Construction continued from 1677 until the king’s
death in 1696. Wilanow Palace
remained popular with subsequent monarchs. Visitors can tour the interior and
the gallery, which features portraits of famous Poles. Also here is the Muzeum
Plaktau w Wilanowie or Poster Museum
at Wilanow.