Presidential Palace (Warsaw)

The first palace on this site was built for the great crown hetman Stanislav Konetspolsky . The palace was designed by the court architect Vladislav IV Constantino Tenkalla . It was a sample of the Genoese residence, with the first Italian-type garden in Poland , which descended to the Vistula , which then flowed at the very foot of the coastal cliff. Construction began in 1643. Stanislav Konetspolsky intended the palace for his Warsaw residence (his main residence was Brody ), but in 1646 the hetman died and the work was completed by his son Alexander .

The palace was a two-story, with turrets on the sides, with terraces of the garden, going down to the pier on the Vistula . Everything was in accordance with the principle of entre cour et jardin (between the courtyard and the garden).

In 1659, the palace acquired a full hetman and the great corona marshal Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski , but already in 1674 the palace passed into the hands of the Radzivils of the Nezvezhskaya line, becoming the place of frequent receptions, balls and celebrations. In 1694, the palace was rebuilt according to the design of Carl Ceroni and Augustine Lossi, and in 1738-1740 it was rebuilt again according to the design of Antonio Solari. The next restructuring, designed by Jan Zygmunt Deible , was in the years 1755-1759.

In 1762, the owner of the palace was Karol Stanislav Radziwill, nicknamed “Pane Kohanku” , known for its riotous lifestyle and ostentatious, extremely expensive, celebrations. When he quarreled with Czartoryski and King Stanislav Augustus Poniatowski , he ceased to be in Warsaw, because of which in 1768 the palace was leased to Francis Ricks and adapted for the theater (including the National Theater ), and a separate royal box was allocated . It was in this palace that the first Polish opera, “ Overcome Poverty ” (“Nędza uszczęśliwiona”) by Matsei Kamensky, with Wojciech Boguslavsky’s libretto, was staged. The theater functioned until 1778, and during its existence made major repairs in the palace.

Although the palace still belonged to the Radziwills, Karol Stanislav was very hard to take him back from the artists after his return to Warsaw. The palace belonged to him until 1790, and in 1791-1792, during the four-year Sejm , meetings of the Union of Friends of the Constitution were held in the palace .

In 1818 the palace was bought by the administration of the Kingdom of Poland for the residence of the governor . For these purposes, the palace was completely rebuilt in the years 1818-1819, designed by Christian Peter Aigner . The palace was rebuilt in the style of classicism , in accordance with the Palladian scheme . The side wings were brought to the line of the street, only the colonnade of the stalls of the building remained not rebuilt. The facade also gained Corinthian columns and was decorated with ten sculptures by Paul Malinsky. The garden side of the building was rebuilt in the neo - renaissance style . In 1821 stone lions were installed in front of the palace, the work of Camillo Laudini.

The first (and only) governor who lived in the palace was General Jozef Zayonchek and his wife Alexander. They occupied the palace until 1826. Since then, the palace was named "Viceroy." On February 24, 1818, Frederic Chopin gave his first public concert in the palace, a memorial plaque mounted on the building reminds of it. In the 20s of the 19th century, a monument to Jozef Poniatovsky was planned to be erected in front of the palace, but this was not realized due to the start of the November Uprising . During the uprising in the palace was the residence of the dictator Jozef Hlopitskogo and the National Government. After the suppression of the uprising, the palace was used for various purposes, and on March 6, 1852 it burned down. The damaged palace was restored to its original form by 1856 according to the project of Alfons Kropivnitsky. In the newly renovated building, a big ball was given in honor of Alexander II .

In 1870, a monument to Ivan Paskevich was erected in front of the palace, and in 1879, the canvas of the Grunwald Battle by Jan Matejko was publicly displayed in the Column Hall of the Palace.

On August 5, 1915, after the withdrawal of the Russian army from Warsaw, the soldiers of the Warsaw battalion set up a watch for the first time at the palace. A memorial plaque on the building reminds of this event. The monument to Paskevich was demolished in 1917, and in 1918 the palace was taken over by the Polish authorities. In 1919-1921 the palace was repaired by the project of Marian Lalevich for the residence of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Poland . In the side wings were placed the offices of the Office of the Council of Ministers.

The palace suffered little during the Second World War, due to the fact that the Nazis housed in it a luxury hotel with a casino called “Deutsches Haus”. To this end, the interior of the building was also rebuilt and the bases of the lions from the side of the Krakow suburb were enlarged. On February 4, 1944, a memorial service for Franz Kutcher , killed by the Polish underground was held in the Palace of the Governors three days before. At the same time, the “Junker wedding” Kutcher was played with his Norwegian lover, expecting a child from him. It was the only opportunity to provide the child with privileges from the government of the Third Reich .

After the war, the palace was repaired and re-planned to house the Council of Ministers, which had previously functioned on the Uyazdov Alley . Redevelopment was carried out under the direction of Theodore Boucher and Anthony Yavornitsky. The palace had representative functions, it held ceremonies for professors, New Year's balls and meetings with artists. In 1955, a signing ceremony of the “ Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance ” (the Warsaw Pact) was held in the palace. In 1970, the "Agreement on the normalization of relations between the Polish People's Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany" signed , and in 1989, the meetings of the Round Table .

April 18, 1952 in the palace was a presentation of the project of the Palace of Culture and Science , in the presence of Lev Rudnev .

In 1965, a monument to Jozef Poniatowski was erected in front of the palace. Before the war, the monument stood in front of the Saxon Palace and was destroyed by the Nazis in 1944. In the Bertel Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen, the Danes found a model of the original monument and made a copy of it at their own expense, which was originally installed at the Old Orangery in Lazienki .

In 1990, a major overhaul of the palace began, in order to accommodate the residence of the President of Poland and his office. Then the palace got its modern name. The second floor is entirely intended for the private apartments of the president and his family. The first of the presidents in the palace was Lech Walesa , who in 1994 transferred his residence to the palace from Belvedere . Then the palace was the residence of Alexander Kwasniewski and Lech Kaczynski . In 2010, a memorial plaque to President Kaczynski, who was killed near Smolensk, was installed on the building. After the catastrophe, the square in front of the palace became a place of remembrance for the dead and a wooden cross was erected here, as the preparation of a future monument. Due to the disagreement of local and church authorities, the cross was moved to the church of St. Anna . Bronislav Komarovsky transferred his residence to the Belvedere .

Main Entrance Hall

The main lobby is very modestly furnished. Its main decorations are the marble fireplace, the Gdansk-style baroque wardrobe and the painting “The Death of Tsiprian Godebski near Raszyn ” by Yanuariy Sukhodolsky . In the main lobby they welcome guests on behalf of the president, he himself meets them here only if guests are heads of state.

Novoselsky Hall

In the Novoselsky Hall there are 10 works by this artist, including abstractions, landscapes and icons. Jerzy Novoselsky , who died in 2011, was one of the best representatives of modern Polish culture.

Chapel

The chapel dedicated to the Annunciation of St. Virgin Mary is the place of prayer of the president, his family and the ministers of the office, as well as invited guests. On the wall are gifts from popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI , as well as a cross found under the ruins of the World Trade Center . Next to the cross is a tablet dedicated to the terrorist attack in New York . In the place where the Roman popes prayed, corresponding memorial tablets are placed. On the wall is a plaque to the victims of the Smolensk catastrophe and the presidential chaplain, the priest Roman Indreichik .

Every year the harpsors present in the chapel to the president the Bethlehem Peace Fire .

Rococo Hall

The Rococo Hall is sometimes also called the "women's hall". When the heads of state negotiate in the White Hall, their wives are waiting for completion in the Rococo Hall. The wives of the Polish presidents are engaged in charity work in this room and receive their guests here. It happens that in this room the president presents souvenirs to his guests.

White Hall

White Hall is the most important in the Presidential Palace. Here the head of the Republic of Poland receives heads of other states. The hall is located on the axis of the main entrance, from which the guests, after their meeting with the President in the Lobby, pass to the White Hall for primary negotiations. In these conversations, not all the delegation arriving in Poland takes part, but only the most important persons. The hall is decorated with paintings of the XVII and XVIII centuries, as well as Meissen porcelain vases.

Dining

In the Dining Room, the President gives official dinners in honor of his guests. It happens that the head of the Cabinet or the head of the Office of the President accepts people here whom the President cannot meet on this day.

Blue Hall

In the Blue Hall held major conferences and reception of foreign delegations. In the middle of the table set in the hall is the official seat of the president. On the walls hang two important portraits - Prince Poniatowski and Tadeusz Kostiushki .

Staircase

The stairwell connects the Hetman Hall with the Hallway and the Column Hall. At the foot of the stairs is a statue of "Prometheus" by Pius of Velensky .

Hallway

The entrance hall is a meeting room for guests in front of the ballroom. When the Column Hall was a Ballroom, it was in her that the arrival of the guests was announced. Today, it is possible to pass through it to the Presidential Secretariat, as well as to the office of the head of the Presidential Office. In addition, it is here that the ceremony of welcoming guests before the official lunches given by the president in honor of the heads of other states who are in Poland on an official visit. There is a special ceremony during which guests stand in a row, holding cards with a name and a surname. Before meeting with the head of state, the cards are handed over to the head of the protocol, who loudly reads the guest’s first and last name. Then the guests pass to the Column Hall and take seats at their tables.

Column (Ballroom) Hall

The Column Hall is the largest and, thanks to television, the most famous hall of the palace. All events in which many people participate take place in this very hall. Here the president approves and dissolves the government, assigns scientific titles, appoints judges, assigns general ranks, awards the highest state awards and titles.

This hall witnessed the most important events in the modern history of Poland. In it in 1955, the leaders of Poland, the USSR and other countries of the communist bloc, signed the Warsaw Pact . In 1989, in this hall, the authorities conferred at the Round Table with representatives of the opposition. 10 years later, on March 12, 1999, an agreement on Poland’s accession to NATO was signed in this hall, and on July 23, 2003, accession to the European Union .

Girandol in this room has 5 levels and 80 candles, in the lower part there are 3,600 lenses. In the XIX century, this girandol was illuminated with gas.

In February 2009, the carpet was changed in the hall. The former has lain in this room for 40 years. The new carpet with an area of ​​185 m², was designed by a well-known expert in the field of artistic weaving, Professor Yolanta Rudzka-Habisyk and was made at the Agnella carpet factory.

In this room there are also official dinners in honor of the leaders of the most important states, usually starting at 1 pm and lasting about two hours. During the official dinner, according to the protocol, the president can say a toast in honor of the invited guest.

Banquet (Picture) Hall

Banquet Hall is sometimes called the Picture for the number and size of paintings that adorn it. During major events, public holidays or important awards, a dessert for guests is served in this room. Newly appointed president judges, professors, generals and members of the government come out of the Column to this hall. The Banquet Hall also hosts meetings of the Presidential Cabinet, a government body directly headed by the President of the Republic of Belarus. Ceremonies for the presentation of credentials to newly appointed ambassadors are also held here. Sometimes the hall is used for meetings of the president with the press.

Hetman Hall

In the Hetman Hall sign the most important treaties and protocols. In such cases in the hall put a long table and chairs.

Knight's Hall

In the Knights' Hall, delegations await the end of conversations between the heads of their delegations and the president. In these cases, a table and chairs are installed in the hall.

Winter Garden

The Winter Garden was created by Maria Kaczynska in the unused terrace. Now this is the room where the old is next to the new. Stained glass windows are devoted to the seasons. Often, desserts are served in this room and backstage talks are held. Two sculptures are the decoration of the Garden - “Psyche with Pigeons” by Viktor Brodsky in 1881 and “Kalina” by Piyus Velyonsky in 1896.

Presidential Apartments ^[5]

President’s apartments are located on the second floor of the palace and include a number of rooms for various purposes:

• The Office of the Head of the Presidential Office - Here works the "right hand" of the head of state.
• Office of the President - Here is the main writing desk of the country, at which the president signs decrees and orders. Also here are special secure phones.
• Library - Contains a large amount of literature on history and public administration.
• Kitchen - The presidential couple has a personal chef, but often the first ladies, and even the presidents themselves, such as, for example, Alexander Kwasniewski , willingly cook themselves.
• Presidential Dining Room - The President and his wife, as well as family members and friends of the presidential couple, eat at a huge table.
• Bedroom
• Working library
• Bathroom - According to rumors, Yolanta Kwasniewska loved to dance here. And Danuta Walesa ordered to install sinks with crystal decoration.
• Living room - During the time of Alexander Kwasniewski his daughter, Alexander, lived here. Also here sometimes spent the night Martha Kaczynska ^[6] .
• The room of the wife of the president - Here the first lady can take her friends.
• Cabinet of the first lady - Place of daily work of the wife of the president.

Trips to the Presidential Palace

A visit to the Presidential Palace is possible for organized groups from Monday to Friday, from 9:00 to 15:00, by prior arrangement. The visit is free, guided and lasts 60 minutes. Those interested in visiting should send the completed request form ^[7] to e-mail wycieczki@prezydent.pl or to fax number 22 695 11 09. Firms engaged in commercial tourist activities cannot order a visit. You will need an ID to visit.