Wilanów Palace, Warsaw, Poland - SpottingHistory.com

The history of the Wilanow Palace, a wonderful Baroque royal residence, began on April 23, 1677, when a village became the property of King John Sobieski III. Augustyn Locci, the king’s court architect, received the task of creating only a ground floor residence of a layout typical for the buildings of the Republic of Poland. However, military successes and an increase of the importance of royalty in the coming years had a huge influence on expanding the initial project. Huge construction works were conducted in the years 1677-1696. After completion, the building comprised of elements of a nobility house, an Italian garden villa and a French palace in the style of Louis XIV. After the death of the King, the Palace became the property of his sons, and in 1720, a run down property was purchased by one of the wealthiest women in Poland of those days – Elizabeth Sieniawska. In 1730, the Palace, for three years, was owned by king August II the Strong, who made considerable changes in the residence, particularly as far as the internal décor is concerned.

In the middle of 18th century, the Wilanów property was inherited by the daughter of Czartoryski, wife of a field marshal, Izabela Lubomirska, during whose reign, Wilanów started shining with its previous glory. Sixty nine years later, the Duchess gave Wilanów to her daughter and her husband, Stanislaw Kostka Potocki. Thanks to his efforts, one of the first museums in Poland was opened in the Wilanów Palace, in 1805.

The exposition consists of two parts: on the main floor you will be able to see the royal apartments of the palace. Rooms where parties took place, chambers where the royal couples listened to music, met their friends and guests, and where they worked and rested. On the first floor there is the Gallery of the Polish Portrait, where you can see the effigies of the Polish monarchs collected over the centuries, representatives of great magnate families, participants of national uprisings, eminent artists and people honored by Poland. Their authors are often prominent Polish and foreign painters.

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Wilanów Palace

User Reviews

Robert Sababady (21 months ago)
Went to the light show in January of 2019 at the Wilanów Palace. The light show is made up of two parts: 1. Parts of the Wilanów Palace gardens lit up with LED lighting (like you have on a Christmas tree). The main fountain near the Vistula river is attractive. I also like the orchard with the apple trees. The rest was plain and not very inspiring. 2. The second part is a laser show using geomapping technology, that uses the front wall of the Palace entrance as a screen to simulate graphically the history of the Palace. Interesting. Kids loved it!

Paul-E. Belanger (21 months ago)
This is the palace of a former Polish king. It is open to the public for visits, and many restaurants are close by. The grounds are well kept and a light show is set up for winter evenings.

Zachary Blask (21 months ago)
Awesome!! One of the coolest light shows I've ever seen, highly recommend!! Prepare to be outside for a minimum an hour as that's how long it takes to see all the lights, become a world renowned photographer (or try at least) and see the show on the side of the palace. The show was all in Polish and didn't really make sense to a non-polish speaker like myself but the animations and the fact that it was on the side of a palace made it pretty cool. Also the place is bustling so be prepared by buying tickets online prior and I recommend taking an Uber to avoid the massive amounts of traffic. All in all, take a Saturday or Sunday night and take a date or family there!

Briana Billings (2 years ago)
Came to see the light show on the Palace an Christmas night. Although I didn't understand anything it was very pretty and the light show was amazing. The entry prices was fair and it was cool to see the Palace at night.

Giorgos Tsigourakos (2 years ago)
One of the most beautiful palaces I ve ever been. It is huge and with a great collection of exhibits and artifacts. If you ever visit Warsaw be sure to visit the palace. It is even more beautiful if it is covered in snow.

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