Editing Presidential Palace, Warsaw (section)

==History==

=== Palace during Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: 1643—1795 ===
Construction of the present-day Presidential Palace in Warsaw was begun in 1643 by Crown Great [[Hetman]] [[Stanisław Koniecpolski]], owner of the town of [[Brody]] (80&nbsp;km. east of [[Lwów]]) and of numerous ''[[latifundia]]'' situated in Poland's eastern borderlands; hence the palace's first name was "''Pałac Koniecpolskich''"—the "[[Koniecpolski]] Palace".<ref name="eguide">{{in lang|en}} {{cite web |url = http://www.um.warszawa.pl/v_syrenka/perelki/index_en.php?mi_id=101&dz_id=12 |title = Presidential Palace |work = eGuide / Treasures of Warsaw on-line |access-date = 2008-07-24}}</ref> It was said that he owned so much landed property that he could cross the breadth of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Commonwealth]] while spending every night in one of his own manors. The palace was not completed in the Hetman's lifetime, as he died unexpectedly in 1646 at his Brody residence, a few weeks after taking a young wife.

[[File:Koniecpolski Palace by Dahlberg 1656.jpg|thumb|left|Koniecpolski Palace in 1656; it was burned down during the [[Deluge (history)|Deluge]]]]

The palace's architect was [[Constantino Tencalla]], architect to Poland's King [[Wladislaus IV of Poland|Władysław IV]] and designer of [[Sigismund's Column]], in front of the nearby Royal Castle, commemorating [[Sigismund III Vasa|Sigismund III of Poland]]. The palace was completed by Koniecpolski's son [[Aleksander Koniecpolski (1620-1659)|Aleksander]] in the style of a [[baroque]] residence, imitating those of northern Italy and [[Genoa]]. A view of the palace in a Warsaw panorama of 1656<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070220225552/http://www.zamek-krolewski.com.pl/awc131.htm ''The Eagle and Three Crowns'']</ref> by [[Erik Dahlberg]] confirms this.

The next owner of the palace was [[Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski]]—Grand Crown Hetman and Crown Chancellor, and later the leader of [[Rokosz of Lubomirski|a rebellion against the king]]—who bought the palace from [[Aleksander Koniecpolski (1620-1659)|Aleksander Koniecpolski]].

In 1674 the palace became, for the next 144 years, the property of the [[Radziwiłł]] family.

It was bought from descendants of Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski—[[Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski]] and [[Hieronim Augustyn Lubomirski]]—by [[Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł]] of the [[Nieśwież]]–[[Ołyka]] line, whose wife [[Katarzyna Sobieska|Katarzyna]] was a sister of King [[Jan III Sobieski]]. After her death, her son [[Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł (1669–1719)|Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł I]] began renovation of the palace and tidied up its surroundings. He entrusted this task to the king's architect, Augustyn Locci.

[[File:Radziwiłł Palace Warsaw 1762.jpg|thumb|Radziwiłł Palace in 1762]]

The next-to-last heir in tail of [[Nieśwież]] and [[Ołyka]] was [[Karol Stanisław "Panie Kochanku" Radziwiłł]], [[Vilnius Voivodeship|Voivode of Vilnius]], son of [[Michał Kazimierz "Rybeńko" Radziwiłł]]. He had inherited huge estates from his father and uncle which made him the wealthiest [[magnate]] in Poland in the second half of the 18th century, and one of the richest men in Europe. He leased out the palace to Franciszek Ryx to house a theater which staged plays and threw masked balls. During the [[Sejm Wielki|Four-Year Sejm]] of 1788–1792, he invited all the members of the four deliberating estates to dine there daily. Two meals were served every day: breakfast before the day's session, for 300 people, and dinner after the session. One of the most impressive feasts given by him was on St. Catherine's Day, 25 November 1789, the 25th anniversary of [[Stanislaus II Augustus Poniatowski, King of Poland|King Stanisław August]]'s coronation, and commemorating [[Polish–Lithuanian Union|the Union]] of [[Lithuania]] with the [[Polish Crown]]. Four thousand guests were invited, and the feast cost over 2 million [[Polish zloty|zloty]]s.

[[Image:Bellotto Carmelite Church in Warsaw.jpg|thumb|left|[[Carmelite Church, Warsaw|Carmelite Church]] and Radziwiłł Palace (right) in 1780, painting by [[Bernardo Bellotto]]]]

On the night of 2–3 May 1791, a conspiratorial group of members of the Four-Year Sejm who were bent on saving the Commonwealth met at the palace to strategize means to secure the adoption, next day, of the [[3 May Constitution]]. This document is called "the first constitution of its kind in Europe" by historian [[Norman Davies]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jrVW9W9eiYMC&pg=PA699 |first=Norman |last=Davies |title=Europe: A History |year=1996 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=699 |isbn=0-19-820171-0}}</ref>

=== During the partitions: 1795—1918 ===
Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł II died a sick and blind man at age 56. His property was inherited by [[Dominik Hieronim Radziwiłł|Dominik]], son of his half-brother [[Hieronim Wincenty Radziwiłł|Hieronim]]. Dominik, who had been wounded at the [[Battle of Hanau]], died heirless on 11 November 1813. The line of the Nieśwież–Ołyka heirs in tail died out with him.

In 1818 the palace became the seat of the Viceroy of the [[Congress Poland|Polish (Congress) Kingdom]] (when it acquired the name 'Pałac Namiestnikowski' - the Palace of [[Namestnik of Kingdom of Poland]]). The first Viceroy, from 1815, was [[Józef Zajączek]] (1752–1820), former aide-de-champ to Hetman [[Franciszek Ksawery Branicki]], deputy to the Four-year Sejm, secretary of the [[Friends of the Constitution]] (i.e., of the [[3 May Constitution]]), a division commander during the Polish-Russian War of 1792, hero of the Battle of Zieleńce, a Polish [[Jacobin (politics)|Jacobin]], a soldier in [[Jan Henryk Dąbrowski]]'s legions, a general of [[Napoleon]]'s. At the last he adopted a servile attitude toward [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]], King of Poland and Tsar of Russia, who created him a duke in 1818. Zajączek had lost a leg at the [[Berezina River]] and was carried about by his valets in an armchair.

[[Image:2 Palac Prezydencki 33.jpg|thumb|Grand staircase]]

Beginning in 1818 the palace was rebuilt in classicist style by the architect [[Chrystian Piotr Aigner]] (1756–1841).<ref name="eguide" /> He extended the palace (its lower wings reached the line of buildings on [[Krakowskie Przedmieście]]), placed a new grand staircase between the main body of the building and its northern wing, remodeled the palace facades, and redecorated the rooms on the first and second floors of the main body of the building. Because of its massive vaulting, the ground floor remained unchanged. Aigner had two associates: Camillo Landini, who sculpted the four stone lions guarding the palace courtyard on the Krakowskie Przedmieście side, and Mikołaj Monti, an Italian painter. The main body of the building was remodeled to the [[Corinthian order]] and ornamented with [[column]]s, [[pilaster]]s, [[balustrade]] and stone [[statue]]s. Aigner is inseparably linked with the Viceregal (Polish: ''Namiestnikowski'')—today, Presidential—Palace as the creator of its classicist exterior, which survives unchanged to this day.

The year 1852 brought disaster to the palace. A fire burned the main body of the building almost to the ground. Only charred walls remained. Reconstruction was entrusted to Alfons Kropiwnicki (1803–1881). The reconstruction of the palace was completed in 1856. The palace obtained the same architectural exterior as before the fire, but the interior was enriched with new decorative elements. The author of the room decorations was Bolesław Podczaszyński.

[[Image:Koniecpolski Palace.jpg|thumb|left|Viceregal Palace, with statue of [[Ivan Paskevich]], before 1900]]

In the rebuilt palace, gatherings of the Agricultural Society were held, and balls were organized when the tsars visited Poland. In 1870, a statue of [[Ivan Paskevich]] was unveiled there. In 1879, in the palace's colonnade hall, the inhabitants of Warsaw for the first time saw "The [[Battle of Grunwald]]", a historical painting by [[Jan Matejko]]. At the turn of the 20th century, the Tarnowski Palace to the right (south) of the building was pulled down, and in 1899-1901 the luxurious [[Hotel Bristol in Warsaw|Hotel Bristol]] was built in its place, designed by Władysław Marconi. One of the shareholders in the consortium that built the hotel was the famous pianist and post-World War I Polish prime minister, [[Ignacy Paderewski]].

=== The Second Republic and the Present Day: 1918—Modern ===
In 1918 the building was taken over by the newly reconstituted Polish authorities, and renovation of the palace was entrusted to Marian Lalewicz. The building became the official seat of the chairman of the Council of Ministers (the prime minister) and of the Council of Ministers itself. The side wings housed the chancellery offices of the Council of Ministers. As restored by Lalewicz, the building was greatly admired by Warsaw's inhabitants and visitors. Germany's [[Hermann Göring]], when in February 1937 calling there on Prime Minister General [[Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski]], took such a keen interest in the palace that he arrived late to his meeting with Polish Foreign Minister [[Józef Beck]].

[[File:Pomnik Księcia Józefa Poniatowskiego w Warszawie 2019.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Equestrian statue]] of Prince [[Józef Poniatowski]]]]

In 1939 the palace suffered minimal damage. In 1941–1942 it was radically reconstructed into a ''Deutsches Haus'' by the Polish architects [[Juliusz Nagórski]] and [[Jan Łukasik]]. In the course of the work, [[rococo]] ornamentation in the rooms overlooking the garden was renovated with great care. A couple of ''[[grisaille]]'' paintings were uncovered on the staircase, featuring eagle and weapon motifs. The Germans wanted to remove the eagles as Polish national emblems, but allowed them to remain after it was explained that these were Napoleonic eagles, a favorite motif of the French Empire period. On the ground floor of the right wing, a restaurant was put in, with wooden beam ceiling and a spacious cloakroom. The palace survived the [[Warsaw Uprising]] intact.

After World War II, the palace was thoroughly reconstructed by Antoni Brusche and Antoni Jawornicki. In 1965 [[Bertel Thorvaldsen]]'s classicist equestrian statue of Prince [[Józef Poniatowski]], which previously had stood before the now destroyed Polish General Staff building (the "[[Saxon Palace]]") on nearby [[Piłsudski Square]] (once known as "[[Saxon Square]]"), was relocated to the courtyard before the "Viceroy's Palace."

The reconstructed palace again served as the seat of the [[Council of Ministers of Poland|Council of Ministers]] until the latter moved to its current seat at the [[Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland|Chancellery]] on [[Ujazdów Avenue]].

Since July 1994, the palace has been the official seat of the [[List of presidents of Poland|president of the Republic of Poland]]<ref name="eguide" /> replacing the smaller [[Belweder]] palace. However, President [[Bronislaw Komorowski]] decided to move the residence back to Belweder, purportedly in honor of [[Józef Piłsudski]] and the early presidents of Poland, but the move was understood as an attempt to avoid confrontations with mourners of the late president [[Lech Kaczyński]], killed in the April 2010 [[Smolensk air disaster]] in [[Russia]], who were congregating in front of the palace.