Editing Presidential Palace, Warsaw (section)

=== 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]].