Walk in Warsaw: Royal Route
belvedere, belweder, Warsaw / shutterstock
Belvedere
This majestic palace stands in the middle of Łazienki Park. Its not only the classical architecture that is impressive but also its history. It was given its original name, Belvedere, due to the beautiful views from this place which take your breath away. In Italian 'belvedere' means 'beautiful view'. It was built in the mid-17th century for the wife of Krzysztof Zygmunt Paca, Izabella. In the 1830s the palace was reconstructed and enlarged according to a design by Józef Fontana. King Stanisław August Poniatowski, who became the owner in 1764, designated it a factory, where the famous Belvedere pottery was produced. The present shape of the building is due to a reconstruction from 1818-22 managed by Jakub Kubicki. After the death of Stanisław August Poniatowski it went to Prince Józef Poniatowski. In 1818 the Congress Poland government bought it and made it into the headquarters for the Commander-in-chief of the army, the great Prince Konstanty Pawłowicz. The palace witnessed the events of the November evening (29th Nov 1830) when insurgents, attempting an ultimately ill-fated storming of the headquarters of Prince Konstanty, actually managed to kick-start a national movement. After independence, Belvedere became the headquarters of Marshall Józef Piłsudski and later the presidents of Poland. At the moment, a museum dedicated to Józef Piłsudski is being prepared in Belvedere.