Presidential Palace of Poland

Presidential Palace of Poland

Presidential Palace of Poland, city of Warsaw (Warszawa). The most magnificent building on Krakowskie Przedmiescie Street gained its modern appearance in the 19th century, during a major renovation. Originally the palace was designed in the Baroque style in 1643 at the initiative of the Crown Hetman Stanislaw Koniecpolski, who used it as his Warsaw residence. In 1659 the building was bought by Crowning Marshal Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski, and then from 1674, the palace was owned by the Radziwill family, when it became the place of frequent public meetings, balls and feasts. In 1818 the palace was the seat of the Government of the Polish Kingdom, and was redesigned in a classicist fashion, designed by Chrystian Piotr Aigner. In 1821, stone lions by Camillo Laudini were set in front of the palace, and they stand there to this day. The palace was rebuilt after the fire of 1852, after which time it held meetings of the Agricultural Society and balls celebrating the Tsar’s visits. In 1918, the building was taken over by the Polish authorities and used as the seat of the Prime Minister and his government. During World War II, the interior of the palace was completely reconstructed as a luxury hotel with a Deutsches Haus casino. After the war, the palace was once again renovated and rebuilt, when it became the office of the Council of Ministers, before being used for various formal meetings. In 1955, the Warsaw Treaty was signed at the palace, and the Round Table meetings gathered there in 1989. The monument to Prince Józef Poniatowski (designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen) was erected in 1965. Since July of 1994, the palace has been the official seat of the President of the Republic of Poland.
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