Krasiński Palace

Image:Krasinskich 5 01.jpg.]]

The palace was built in 1677–83 for the Voivode of Płock, Jan Dobrogost Krasiński, according to design by Tylman van Gameren. It was decorated with pediment reliefs showing the triumph of the legendary "ancestor" of the Ślepowron and Korwin Polish clans, the Roman commander Manius Valerius Maximus Corvinus Messalla (263 BC) and sculptural work, all by Andreas Schlüter.{{cite book | title = Warszawa w latach 1526-1795 (Warsaw in 1526-1795) | year = 1984 | editor = Stefan Kieniewicz | location =Warsaw | isbn =83-01033-23-1 |language=pl}}

Jan Dobrogost Krasiński, who also served as the royal clerk (Referendarz), was a descendant of old Mazovian nobility and an heir to a large fortune. After his father's death he wished to erect a magnificent residence in the capital which was to fulfill his excessive political ambitions and show his enormous pride, which made him cultivate and develop a 16th-century legend about the antique origin and alleged royal connections of his family.

Krasiński was well acquainted with French culture and architecture; he was interested in hiring qualified and renowned French artists and architects that would perform the work. He kept a detailed accountancy book in which he systematically recorded progress in construction. The whole idea was realized according to the design of Tylman van Gameren. He was of Dutch origin, educated in Italy, and he was brought to Poland by the Lubomirski family. He made a large number of various designs for Lubomirskis, the Royal Family, the representatives of different noblemen and gentry families as well as for the Catholic Church. Some Warsaw architects were also employed to build the palace as building contractors, as suppliers of materials or to control the master craftsmen, bricklayers or artisans. These people were Joseph Bellotti, Jacob Solari, Izydor Affaita and Maderni. The main role in decorating the palace was played by German sculptor, Andreas Schlüter, who had previously cooperated with Tylman.

File:Palloni Jan Dobrogost Krasiński.png]]

The first floor porte-fenêtre (vertical French door and window) was crowned with a cartouche supported by two angels bearing the founder's monogram JK for Jan Krasiński. The frescoes were made by John III Sobieski's court painter Michelangelo Palloni. Among his notable works in the palace, most worth mentioning are the plafond and frescoes in the {{lang|de|supraportes}} (the space between the portal and ceiling) of the palace's vestibule. Moulding which remain in vestibule and partly in the stairwell, also the heads of pilasters or festoons on external elevations made of stucco as well as the armorial cartouche of the façade from the garden side were made by unknown artists under the supervision of Joseph Belloti. The lost paintings in the vestibule destroyed during World War II were painted by Michael Palloni. The interiors were partially finished by 1699. Other paintings by Albrecht Dürer, Antonio da Correggio, Rembrandt and Peter Paul Rubens are no longer present.{{cite web |url = http://www.um.warszawa.pl/v_syrenka/perelki/index_en.php?mi_id=71&dz_id=4 |title = Krasiński Palace |work = eGuide / Treasures of Warsaw on-line |access-date = 2008-09-22}}

The palace-garden complex was created on a vast property between Długa and Świętojerska Streets, in the place of the old manor house with small garden that belonged to Krasiński. Krasiński purchased some surrounding plots to extend the gardens. According to Gameren's conception, the palace was intended as a French style palace entre cour et jardin (between the entrance court and the garden) with cour d'honneur, two symmetrical outbuildings, parterre garden (à la française) with three radial alleys and a palace in the center of the axis, but it was never fully accomplished.

In 1765 the palace was purchased by the Rzeczpospolita (Commonwealth; the Polish State) and became the seat of the Treasury Commission. After a fire in 1783 it was remodelled according to Domenico Merlini's design. During the interwar period, the palace housed the Supreme Court of Poland.

The palace was burned down and partially demolished by the Germans during World War II, with the outer shell remaining mostly intact.{{cite news |author = Krystyna Kreyser |url = http://www.gazetaecho.pl/cgi-bin/echo/wawa/spacer/palackrasinskich |title = Pałac Krasińskich |work = www.gazetaecho.pl |publisher = "Puls Warszawy" No. 10 |access-date = 2009-03-29 |language = pl |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071128181523/http://www.gazetaecho.pl/cgi-bin/echo/wawa/spacer/palackrasinskich |archive-date = 2007-11-28 }}{{cite news |url = http://www.warsawtour.pl/index.php?id=56&pid=1566293765& |title = Plac Krasińskich i ulica Długa |work =www.warsawtour.pl |date =August 1998 |access-date = 2009-03-23|language=pl}} Today it is a part of the Polish National Library's Special Collections Section (specializing in manuscripts and old prints) from the Załuski Library (only 5% of the former collection remains in the palace, the rest was deliberately destroyed by the Germans after the collapse of the Warsaw Uprising in October 1944).Wanda M. Rudzińska, Straty w zbiorach Gabinetu Rycin Biblioteki Uniwersyteckiej w Warszawie w latach II wojny światowej {{cite web |url=http://www.uw.edu.pl/pl.php/kwart/rycbuw.html |title=Uniwersytet Warszawski |access-date=2008-01-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060214200207/http://www.uw.edu.pl/pl.php/kwart/rycbuw.html |archive-date=2006-02-14 }}{{cite news |author =Tomasz Stańczyk |url =http://www.rzeczpospolita.pl/specjal_041002/specjal_a_26.html |title =Blizny i relikty |newspaper=Rzeczpospolita |number=232 |date =2 October 2004 |access-date =2009-03-23 |language =pl |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090612085713/http://www.rzeczpospolita.pl/specjal_041002/specjal_a_26.html |archive-date =12 June 2009 }} Between 2014–2016, the palace underwent an extensive revitalization.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bn.org.pl/projekty/skarbiec-pismiennictwa-rzeczypospolitej---rewitalizacja-i-aranzacja-wnetrz-palacu-rzeczypospolitej/historia-palacu |language=pl |title=Historia Pałacu |website=bn.org.pl |access-date=13 May 2024}}

On 21 May 2024, the palace opened its doors to visitors for the first time in its history. It houses a large permanent exhibition consisting of some of the priceless objects from the National Library including Sankt Florian Psalter, Holy Cross Sermons, manuscripts of the chronicles of Gallus Anonymus and Wincenty Kadłubek, Medieval and Renaissance works of European thinkers as well as works by Jan Kochanowski, Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki, Frédéric Chopin, Henryk Sienkiewicz, Zbigniew Herbert, Henryk Górecki and Agnieszka Osiecka. The palace offers a free admission six days per week except on Tuesdays.{{Cite web |url=https://www.whitemad.pl/en/krasinski-palace-opens-its-doors-for-the-first-time-in-its-history-it-will-present-valuable-exhibits/#:~:text=Krasi%C5%84ski%20Palace%2C%20also%20known%20as%20the%20Palace%20of,most%20valuable%20exhibits%20from%20the%20National%20Library%E2%80%99s%20treasury. |title=KRASIŃSKI PALACE OPENS ITS DOORS! FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ITS HISTORY IT WILL PRESENT VALUABLE EXHIBITS |website=whitemad.pl |author=Mateusz Markowski |date=25 April 2024 |access-date=22 May 2024}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.rp.pl/kultura/art40421851-wielkie-otwarcie-palacu-rzeczypospolitej-na-placu-krasinskich-w-warszawie-wideo |language=pl |title=Wielkie otwarcie Pałacu Rzeczypospolitej na Placu Krasińskich w Warszawie (WIDEO) |website=rp.pl |author=Monika Kuc |date=22 May 2024 |access-date=22 May 2024}}

Image:Krasinski Square Warsaw.jpg|Krasinski Square, 1890s

Image:Pałac Krasińskich w Warszawie przed 1939.jpg|The Palace in 1939

Image:Pomnik Kilińskiego waf 2012-2719-23 (1945).jpg|Soon after World War II

Image:Biblioteka Narodowa (Pałac Krasińskich2) (fot. Janusz Drzewucki).jpg|Garden façade

Image:Krasiński Palace in Warsaw, 2021.jpg|Krasiński Palace next to the Supreme Court of Poland

Image:Andreas Schlueter Palac Krasinskich 1.jpg|Pediment: Triumph of Marcus Valerius Corvinus by Andreas Schlüter

Image:Ogród Krasińskich- IV 2016.jpg|Krasiński Garden

• List of palaces in Poland
• Field Cathedral of the Polish Army
• Załuski Library
• Czapski Palace - Warsaw's other palace that is sometimes called "Krasiński Palace"

{{cite book|last1=Mossakowski|first1=Stanisław|title=Pałac Krasińskich|date=1972|publisher=PWN|location=Warsaw}}

{{cite book|last1=Mossakowski|first1=Stanisław|title=Tylman from Gameren|date=2012|publisher=DiG|location=Kraków}}

{{cite book|title=The Encyclopedia of Warsaw|date=1994|publisher=PWN}}

{{cite book|last1=Putkowska|first1=Jolanta|title=The Architecture of Warsaw in XVII century|date=1991|publisher=PWN}}

{{cite book|last1=Miłobędzki|first1=Adam|title=The Polish Architecture in the XVII century|date=1980|publisher=PWN}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Krasiński Palace}}

• {{in lang|pl}} [http://www.warszawa1939.pl/index.php?r1=krasinskich_5&r3=0 Sąd Najwyższy]. Historical pictures of the palace.
• {{in lang|pl}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20080209161637/http://www.varsovia.pl/varsovia/item.php-frame%3Ditem%26mapa%3D0%26item%3D3516%26top%3D23.htm Pałac Krasińskich w Warszawie]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Krasinski Palace}}

Category:Houses completed in 1683

Category:Palaces in Warsaw

Category:Baroque architecture in Warsaw

Category:Baroque palaces in Poland

Category:Rebuilt buildings and structures in Warsaw

Category:1683 establishments in Europe

Category:Muranów (City Information System area)

Category:National Library of Poland