Belweder, or the Polish road to independence
First a summer mansion of the king, then the seat of the occupants, of Marshal Piłsudski, and finally of the presidents of Poland. The 500-year long history of Belweder is a story of the hard journey of the Polish people to their independence.
The history of Belweder dates back almost 500 years. In the 1st half of the 16th century, a mansion of queen Bona was probably situated in the Warsaw Escarpment area, in the place where the Belweder Palace is currently located. The next owner of the area, Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac, the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, converted the old building or erected a new one in the same place. It was named Belweder, from the Italian “bel vedere,” which means “beautiful view.”
The 2nd half of the 18th century may be regarded as the golden age in the history of the palace. The new owner, Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of Poland, incorporated it into the Łazienki Park – his summer mansion. In this period Belweder was renowned as one of the best faience manufactures.
In 1818 the Palace was bought by the authorities of the Congress Poland and designated for a mansion for the commander-in-chief of the Polish army, Grand Duke Constantine, brother of Tsar Alexander I.
In years 1819-1822 the Palace was thoroughly renovated, according to the design of architect Jakub Kubicki. It was also then that a landscape garden was arranged at the back of Belweder.
On 29th November 1830 the November Uprising broke out in Warsaw. During the attack on Belweder the insurrectionists intended to capture the Grand Duke Constantine. The Duke managed to flee under dramatic circumstances.
Up to the outbreak of World War I both Belweder and the Łazienki Park remained under the administration of Russian tsars. After the Russians had retreated from Warsaw, in 1914-1918, the Palace functioned as the main seat of German General Governor Hans von Beseler.
After Poland regained its independence, Belweder became the property of the reborn Polish country and was included in the group of representative buildings of the Republic of Poland.
In November 1918 the Chief of State, Józef Piłsudski, became a Belweder resident.
Afterwards, up to 1926 the Palace served as the seat of the Presidents of the Republic of Poland – of Gabriel Narutowicz and Stanisław Wojciechowski. Following the so-called “May Coup d'État” Józef Piłsudski returned to Belweder, where he lived until his death in 1935. Later, in years 1935-1939, a museum dedicated to the Marshal was located in the Palace.
During the Nazi occupation Belweder was the seat of the German General Governor Hans Frank. In years 1940-1943 the Germans remodelled the Palace.
After the fall of the Warsaw Uprising, the Germans retreating from Warsaw did not manage to blow Belweder up. Following some renovation works the Palace became the seat of the Presidium Office of the State National Council, the head of which was Bolesław Bierut. Later he resided in Belweder as President of the Republic of Poland.
From 1952 the Palace functioned as the seat of the Council of State and its Chairman.
In 1989 Belweder became the seat of the President yet again – initially of Wojciech Jaruzelski and in 1990 of Lech Wałęsa. In 1994 the President of the Republic of Poland, Lech Wałęsa, decided to move to the palace in Krakowskie Przedmieście Street.
Currently, Belweder is a representative seat for foreign guests of Poland. It is also a place of presenting exhibitions dedicated to Marshal Józef Piłsudski and to the history of the Order Virtuti Militari.
In years 1998-2001 a thorough renovation and conservation of Belweder was carried out. The palace received a new façade, window frames were replaced and the damaged insulation of walls and foundations was fixed. Conservation works covered all the architectural elements of the building, the surroundings and the antique furnishings.