Belweder

For other uses, see Belvedere (disambiguation).

Belweder Palace Pałac Belwederski (Polish)
Belweder Palace (view from ulica Belwederska).
General information
Architectural style	Neoclassical
Town or city	Warsaw
Country	Poland
Construction started	1660
Completed	1819–1822
Client	Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac, Grand Duke Constantine, Józef Piłsudski
Design and construction
Architect	Jakub Kubicki (1819–1822)

Belweder Palace, view from Łazienki Park, below the Palace.

Belweder (Polish pronunciation: [bɛlvɛdɛr]; in full Pałac Belwederski, Belweder Palace, from the Italian belvedere) is a palace in Warsaw, a few kilometers south of the Royal Castle. The President of the Republic of Poland resides at Belweder.

History

The present building is the latest of several that stood on the site since 1660. Belweder once belonged to Poland's last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who used it as a porcelain-manufacturing plant. From 1818 it was the residence of Russian Grand Duke Constantine, who fled it at the beginning of the November 1830 Uprising.

After the re-establishment of Poland's independence following World War I, it was (with a hiatus, 1922–26) the residence of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, Chief of State (1918–22) and later (1926–35) Minister of Military Affairs of Poland, who died there in 1935. (During the May 1926 coup d'état, President Stanisław Wojciechowski had abandoned it ahead of Piłsudski's advancing forces.)

During World War II, the building was extensively remodeled for Ludwig Fischer, Governor of occupied Warsaw in the "General Government" of Poland. It remains one of the few original structures in Warsaw to survive World War II.

In 1945-1952 it was the residence of Bolesław Bierut, and later of the president of the Council of State. From 1989 to July 1994, it was the official residence of Poland's president, but proved too small for that purpose.

Protection of the Belweder Palace by the Government Protection Bureau (Biuro Ochrony Rządu, abbreviated BOR) was difficult, as the palace is located on a hill that shares a fence with the popular Łazienki Park, located below, a major tourist attraction. For security reasons, the park has had to be partly closed during visits by foreign heads of state to the Belweder. Due to the size of Łazienki Park, this has proven difficult and time-consuming, and the Polish press has mocked Secret Service agents checking the bushes and disturbing the Park's peacocks.

Belweder is normally used by the President and the government for ceremonial purposes, while the President resides at the "Presidential Palace" in the city center. It also serves as an official residence for heads of state on official visits to Poland and other important guests. There have been plans to turn the Belweder Palace into a museum dedicated to Józef Piłsudski. Currently it houses a small exhibition devoted to the Marshal. However, the current president of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, has chosen to make Belweder his official residence.

Gallery

• Canaletto Łazienki.PNG

  Łazienki Park in 1775 by Bernardo Bellotto

• 

  Storming of the Belweder Palace during the November Uprising

• 

  Statue of Józef Piłsudski in front of the Belweder, Piłsudski's residence

See also

• Royal Route
• Presidential Palace
• Polish classicism
• Belvedere Vodka - a brand named after the palace, which is depicted on its label

External links

• Belweder, or the Polish road to independence