Łańcut Castle
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Łańcut Castle ( Polish: ''Zamek w Łańcucie''; pronounced: ) is a complex of historical buildings located in
Łańcut Łańcut (, ; ; ) is a town in south-eastern Poland, with 18,004 inhabitants, as of 2 June 2009. Situated in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (since 1999), it is the Capital (political), capital of Łańcut County. History Archeological investigat ...
,
Subcarpathian Voivodeship Subcarpathian Voivodeship is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in the southeastern corner of Poland. Its administrative capital and largest city is Rzeszów. Along with the Marshal, it is governed by the Subcarpathian Regional As ...
, Poland. Historically the residence of the Pilecki,
Lubomirski The House of Lubomirski is a Princely Houses of Poland, Polish princely family. The Lubomirski family's coat of arms is the Drużyna coat of arms, which is similar to the Szreniawa coat of arms but without a cross. Origin and the coat ...
and Potocki families, the complex includes a number of buildings and is surrounded by a park. The castle is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments (''
Pomnik historii Historic Monument (, ) is one of several categories of objects of cultural heritage in Poland, objects of cultural heritage (in the singular, ''zabytek'') in Poland. To be recognized as a Polish historic monument, an object must be declared suc ...
''), as designated September 1, 2005, and tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.


Owners

In the second half of the 14th century, the land was the property of the Toporczyk family, who built a wooden castle on the hill. In the 16th century the castle belonged to Stadnicki family. Since the 17th century, the property was in the hands of the
Lubomirski family The House of Lubomirski is a Polish princely family. The Lubomirski family's coat of arms is the Drużyna coat of arms, which is similar to the Szreniawa coat of arms but without a cross. Origin and the coat of arms The Lubomirski f ...
, and then the
Potocki family The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent szlachta, Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Po ...
until 1944.


History

The castle was originally built in the second half of the 16th century, but was later modernised into a palace-residence by its owners. It was once home to two greatest Polish families – first, until 1816, the Lubomirski family, and later – until 1944 – the Potocki clan. The history of Łańcut is much older than the castle erected in 1642. It goes back to the times of King
Casimir III the Great Casimir III the Great (; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, retaining the title throughout the Galicia–Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king fr ...
, who founded here a town in accordance with the
Magdeburg Rights Magdeburg rights (, , ; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages gr ...
in the 14th century. At the time Łańcut was owned by the Pilecki family, who had connections with the royal
Jagiellonian Dynasty The Jagiellonian ( ) or Jagellonian dynasty ( ; ; ), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (), the House of Jagiellon (), or simply the Jagiellons (; ; ), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon recep ...
. The head of the family, Otton Pilecki, was a close friend of the king and his wife, Jadwiga, became the godmother to the future successor,
Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...
(1352–1434). Later the connections were strengthened with their daughter Elżbieta's marriage to the king. Władysław II Jagiełło is believed to have visited Łańcut twice. Between
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
and
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the local townspeople still pointed to a lime tree growing on a hill, a former site of the Pilecki's wooden fortified mansion, where the king was believed to have relaxed with his third wife Elżbieta. After the Pilecki clan has died out, Łańcut became the property of the Stadnicki family. The most famous of them was Stanisław, the governor of
Sigulda Sigulda (; ; Polish Zygwold) is a town in the Vidzeme region of Latvia, from the capital city Riga. Overview Sigulda is on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish Devonian sandstone which forms steep r ...
. Stadnicki extended and modernised the castle in 1610 during the reign of Sigismund III. In 1629, Łańcut became the property of Stanisław Lubomirski, governor of Ruthenia and Count of Wiśnicz, who in 1647 became the prince of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. It was Lubomirski who erected, according to Maciej Trapola's design, the quadrilateral castle with corner donjons surrounded by fortifications. Other traces of Lubomirski's restructuring include parts of the castle fortification, presumably the work of Krzysztof Mieroszewski (1600–1679). During the
Swedish invasion of Poland The Deluge was a series of mid-17th-century military campaigns in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense, it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, comprising the Pol ...
, in 1656, the castle was visited by King John II Casimir (1609–1672). In 1657, it was unsuccessfully besieged by the Swedish ally,
George II Rákóczi George II Rákóczi (30 January 1621 – 7 June 1660), was a Hungarian nobleman, Prince of Transylvania (1648-1660), the eldest son of George I and Zsuzsanna Lorántffy. Early life He was elected Prince of Transylvania during his father' ...
. In the late 17th century, after the 1688 fire, Stanisław Lubomirski hired
Tylman van Gameren Tylman van Gameren, also ''Tilman'' or ''Tielman'' and Tylman Gamerski, (Utrecht, 3 July 1632 – c. 1706, Warsaw) was a Dutch-born Polish architect and engineer who, at the age of 28, settled in Poland and worked for Queen Marie Casimire, ...
, a Dutch-born Polish architect and engineer, who restored the castle. Tylman left behind a lifelong legacy of buildings that are regarded as gems of Polish
Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...
. In Łańcut he transformed the former castle into a palace, simultaneously adding bulbous cupolas to the side towers, which are the most characteristic aspect of the castle's architecture. Lubomirski also employed Italian architect Giovanni Battista Falconi, who was in charge of the interior decoration. The baroque ''palazzo in fortezza'' in Łańcut underwent its first radical alterations in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Its owners at the time were Duke Stanisław Lubomirski (1722–1782) and his wife Izabela Czartoryska. Initial transformations were conducted by the Lubomirskis together and after her husband's death in 1783, the Duchess continued the work by herself. She also began to expand the complex and, being a great admirer of baroque architecture, continued to transform the castle into a palace. She employed prominent artists such as
Szymon Bogumił Zug Szymon Bogumił Zug (20 February 1733 – 11 August 1807), born Simon Gottlieb Zug, and also known as Zugk, was a renowned Polish- German classicist architect and designer of gardens. Born in Merseburg in Saxony, he spent most of his life in t ...
, Jan Christian Kamsetzer, Chrystian Piotr Aigner, Fryderyk Bauman and Vincenzo Brenna. Following Izabela's death in 1816, Łańcut was inherited by her grandchildren and members of the Potocki family. For the next one hundred years, the castle became the centre of their hereditary family estate, legally established in 1830. The consecutive generations of the Potocki's introduced various levels of modernisation both in the castle itself and its immediate and more distant surrounding. The Duchess' grandson and heir, conducted some repairs in the castle, but most importantly he erected a complex of horse-riding facilities consisting of stables and three carriage houses The most radical changes in the estate and the whole surrounding, were introduced during the times of the Duchess' great-great-grandson –
Roman Potocki Count Roman Potocki (16 December 1852 – 24 September 1915) was a Polish nobleman ( szlachcic) and politician. Early life Count Roman was born on 16 December 1852 at Łańcut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, in what was then a part ...
, who married Elżbieta ''née'' Radziwiłł. They carried out a major overhaul and rearrangement of the large Łańcut estate, at the same time providing the 17th-century structure with electricity, water pipes, sewers, and central airflow heating. In 1880 the castle also received a telephone connection with the hunters' palace in Julin, located several kilometres away. Roman and Elżbieta Potocki hired a French architect, Amand Louis Bauqué, and a graphic designer Albert Pio, who worked on new stylistic transformations and arrangement of the residence. The old
Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...
decorations on the castle frontage were replaced by the Neo-Baroque ornamentation. The most radical changes were introduced in the horse-riding complex, dating from the first half of the 19th century. Only the manege was left unchanged. However the classicist stable houses were demolished and replaced with new, Neo-Baroque stables designed by Bauqué. Ten years later, in 1902, the new carriage house with a large harnessing hall was built. Nowadays, Łańcut Castle is considered one of the greatest aristocratic residences in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. It continues to fascinate with its impressive architecture, magnificent interiors and rich art collections. Surrounded with a spacious and enchanting park, it is a place transformed into a museum, which most fully shows the royal splendour of aristocratic households, the charm of the world which in Poland was ended by the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and its political outcome.


Styles and interior

Artists and architects who worked in Łańcut incorporated a variety of styles in the architecture of the castle. The lush classicist
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
works, which can still be seen today were made by Fryderyk Bauman. Apart from classicist, also rococo and Neo-Gothic decorative elements were created. Some made clear reference to the Orient and pre-romantic trends. The castle also received an impressive collection of paintings and sculptures purchased mainly during numerous trips made by the couple and later by the Duchess, who was very creative and constantly looking for artistic inspirations. In fact, even today, in spite of all the later alterations and modernisations, the castle largely retains the character which it received in the course of the few decades, until Duchess Izabela Lubomirska's death in 1816. The castle's interior features several rooms designed for her. For instance, on the ground floor, the oriental style of the Turkish Apartment was arranged in the old 17th-century vaulted chambers; the refined elegance of the View Room decorated with arabesques; and the intimacy of the Brenna Apartment which looks like a white-green vanity box. The reception rooms created on the first floor constitute several sequences. Private suites in the northern wing consist of bedrooms, dressing rooms and two salons. One of them, called the Mirror Salon, is ornamented with a valuable
rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...
boiserie featuring magnificent polychrome wood-carvings depicting symbols of the four seasons. The bedroom and another salon, which later received the name Boucher Salon, are classicist rooms which were specially designed for the Duchess, and both feature magnificent wood-carved overdoors. The bedroom walls are decorated with colorful fabric featuring the pattern described in an old inventory as "flames and flowers". It also forms a baldachin over the bed. The material which can be seen today is the third version of the design. The first one, made of silk and dating from the times of the Duchess, was taken off the walls in the late 19th century by her great-grandson, and replaced with a replica made in
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
. That was taken off the walls in 1944 by the last estate owner who evacuated the movables. After the castle was turned into a museum, the decoration was replaced by a classicist style fabric featuring the pattern of vertical pink and cream stripes. The one on display today was reconstructed in the 1990s, its colours and pattern being a copy of the fabric made in Lyon, based on the preserved parts of the original. The only difference is that the pattern is not woven but printed on the pink background. Another first-floor apartment, consisting of a salon, bedroom and bathroom, is the Chinese Apartment. It features a lowered ceiling, and combines classicist elements and far eastern patterns, with classicist and English furniture in a Chinese style. On the first floor, we can also see a complex of classicist reception rooms created for the Duchess, among those the most noteworthy two-storey Ballroom, ornamented with honey-coloured, polished wood carvings, and white engravings in the overdoor and frieze parts, all by Bauman; the Great Dining Room and chapel were all designed by Chrystian Piotr Aigner and Bauman. The southern corridor, which is accessed from the Ballroom, features the most sophisticated painted ornaments. The Duchess had the walls and ceiling decorated with illusionist design, which transformed the interior into a gazebo located amongst ruins, overgrown with grapevine and hollyhocks. The scenery of the corridor was used by the Duchess as a background for a gallery displaying her collection of sculptures, both antique and 18th-century replicas. A similar function has the Columned Salon, located to the east of the Sculpture Gallery. Inside, among two rows of ionic columns, imitating a placement of a pagan god, only one sculpture is displayed. It is a portrait sculpture depicting Henryk, the beloved pupil of Duchess Lubomirska, presented as the ancient god
Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...
by
Antonio Canova Antonio Canova (; 1 November 1757 – 13 October 1822) was an Italians, Italian Neoclassical sculpture, Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists,. his sculpture was ins ...
. Following the Duchess' wish, in the castle's closest proximity Aigner build the library pavilion, and in cooperation with Bauman who supplied rich stucco ornaments, the classicist orangery, and the gloriette on the north-western bastion. A little further, outside the moat, the Small Romantic Castle, featuring classicist structure, with elements of Neo-Gothic, was erected. The castle grounds house the largest carriage collection in Poland located a short walk away from the castle, which include over 100 historic carriages. Nowadays, the castle is also the site of an annual
classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...
festival.


Park and gardens

The castle is surrounded by a spacious and enchanting park of the early English Landscape style. Shape of the park was created in the second half of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century, when it belonged to Stanisław Lubomirski. Duchess Izabela, the wife of Stanisław Lubomirski, was personally inspecting and taking care of gardens, orangery and the park. The park is about 31 hectares and is divided into an internal park, surrounded by a moat, and an external park. The greatest attraction in the park is the Orchid House, where visitors can admire a wonderful collection of orchids which used to be the highlight of the place.


Town

Outside the museum park, although in the castle's proximity, stand imposing villas and former tenements for the estate employees. The town parish church in Łańcut is also connected with the castle, as it was founded by the estate owners. The splendid
Potocki family The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent szlachta, Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Po ...
crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...
constructed beneath the church was eventually used as their burial ground. Additionally, in the former farms which were part of the estate before 1944, visitors can see numerous well-preserved objects marked with the Potocki family's emblem, or with the owners' initials. Those include estate guard posts,
granaries A granary, also known as a grain house and historically as a granarium in Latin, is a post-harvest storage building primarily for grains or seeds. Granaries are typically built above the ground to prevent spoilage and protect the stored grains o ...
, cow barns, stables, and sheepfolds as well as the whole complex of the estate forest management in the village of Dąbrówki several kilometres away from Łańcut.


Bibliography

* Edward Opaliński, Tomasz Wiślicz "Rezydencje w średniowieczu i czasach nowożytnych", Neriton, Warsaw 2001 * Adam Soćko, Tomasz Ratajczak, Piotr Korduba, "100 cudów architektury w Polsce", Publicat, Poznań 2007 * Adam Miłobędzki, "Architektura polska XVII wieku", Warsaw, 1990 * Bożenna Majewska-Maszkowska, "Mecenat artystyczny Izabelli z Czartoryskich Lubomirskiej (1736-1816)", Ossolineum, Wroclaw, 1976


See also

* Architecture of Poland * List of palaces in Poland * List of castles in Poland


References


External links


Official website of Łańcut Castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lancut Castle Museums in Subcarpathian Voivodeship Castles in Subcarpathian Voivodeship Gardens in Poland Baroque palaces in Poland Łańcut County Carriage museums in Poland Historic house museums in Poland Registered museums in Poland Potocki family residences