Branicki Palace ( pl, Pałac Branickich) is a historical edifice in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. It was developed on the site of an earlier building in the first half of the 18th century by

Jan Klemens Branicki Count Jan Klemens Branicki (also known as Jan Kazimierz Branicki; 21 September 1689 – 9 October 1771) was a Polish nobleman, magnate and Hetman, Field Crown Hetman of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between 1735 and 1752, and Great Crown ...

, a wealthy

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

, into a residence suitable for a man whose ambition was to become king of Poland. The palace complex with

gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

pavilion In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

sculptures Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, outbuildings and other structures and the city with churches,

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

, all built almost at the same time according to French models was the reason why the city was known in the 18th century as ''

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

de la Pologne'' (Versailles of Poland) and subsequently ''Versailles de la Podlachie'' (Versailles of Podlasie).

History

The Palace was built for Count

, Great Crown

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

and patron of art and science, raised in the French milieu of the Polish aristocracy, who transformed a previous house into the suitably magnificent residence of a great Polish noble, a rival to

Wilanów Palace Wilanów Palace ( pl, Pałac w Wilanowie, ) is a former royal palace located in the Wilanów district of Warsaw, Poland. Wilanów Palace survived Poland's partitions and both World Wars, and so serves as a reminder of the culture of the Polish ...

, making a start in 1726. He also laid out the central part of the town of Bialystok, not a large place in the 18th century, with its triangular market. Salon ogrodowy Pałacu Branickich

The original wooden manor of the Raczkowicz family that occupied the site was transformed in the 16th century into a brick two-storey castle for Piotr Wiesiołowski the Younger. The architect was Hiob Bretfus, who constructed the a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

structure with a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

and earth ramparts. Shortly after the property was inherited by Stefan Mikołaj Branicki he commissioned the transformation of the castle into a

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

mansion. The structure was thoroughly reconstructed during 1691–1697 by Tylman Gamerski, including one of the towers adapted to a staircase. During the subsequent reconstruction, the side outbuildings were enhanced, the Ionic colonnade above the main entrance was erected and the whole structure was adorned with sculptures. Further expansion of the palace was conducted by Jan Klemens Branicki and his wife

Izabella Poniatowska Countess Izabella Poniatowska (1 July 1730 – 14 February 1808) was a Polish noblewoman, sister of king Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski. Life She was the daughter of Stanisław Poniatowski and Konstancja Czartoryska. She was reportedly clo ...

. Starting in 1728 the reconstruction of the palace was directed by Johann Sigmund Deybel. Under his supervision, the structure was enhanced, the tympanum and domes on the towers were added. Deybel is also the author of the main façade. The existing pavilions and outbuildings were merged with the main building (''corps de logis'') according to French model to form wings surrounding a horseshoe court - the courtyard of honour (''cour d'honneur''), which was closed with a gate built in 1758 by Jan Henryk Klemm. Among notable architects employed in reconstruction was Pierre Ricaud de Tirregaille. After the death of Deybel, in the years 1750–1771, the rebuilding of the palace was supervised by

Jakub Fontana Jakub Fontana (born 1710 in Szczuczyn, died 13 April 1773 in Warsaw) was a Polish architect of Swiss Italian origin, a practitioner of the Baroque and Neoclassical styles. He was court architect to the Polish king. He was knighted in 1764. Jakub ...

, who was an author of the palace's vestibule,

rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

interiors and the staircase with statues by Jan Chrysostom Redler (1754). The fence between the initial (''avant cour'') and honor courtyard was adorned in 1757 with two monumental sculptures by Redler - ''Hercules fighting the dragon'' and ''Hercules fighting the hydra''. Interior decorations were conducted by artists such as

Szymon Czechowicz Szymon Czechowicz (July 1689 – 21 July 1775) was a prominent Poland, Polish painter of the Baroque, considered one of the most accomplished painters of 18th century Christian art, sacral painting in Poland. He specialized in sublime effigie ...

, Ludwik Marteau, Augustyn Mirys,

Jean-Baptiste Pillement Jean-Baptiste Pillement (Lyon, 24 May 1728 – Lyon, 26 April 1808) was a French painter and designer, known for his exquisite and delicate landscapes, but whose importance lies primarily in the engravings done after his drawings, and their infl ...

, fresco painters such as Georg Wilhelm Neunhertz (in 1738) and Antoni Herliczka and stucco decorators Samuel Contesse and Antoni Vogt. The newly created ''Versailles de la Pologne'' concentrated many great artists, poets including

Elżbieta Drużbacka Elżbieta Drużbacka (née Kowalska, 1695 or 1698 – March 14, 1765 in Tarnów) was a Polish poet of the late Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished ...

and

Franciszek Karpiński Franciszek Karpiński (4 October 1741 – 16 September 1825) was the leading sentimental Polish poet of the Age of Enlightenment. He is particularly remembered for his religious works later rendered as hymns and carols. He is also considered ...

and scientists. A theater, orchestra and ballet were established. Among notable guests were King

Augustus II the Strong Augustus II; german: August der Starke; lt, Augustas II; in Saxony also known as Frederick Augustus I – Friedrich August I (12 May 16701 February 1733), most commonly known as Augustus the Strong, was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as Ki ...

(1726 to 1727 and again in 1729), King

Augustus III Augustus III ( pl, August III Sas, lt, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augu ...

and his wife and sons Prince Francis Xavier and

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

(1744 and 1752), Prince Charles of Saxony, Duke of Courland (twice in 1759), Bishop

Ignacy Krasicki Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Enlightenment poet"Ignacy Krasic ...

(1760), King

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

(occasionally), Emperor Joseph II Habsburg (1780), Grand Duke Paul, future Tsar

Paul I of Russia Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III of Russia, Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he w ...

, with his wife (1782), King

Louis XVIII of France Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in e ...

(1798), French, English, Turkish and Russian envoys and Italian actress. With the

third Partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polish ...

it went to the Prussian Kingdom and, after 1807, to Russia. In the summer of 1920, briefly, the palace was the headquarters of the

Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee ( pl, Tymczasowy Komitet Rewolucyjny Polski, Polrewkom; russian: Польревком) (July–August 1920) was a revolutionary committee created under the patronage of Soviet Russia with the goal to e ...

. Branicki Palace suffered from bombing and fires caused by the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

, with damage totaling approximately 70%. It was restored after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a matter of national pride. The

Medical University of Białystok The Medical University of Białystok (UMB; Polish: ''Uniwersytet Medyczny w Białymstoku'') is a medical university located in Białystok, the capital of Podlaskie Voivodeship in northeastern Poland. The university is home to the Medical Depar ...

is housed in the Palace. Białystok, Pałac Branickich - panorama nocą

The palace grounds

A straight avenue centred on the palace passes across the river on a three-arched bridge across the river, which is confined with deep stone embankment walling, to the large enclosed paved forecourt. The central block has two storeys upon a high arcaded basement storey, with a pedimented central block displaying Branicki's coat-of-arms and end pavilions that have squared domes in two tiers. The roofline is an Italianate balustrade that masks a low attic storey, and the heroic sculptural group of Atlas crowning all. Surrounding the Palace are the grounds. The garden front has a terrace raised on columns, which forms a podium for viewing the

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

in the French taste with a main central allée and French

sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

es, and a later

English landscape garden The English landscape garden, also called English landscape park or simply the English garden (french: Jardin à l'anglaise, it, Giardino all'inglese, german: Englischer Landschaftsgarten, pt, Jardim inglês, es, Jardín inglés), is a sty ...

, in the naturalistic taste associated with the English park, surrounding the grounds. The central axis continues to a guest pavilion. Other outbuildings include the Arsenal (1755),

Orangery An orangery or orangerie was a room or a dedicated building on the grounds of fashionable residences of Northern Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries where orange and other fruit trees were protected during the winter, as a very large ...

and Italian and Tuscan Pavilions.

Gallery

File:150913 Detail of Branicki Palace in Białystok - 01.jpg, The tympanum of the Branicki Palace in Białystok. File:Garden of the Branicki Palace in Białystok.jpg, A trellised gazebo in the garden. File:150913 Sculpture in the Garden Palace Branicki in Białystok - 07.jpg, The sculpture of

Actaeon Actaeon (; grc, Ἀκταίων ''Aktaion''), in Greek mythology, son of the priestly herdsman Aristaeus and Autonoe in Boeotia, was a famous Theban hero. Like Achilles in a later generation, he was trained by the centaur Chiron. He fell to ...

in the palace garden. File:150913 Branicki Palace in Białystok - 05.jpg, The palace museum. File:Pałac Branickich (31413158003).jpg, Palace during nighttime. File:Pałac Branickich w Białymstoku (elewacja ogrodowa) A-252 z 1.12.1958 -Magrys.JPG, Garden elevation of Branicki Palace File:Białystok ogrody Branickich 1.JPG, A fountain in the Palace Garden. File:150913 Branicki Palace in Białystok - 07.jpg, Colonnades of the Branicki Palace. File:150913 Branicki Palace in Białystok - 03.jpg,

Corps de logis In architecture, a ''corps de logis'' () is the principal block of a large, (usually Classical architecture, classical), mansion or palace. It contains the principal rooms, state apartments and an entry.Curl, James Stevens (2006). ''Oxford Dict ...

of the Branicki Palace

References

External links

VIRTUAL TOUR

View of the palace from the drone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Branicki Palace, Bialystok Baroque gardens Baroque palaces in Poland Branicki (Gryf) Buildings and structures demolished in 1944 Buildings and structures in Białystok Buildings and structures in Poland destroyed during World War II Buildings and structures in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Castles in Podlaskie Voivodeship Demolished buildings and structures in Poland Former castles in Poland Former seats of local government Gardens in Poland Houses completed in 1697 Houses completed in 1960 Rebuilt buildings and structures in Poland Rococo architecture in Poland School buildings completed in 1960 Tourist attractions in Podlaskie Voivodeship Tylman van Gameren buildings

History

The palace grounds

Gallery

See also

References

External links