Belweder (; from the Italian ''belvedere'', "beautiful view") is a neoclassical palace in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

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 ...

. Erected in 1660 and remodelled in the early 1800s, it is one of several official residences used by Polish presidents as well as a state guest house for visiting heads of state. The complex is situated south of Warsaw's city center, in the vicinity of the historic Royal Baths Park (Łazienki).

History

The present building is the latest of several that stood on the site since 1660. Belweder once belonged to Poland's last king, Stanislaus Augustus, who used it as a porcelain-manufacturing plant. From 1818 it was the residence of Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich, who de facto acted as viceroy in the Congress Kingdom of Poland. He fled from Belweder at the beginning of the November 1830 Uprising. After the re-establishment of Poland's independence following the

First World War 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 ...

(1918), Belweder served as the residence of Marshal

Józef Piłsudski Józef Klemens Piłsudski (; 5 December 1867 – 12 May 1935) was a Polish statesman who served as the Chief of State (Poland), Chief of State (1918–1922) and first Marshal of Poland (from 1920). In the aftermath of World War I, he beca ...

, Chief of State (1918–22) and later (1926–35) Minister of Military Affairs of Poland. Intermittently, it was also the residence of President

Stanisław Wojciechowski Stanisław Wojciechowski (; 15 March 1869 – 9 April 1953) was a Polish people, Polish politician and scholar who served as President of Poland between 1922 and 1926, during the Second Polish Republic. He was elected president in 1922, followi ...

. After the May 1926 coup d'état, the ownership of the complex had passed from Wojciechowski to Piłsudski, who died there in 1935. During

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 building was extensively remodelled for Hans Frank, Governor of Nazi-occupied Poland and the so-called

General Government The General Government (, ; ; ), formally the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region (), was a German zone of occupation established after the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, Slovak Republic (1939–1945), Slovakia and the Soviet ...

. It remains one of the few original structures in Warsaw to survive the war. In 1945–1952 it was the residence of

Bolesław Bierut Bolesław Bierut (; 18 April 1892 – 12 March 1956) was a Polish communist activist and politician, leader of History of Poland (1945–1989), communist-ruled Poland from 1947 until 1956. He was President of the State National Council from 1944 ...

, and later of the president of the

Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...

. From 1989 to July 1994, it was the official residence of Poland's presidents (

Wojciech Jaruzelski Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski ( ; ; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military general, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party ...

and

Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as the president of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 Polish presidential election, 1990 election, Wałę ...

), but proved too small for that purpose. Later on president

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who was the fifth president of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski previously served as Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence ...

used it as his private residence. 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 A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

dedicated to Józef Piłsudski. Currently it houses a small exhibition devoted to the Marshal.

Popular culture

Belvedere Vodka, owned by

LVMH LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French multinational holding company and conglomerate that specializes in luxury goods and has its headquarters in Paris, France. The company was formed in 1987 through the ...

, is named after the palace and an image of the building is featured on the bottle label.

Gallery

Image:Belweder z Lazienek Krolewskich.jpg, Garden façade of the palace Image:Canaletto Łazienki.PNG, Łazienki Park in 1775 by Bernardo Bellotto Image:MWP 1830 Belweder.jpg, Storming of the Belweder Palace during the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

Image:Pilsudski in Warsaw3.JPG, Statue of

in front of the Belweder, Piłsudski's residence

References

External links

*
Belweder
or the Polish road to independence'' {{Coord, 52, 12, 47, N, 21, 01, 40, E, region:PL_type:landmark_source:dewiki, display=title 1822 establishments in Poland Houses completed in 1822 Neoclassical architecture in Warsaw Official residences in Poland Palaces in Warsaw Royal residences in Poland Presidential residences State guesthouses

History

Popular culture

Gallery

See also

References

External links