The Wilanow Palace is situated on the southern outskirts of Warsaw.

Wilanów Palace History

From 1677 to 1696 it was the summer residence of John Sobièski, who employed Augustyn Locci to design and build a single-story manor with four projecting corner pavilions.

It soon proved to be insufficient, and between 1681 and 1683 one storey was added and two galleries with towers were built.

In 1686–1692 another story was added to the central part of the palace and as a result of the expansion the building acquired the appearance of an Italian villa, topped by a belvedere on the main axis. Inside this was the largest of the rooms, the Great Hall. The inside and outside of the palace were richly decorated with stuccowork, sculptures, and paintings.

The King’s Anteroom, the Queen’s Anteroom, the Al Fresco Cabinet, and the Mirror Cabinet have the most notable interiors. The subject matter of the decoration was derived from mythology and ancient history and was designed to glorify the monarch.

From 1720 Wilanów belonged to Elżbieta Sieniawska (1666–1729), who commissioned Giovanni Spazzio to add lateral wings to the palace.

Wilanów Palace subsequently changed hands a number of times; it was owned in turn by King Augustus II and by Izabela Lubomirska, née Czartoryska (1736–1816), in the 18th century and by the Potocki family in the 19th century.

In 1805 the palace was opened to the public, thus forming one of the first public museums in Poland. Only minor alterations were made to the building so that the elevations and interiors remained largely intact. Since 1945 the palace and park are part of the National Museum, Warsaw.

Wilanów Palace Visitor information

Wilanów Palace is open for visits all year round except for the following days: 1st of January, Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Sunday, Corpus Christi Day, 1 November, and Winter Holidays between 20 December and 28 January.

What to See in Wilanów Palace

Wilanów Residence and Park
The Orangery
Wilanów Palace top
Wilanów Museum
Proprietors of the palace
Please note:

Tickets for groups must be booked at least one week in advance.
On Sundays admission at the palace is free and there is no tour service available.
For more information about the opening hours, tickets and tours visit the official website or use these contact details:
Email: rezerwacja@muzeum-wilanow.pl
Tel: ( +48) 801 011 779 – Mon – Fri 8.00 – 17.00

Wilanów Palace Location

Wilanów Palace is located in southern Warsaw, district of Wilanów.
Get help with directions using the map provided below

Wilanów Palace Map

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Wawel Castle is located in Krakow, Poland.

Wawel Castle History

A large rectangular hall with 24 columns was built in the early 13th century (later destroyed in the 13th–14th centuries).

In the mid-14th century, Kasimir III built a new Gothic castle in the form of separate buildings grouped around an irregularly shaped courtyard.

Towards the end of the 14th century, the defenses were strengthened with such structures as the Danish Tower; Vladislav II added a residential wing – the Gothic Pavilion – and in 1394 summoned artists from Vilnius to paint the bedchambers.

The most important period in the Wawel castle’s development began under the future Sigismund I, who commissioned Franciscus Italus to rebuild the west wing and north wing at the beginning of the 16th century.

An oriel window produced to Italus’s design survives on the second floor facing the courtyard; it is flanked by Composite pilasters decorated with panoplies and has a frieze featuring heraldic devices.

The Wawel Castle was greatly expanded and transformed into a Renaissance residence in 1507 by Franciscus Italus, Benedikt, and Bartolomeo Berrecci, who succeeded one another and were assisted by numerous artists and craftsmen, mainly from Poland, Italy, and Germany.

The building took the form of four three-story wings and a curtain wall surrounding a large, five-sided courtyard. Magnificent three-story columned galleries were built around the courtyard in this period. The very high top story has double-height columns that support the architrave and the steep roof, with its very deep eaves.

The interior decoration of the period includes a unique series of 194 male and female heads carved from 1531 to 1535 by Sebastian Tauerbach of Wrocław and installed in the compartments of the coffered ceiling in the Deputies’ Hall.

Following two serious fires in 1595 Sigismund III commissioned Giovanni Trevano to supervise a thorough early Baroque remodelling.

This included the building of the Senators’ Staircase (1599–1602) and the addition of new portals and fireplaces, such as the splendid fireplace of 1600 in the Hall of the Birds, which was carved by Ambrogio Meazi in colored marble and features Corinthian columns supporting a cornice and heraldic devices. Externally, towers were constructed at the northeast and northwest corners.

In 1684 the court painter Jan Tricius was put in charge of the restoration of the castle’s decaying paintings and the building itself was restored at John Sobieski’s instigation, but from 1702 it was again badly damaged by the Swedes when they used it as a military hospital.

Occupation by Russian, Prussian, and Austrian armies occurred intermittently until 1905 when an extensive restoration program that continued into the late 20th century was begun. Between the two world wars the castle was a presidential residence; after 1920 (except 1939–45) it also functioned as a museum.

Wawel Castle Visitor Information

To get information about opening hours and tickets visit the official website or you can use this contact details email: zamek@wawel.edu.pl (+48 12) 422 51 55/ext. 219 or (+ 48 12) 422 16 97; fax: 422 64 64

Wawel Castle Location

Wawel Castle is located in the city of Kracow, Poland at the following address: Wawel 5, 31-000 Kraków, Poland.

Wawel Castle Map

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Former royal residence and seat of the government, the Royal Castle of Warsaw is situated between the Vistula escarpment and the Old Town, Warsaw.

There is evidence of early 14th-century timber and brick buildings on the site, and towards the end of that century Janusz I, Duke of Mazovia (1374–1429), built a splendid Gothic residence, the Curia Maior.

The decoration of its red-brick façade shows links with the architecture of the Teutonic Order. The Ducal Cellar, the largest secular interior of the period to survive in Warsaw, also belongs to this phase.

Royal Castle of Warsaw History

In 1529 the Duchy of Mazovia was incorporated into the Polish kingdom, and the castle began to be used by the Polish kings. Its enlargement was begun in 1569 under the direction of Giovanni Battista Quadro and Giacomo Parri, for Sigismund II Jagiellon.

Following the establishment of Warsaw as the capital by Sigismund III Vasa, the castle underwent major changes and became the center of political and cultural life in Poland and one of the most magnificent residences in Europe.

The north, west, and south wings were added (1600–1619), forming a pentagon with a courtyard. The work was begun by Giacomo Rotondo and completed by Matteo Castelli, who designed the elevations in an early Roman Baroque style. He also added some North European features, noticeable, for example, in the form of the tower cupolas. The residence was typically urban in character and linked architecturally with the town.

The next important enlargement of the Royal Castle of Warsaw was undertaken by Augustus II and Augustus III. During the latter’s reign (1733–1763), Antonio Solari completed the late Baroque façade overlooking the Vistula, considered one of the major architectural achievements in Poland in the first half of the 18th century. Its

From 1764 the castle was greatly altered through the patronage of Stanisław II Augustus Poniatowski. The King’s private apartments and the staterooms were reconstructed in 1765–1786.

The interior decoration is in the so-called ‘Stanisław II style’, characterized by harmonious integration of architectural features with free-standing sculpture and large paintings. The most notable examples are the Old Audience Chamber, the Knight’s Hall, and the Great Hall or Ballroom, all with particularly harmonious color schemes.

In September 1939 the building was seriously damaged, but the greatest works of art and a large part of the interior decoration (including fireplaces, stuccowork, paneling, floors, etc.) were saved and later replaced.

The castle was blown up in November 1944, shortly after the Warsaw Uprising. The decision to reconstruct it was made in January 1971 and designs based on archival and photographic material were drawn up by Jan Bogusławski.

Structural work was finished in July 1974, and the whole building was complete by August 1984, although work on the Ballroom continued until July 1988. The reconstruction of Warsaw Royal Castle is considered one of the greatest achievements of conservation in the late 20th century.

Royal Castle of Warsaw Location

Royal Castle of Warsaw’s address is Plac Zamkowy 4, Warszawa, Poland. Get help with directions using the map provided below:

Royal Castle of Warsaw Map

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Malbork Castle (formerly known as Marienburg Castle) is a castle of the Teutonic Knights in northern Poland.

The red-brick fortress of Malbork, the headquarters of the Order of Teutonic Knights from 1309 to 1457, is situated 48 km southeast of Gdańsk, on the right bank of the Nogat River.

It is one of the most important architectural complexes in northern Europe.

Malbork Castle History

The Teutonic Knights began building the castle in 1274 on the western border of their territories, midway between Gdańsk and Elbląg, to complete the strategic network of castles along the Vistula River and the Baltic coast, from Toruń to Kaliningrad. The choice of Malbork reflects the importance that the Order attached to the acquisition of Pomerelia, the land lying on the west bank of the Lower Vistula, as the first step in an attempt to link up its eastern territories with those in the Holy Roman Empire.

The fortress, which was built in several stages, takes the form of three architectural groupings, each separated by a moat and protected by its own fortifications. The Upper Castle is the nucleus of the complex. To its north and set somewhat lower is the Middle Castle, consisting of three wings with the Grand Master’s Palace projecting from it to the west. The Lower Castle, incorporating a series of independent outbuildings, occupies a larger area to the north of the Middle Castle. The three castles are enclosed with the town in a common system of fortifications.

The building began with the Upper Castle, which has four wings around an inner courtyard with a surrounding curtain wall. The chapel and the chapter house on the first floor of the north wing were probably completed in 1280 when the Knights and citizens of neighboring Zantyr moved to Malbork.

The east and west wings were added between 1280 and 1285, with the south wing closing the quadrangle between 1285 and 1300. The courtyard was reached by a passageway leading from a wide portal set into a great niche. It has two stories of arcades, thoroughly renewed in the 19th century, and a well.

The ground floor of the castle has large vaulted chambers and a kitchen in the west wing. The commander’s lodgings were above the kitchen, and the brothers were accommodated in a large dormitory on the first floor of the east wing.

The transfer of the Grand Master’s headquarters from Venice to Malbork in 1309 initiated new projects. The chapter house was enlarged to incorporate the chapel gallery, and a residential west range, of which only the Great Refectory survives, was begun in the Middle Castle.

Under Grand Master Luther of Brunswick, the chapel was extended eastwards beyond the walls and reconsecrated in 1344. A lower chapel was constructed beneath the extension as a mausoleum for the Grand Masters, dedicated to St Anne. This work is characterized by a profusion of sculptural decoration following the style of the original chapel portal sculpture of 1280.

A Crucifixion group and a series of stucco apostles and female saints were inserted into the interior wall arcading of the upper chapel, while the tympana of the two St Anne’s chapel porches were decorated by an elaborate program based on the Life of the Virgin and the Finding of the True Cross.

Around 1378 Venetian masters working in Prague were commissioned to decorate with mosaic the giant stucco Virgin (destr. 1945), on the outside of the east window of the upper chapel.

Major building activity ended at Malbork with the construction of the Grand Master’s Palace from 1383 to 1399. The core of the palace was built onto the Great Refectory, with its entrance and chapel on the east side; the audience chambers were built into a block projecting beyond the perimeter of the castle and dominating the view from the river.

The exterior is marked by deep brick buttresses that run the full height of the building (27 m). These are bridged together at eaves level to form a defensive crenelated gallery.

After the war of 1454–66, the castle came into Polish hands and remained a royal residence until 1772, when it fell into disrepair. It was heavily restored by Schinkel (1817–42) and Steinbrecht (1882–1921). The Upper Castle was seriously damaged in World War II.

Malbork Castle Visitor info

The Malbork Castle which is the biggest castle in the world by area currently hosts a museum. The castle is easily reached when one gets to Malbork, there are signs everywhere pointing to the castle.

Guided tours are available in most international languages, and night tours are also available. The admission fee varies greatly, but for an adult person, it is less than 10 EUR.

For tickets & info, you can write an email to the official office at kasa@zamek.malbork.pl or call +48 55 647 09 78.

Malbork Castle Map

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The Łazienki Palace is located in a large park with many lakes and pavilions in south Warsaw. From 1674 the land and the nearby Ujazdów Castle belonged to Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski, who built a Baroque Bath House named ‘Łazienka’.

History of Łazienki Palace

The building, erected on a square plan, was richly decorated with stuccos, statues, and paintings; some of the original décors survive in the Bath Room and in Bacchus’ Room. In 1766 King Stanisław II Augustus Poniatowski bought the estate and decided to convert the pavilion into a summer residence.

A second story was added in 1776, the south façade was reconstructed in 1784; the north façade), lateral wings, and a belvedere were completed in 1788; and lateral pavilions with colonnades were added between 1792 and 1793. The design was clearly influenced by such early French Neo-classical buildings as the Petit Trianon, and Versailles, but links with the style of late Baroque garden pavilions can also be seen. The interiors, and especially the Ballroom, are among the best produced under the patronage of Stanisław.

Lazienki Palace was destroyed in 1944 and totally rebuilt after World War II. It is considered one of the most outstanding examples of Neo-classicism in Central Europe.

The King also commissioned the construction of several smaller palaces and pavilions in the park. The White House was influenced by the architecture of Jean-François de Neufforge. The interiors were painted by Jan Bogumił Plersz; the design of the Dining Room is one of the earliest Polish examples of decoration derived from ancient and Renaissance grotesque paintings.

The Myślewicki Palace is a characteristic example of early Polish Neo-classicism, with spatial arrangements based on the Palladian tradition and decorative motifs of interiors and façades derived from the Antique.

The Old Orangery has a very well-preserved royal theatre in the east wing, with paintings by Jan Bogumił Plersch. The Amphitheatre is an outstanding example of architecture inspired by austere ancient forms. The stage, situated on an island in the lake, was modeled on the Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek.

Łazienki Palace Visitor Information

Łazienki Palace Museum is open for visits. Guided tours are available in English but you need to make an appointment at least 3 days before the visit.

Historical objects of the Museum

Palace on the Isle
Old Orangery
Myślewicki Palace
Officer Cadets School
White Pavilion
Visit the official website to find more information regarding the opening hours, ticket prices, and tours.

Guide service reservation:
tel. (022) 5060 028
fax. (022) 5060 147

Łazienki Palace Location

Łazienki Palace address: Agrykoli 1, 00-460 Warszawa, Poland. Get help with directions using the map provided below:

Łazienki Palace Map

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