Natolin Park and Palace

Coordinates: 52°8′20″N 21°4′25″E / 52.13889°N 21.07361°E / 52.13889; 21.07361
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Natolin Park
Potocki Palace.
Map
TypeMunicipal
LocationWarsaw
Area105 ha[1]
Created2006[2]
Statusopen 2 days a week[2]
Doric Temple.

Natolin Park is a historic park and nature reserve (1.2 km2) on the southern edge of Warsaw, Poland, in the Natolin residential neighborhood.

The park is also the location of the Natolin Palace. Together, the two are known as the Palace and Park Complex in Natolin (Polish: Zespół Pałacowo-Parkowy w Natolinie).

History

Park and palace

The history of Natolin begins at end of the 17th century, when the King of Poland

Czartoryski family. In 1780 Prince August Czartoryski built on the spot his new summer residence.[3] Located in dense forests on the escarpment of the Vistula River, the new classicist palace was designed by a renowned contemporary architect Szymon Bogumił Zug while the internal design was prepared by Vincenzo Brenna.[3]
The palace featured a distinctive half-open salon, with a view on the forest below the escarpment.

Sarcophagus and monument to Natalia Sanguszkowa, née Potocka.

In late 18th century the

Natalia Potocka (born 1807).[3] The palace's reconstruction included rebuilding of the facade and the courtyard elevation, as well as notable changes in the internal design and decorations. The new design was created by another of Poland's notable architects of the epoch, Chrystian Piotr Aigner
, though some of the changes are attributed to Potocki himself.

The paintings inside the palace were replaced with

Neron's Sarcophagus and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
's tomb in Paris.

The Alexander Potocki's death ended the splendid period of developments of Natolin. The next administrators of estate, son August and the daughter-in-law Alexandra did not maintain the property so Natolin began to fall into decline. The palace and park were used only occasionally, mainly as temporary accommodation for owners' relatives.

In the first half of the 20th century Natolin passed to the

Branicki family. During World War II Natolin suffered further. At time of Warsaw Uprising it underwent an almost total destruction.[3] In 1945 Natolin was nationalized and given to the Warsaw National Museum, later becoming the residence of President of Polish Republic.[3] In 1991, decision was made to locate a branch of the College of Europe Natolin. As a result, funds became available to gradually restore the park and the palace. In the same year a part of the park (nearly 1 km2) was declared a nature reserve. Since 1994 it is the site of one of the two College of Europe
campuses.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Formy ochrony przyrody". wilanow.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  2. ^ a b Tomasz Urzykowski (February 7, 2006). "Park Natoliński otworzy się dla zwiedzających". wilanow.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 2008-02-18.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "History of Natolin". natolin.edu.pl. Retrieved 2008-02-18.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natolin Palace.

52°8′20″N 21°4′25″E / 52.13889°N 21.07361°E / 52.13889; 21.07361

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