Branicki Palace (Aleja Legionów)
The former Branicki Palace (also called Red Palace , Polish: Pałac Branickich or Czerwony Pałac or Czerwony Dom ) in Warsaw was located in the inner city district at the then Aleja Legionów 22 (today: Aleja na Skarpie ). The building erected in the second half of the 19th century, which served as the headquarters of two embassies in the interwar period , was not rebuilt after the war. Today there is the viewing terrace of Marshal Edward Śmigły-Rydz Park (Polish: Park Marszałka Edwarda Śmigłego-Rydza ).
history
In what was then Frascati Park , the owner of the Frascati Palace , Władysław Branicki , had Leander Marconi erect a large new building in the French Renaissance style on the high bank of the Vistula between 1873 and 1878 . This palace was clad with reddish clinker bricks and was therefore generally referred to as the “Red Palace” in contrast to the older “White Palace”. Władysław Branicki lived in the larger red palace with his wife, while their daughter Maria, who was married to Zdzisław Lubomirski , lived in the neighboring white palace.
The property consisted of a two-storey core building, which ran parallel to the embankment (from north to south) and had a central projecting soaring to the front and rear . Two right-angled wing buildings stretched towards the street, forming a courtyard of honor . The wings were single-storey and had a roof. Four columns supported a balcony facing the garden on the edge of the slope. The building resembled the Zamoyski Palace on nearby Foksal Street .
Embassy headquarters
From around 1924 the Romanian diplomatic mission was located in the palace. In 1934 it was taken over by the French embassy, which until then - since 1930 - had its seat in the Szelechow house at Aleje Ujazdowskie 15 on the corner of Aleja Róż 2 . For this purpose, the palace had been rebuilt and expanded under Alfons Gravier: an elongated transverse wing now extended from the previous south wing along the road further south. The facade decorations were reduced at the same time.
When France on 3 September 1939 the German Reich as a result of the invasion to Poland declared war , a large number gathered Warsaw citizens in front of the French Embassy. The crowd sang the Marseillaise and the Mazurek Dąbrowskiego . While the French ambassador showed up, the packaging of furnishings was already starting in the building. A few days before the palace was destroyed, the French diplomats had already left Warsaw.
War and Post War
During the attack on Warsaw in September 1939, the palace burned down after being bombed, but most of the building was preserved. Nevertheless, the ruins were demolished after the war - the only remnant left here is a concrete pillar of the former garden fence - on the site of the neighboring Frascati Palace. On the neglected site of a sports club of the Warsaw University of Technology , which is around 4 kilometers from the Branicki Palace, there are still two concrete lion sculptures that used to stand in the courtyard of the palace. A transfer to the present terrace of Śmigły Rydz Park is currently being considered.
See also
References and comments
- ^ Alfons Emil Gravier (1871–1953) was a Warsaw architect
- ↑ according to Jerzy S. Majewski, Warszawa 1939 - przewodnik at Gazeta.pl Warszawa from September 1, 2009 (in Polish)
- ↑ Betonowe lwy sypią się w ukryciu ( Memento of the original from January 3, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. at TVN Warszawa on October 2, 2011 (in Polish)
Web links
- Historical photos from both the time as the site of the Romanian and (after expansion) as well as the French embassy on Warszawa1939.pl (accessed on January 19, 2012)
literature
- Julius A. Chroscicki and Andrzej Rottermund, Architectural Atlas of Warsaw , 1st edition, Arkady, Warsaw 1978, p. 174
Coordinates: 52 ° 13 ′ 42.4 " N , 21 ° 1 ′ 46.3" E