Everything about Belweder totally explained
Belweder (/bɛlvɛdɛr/;
Polish:
Pałac Belwederski, Belweder Palace, from the
Italian bello and
vedere — "beautiful" and "to see") is a palace in
Warsaw, a few kilometers south of the
Royal Castle.
History
The present building is the latest of several that have stood on the site since
1660. Belweder once belonged to Poland's last king,
Stanisław August Poniatowski, who used it as a porcelain-manufacturing plant.
From
1818 it was the residence of Russian
Grand Duke Constantine, who fled it at the beginning of the
November 1830 Uprising.
After the re-establishment of Poland's independence following
World War I, it was (with a hiatus, 1922-26) the residence of Marshal
Józef Piłsudski, Chief of State (1918–22) and later (1926-35) dictator of Poland, who died there in 1935. (During the
May 1926 coup d'etat, President
Stanisław Wojciechowski had abandoned it ahead of Piłsudski's advancing forces.)
During
World War II, the building was extensively remodeled for
Hans Frank, Governor-General of the German-occupied "
General Government" of Poland.
In
1945-
52 it was the residence of
Bolesław Bierut, and later of the president of the
Council of State. From
1989 to July
1994, it was the official residence of Poland's president, but proved too small for that purpose.
Protection of the Belweder Palace by the
Government Protection Bureau (
Biuro Ochrony Rządu, abbreviated
BOR) has been difficult, as the palace is located on a hill that shares a fence with the
Łazienki Park, located below, a major tourist attraction. For security reasons, the park has had to be partly closed during visits by foreign heads of state to the Belweder. Due to the size of Łazienki Park, this has proven difficult and time-consuming, and the Polish press has mocked Secret Service agents checking the
bushes and disturbing the Park's
peacocks.
Currently Belweder is used by the President and the Government for
ceremonial purposes, while the President resides at the "
Governor's 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 dedicated to
Józef Piłsudski. Currently it houses a small exhibition devoted to the Marshal.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Belweder'.
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