Royal Castle

The history of The Royal Castle (Zamek Królewski) reaches back to the XIV century when Boleslaw II united Mazowsze and commenced building a new town,Warsaw. From this period only the Grand Tower remains to this day (today called the Grodzka Tower). The castle was home to the Mazovian Dukes and its importance in the region resulted in the expansion and growth of the castle and the removal of the wooden houses replacing themwith brick ones. It became a royal residence when Mazowsze was united with the Polish Crown in 1526 during the reign of King Zygmunt The Old. Between 1598-1619, when Zygmunt III Waza ruled, the buildings were reconstructed as a closed octagonal in plan, and in 1619 the clock tower named The Zygmunt Tower was finished.

During Swedish Invasion (1655-1660) the buildings were damaged and during the years that followed with no money available they were not renovated very quickly. The beginning of XVIII century brought better times. In 1717 the Poselska Room was reconstructed, the Senator Room was built a few years later and between 1740-47 the Vistula side facade was reconstructed in late Baroque style. The castle ‘blossomed’ under the last Polish monarch, King Stanislaw August Poniatowski (1764-95). During this period the new royal apartments were built and the Knights Room and the Marble Room together with the splendid Ball Room were created. Another century brought essential changes to a large part of the facade, work conducted under Ludwik Corio, into the neo classical style and the Kubicki Arcades were created with the terraces at the Vistula side in 1818-21.

The Partitions were periods of demolition and grand theft. Russian troops destroyed the royal gardens and created an area for soldiers to train and stables for horses. Precious art work was stolen and taken to Russia or destroyed. After Polish independence in 1918 the conservatory work began quickly. The Riga Treaty enabled stolen art work to be returned to Poland, at least a part of the art work. From 1926 the castle rose in status becoming the residence of the Polish President with a museum open to the public.

WWII brought a total disaster. In the first few days of the war the castle was bombed and set alight. Determined and brave museum staff saved a part of the precious works of art which were removed in time and hidden from Nazis. Anything of value that remained was stolen and the castle, as the symbol of the Polish nation was completely destroyed. In 1944 Germans blew up the few remaining castle rooms as revenge for the Warsaw Uprising.

The post war reconstruction of the Old Town did not end with reconstruction of the castle. The ideological and political ‘new reality’ decision for the reconstruction came in as late as in  1971. The work went ahead quickly with most of the cost covered by private donations of Polish people and funds from abroad. The first visitors were invited into the new castle in 1984. We could say that the reconstruction work in fact ended in 2009 the year the new Kubicki Arcades were opened to the public. This was the end of the very long reconstruction of the castle from its ruins to the building you see today.

On the 2 September 1980 the Royal Castle together with the Old Town was added to the UNESO World Heritage List as an example of the accurate and detailed reconstruction of these historical buildings.

The castle today is mainly a museum but also witnesses important national and cultural events.It is one of  touristic attraction in Warsaw. The Royal Castle (Zamek Królewski) in Warsaw (Warszawa), Poland - A Monument of Polish History and Culture.

Opening Hours  (in the winter season since October 2011 through April 2012) :

• On Mondays The Castle is closed for visitors.

Tuesday – Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• On Sundays entry free-of-charge.

Ticket Prices :

Tour Castle

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