Marymont Palace

Plan of Mariemont palace in 1743
Mariemont palace in the time of the Sobieskis
Mariemont palace on a 19th century engraving

Mariemont Palace was a small summer palace of the kings of Poland. It was located in Marymont, a northern neighbourhood of Warsaw, Poland. Today, nothing remains of this pleasure pavilion, and a church stands on its location.

History

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At the behest of king John III Sobieski, a palace was constructed between 1691 and 1696 for his wife, queen Marie Casimire.[1][2] The design was made by the Dutch architect Tylman van Gameren .[1] The palace was named ‘Mariemont’ after the queen, meaning Mary’s hill.[1][2]

It was a charming, compact building intended to be used as a pleasure pavilion for summer times and basis to go hunting.[1][2] It was located on a lofty embankment along the Vistula river.[1][2] The main structure featured multiple floors and had a square layout, crowned with an elegant tented roof and an intricately designed onion dome.[1][2] The first floor, known as the "piano nobile," served as the noble living space.[1][2] The palace's facades were uniformly adorned with frames and decorative pilasters, creating a harmonious aesthetic.[1][2]

In 1727, the Sobieski family sold the palace to king Augustus II the Strong of Poland, who was also Elector of Saxony. He undertook extensive renovations and established a menagerie.[1][2][3] The architect Joseph Christoph Naumann helped in the design of the renovations.[3] Various plans can still be found in the Saxon State main archive in Dresden. [3]

Both August II and his son, king Augustus III of Poland, regularly used Mariemont as a hunting lodge for trips into the Bielański forest and the Kampinos forest.[1][2][3] The hunting trips could take up to two days with more than five thousand participants.[3] In a hunting trip at Mariemont in 1724 around 700 aristocrats participated, around 200 hunters, and 4,000 peasants who helped as drivers).[3] When Stanisław August Poniatowski became king of Poland in 1764, Mariemont palace remained in the possession of the Saxon Electors.[3] They leases the palace out to various users, such as the English ambassador.[3] After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, they sold all their possessions to Prussia.[3]

In 1816, an agronomic institute was established in the grounds of the palace.[2] After the January Uprising in 1863 and 1864, the palace and the institute were transferred to the Imperial Russian Army to be used as cavalry barracks.[2] In the palace a military warehouse was set-up, and its architecture was damaged.[2] Today, nothing remains anymore of the palace. On its foundations, a catholic church has been constructed. [2] During renovation works in 2016, archaeological research has been performed. [2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Widacka, Hanna. "Marie Casimire's Palace (Marie Mont) in Warsaw". www.wilanow-palac.pl. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Grabowski, Michal; Mieszkowski, Radoslaw (2016). "Badania „Wzgórza Marii", czyli odkrycie reliktów pałacu Sobieskich na Marymoncie w Warszawie". Metody geofizyczne w archeologii polskiej 2016 (PDF) (in Polish). pp. 29–30.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hentschel, Walter (1967). Die Sächsische Baukunst des 18. Jahrhunderts in Poln (in German). Berlin: Hentschel Verlag. pp. 182–189.

Literature

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  • Hentschel, Walter (1967). Die Sächsische Baukunst des 18. Jahrhunderts in Poln (in German). Berlin: Hentschel Verlag. pp. 182–189.
  • Grabowski, Michal; Mieszkowski, Radoslaw (2016). "Badania „Wzgórza Marii", czyli odkrycie reliktów pałacu Sobieskich na Marymoncie w Warszawie". Metody geofizyczne w archeologii polskiej 2016 (PDF) (in Polish). pp. 29–30.

See also

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