From the end of the 18th century to the mid-19th, Warsaw Solidarity Avenue and Plac Teatralny were Warsaw’s commercial centers. The area’s grand Neo-Classical buildings, with their impressive colonnades, date from the 1820s. These include the Grand Theater (Teatr Wielki), one of the largest buildings in Europe.
The area also features several large parks. The Krasinski Gardens (adjoining the magnificent Krasinski Palace) were first laid out in the late 17th century. The Saxon Gardens (Ogród Saski), designed in a Baroque style, are part of a town planning scheme known as the Saxon Axis.
The Saxon Gardens are all that remains of the former Royal Park, which encircled the house of the Saxon King August II Mocny in the 18th century. A 19th-century colonnade divided the Saxon Gardens from Pilsudski Square, where official State functions take place. This is also where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, featuring a guard of honor and an eternal flame, emerged in 1925.
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Following almost complete destruction during World War II, the Rococo Branicki Palace was rebuilt between 1947 and 1953, using detailed historical research and 18th-century paintings for guidance. Designed as a home for the king’s adviser, Jan Klemens Branicki, construction of the palace was first undertaken in 1740. Branicki was a distinguished soldier, but also a connoisseur of fine art, especially from France.
So he traveled to Paris to buy silver, furniture and even marble fireplaces for his residences. Celebrated artists advised on decorating Warsaw palace, such as the sculptor Jan Chryzostom Redler.
The palace faces Podwale Street, with the extensive forecourt entered through an ornamental gateway. Attractive is the facade overlooking Miodowa Street, which features Rococo sculptures. But these are not original, they are from the 1950’s.
| Address | Miodowa 6, Solidarity Avenue Warsaw Area |
A house of the Radziwill family, the Baroque Pac Palace is a design by Tylman van Gameren, built between 1681 and 1697. The palace was the scene of a historic event, on the night of 3 November 1771, when a rival royalist group kidnapped King Stanislaw August Poniatowski, in front of the palace gates.
But this disorganized plot soon failed, and by the following morning, the king had returned to his castle. Between 1824 and 1828 the architect Henryk Marconi completely redesigned the palace, on behalf of the new owner, Ludwik Pac.
The interiors featured Gothic, Renaissance, Greek and Moorish styles, while the facade obtained a Palladian manner. The impressive semi-circular gateway, which opens on Miodowa Street, resembles a triumphal arch.
The gateway’s Neo-Classical reliefs depict the Roman Counsel Fleminius, granting freedom to the Greek cities. This was the work of Ludwik Kaufmann, a pupil of the celebrated sculptor Antonio Canova. The building now houses the Ministry of Health.
| Address | Miodowa 15, Solidarity Avenue Warsaw Area |
The Baroque Krasinski Palace is one of the most beautiful buildings in Warsaw. Constructed between 1687 and 1700, Tylman van Gameren designed it for the mayor of Warsaw, Jan Dobrogost Krasinski. A triangular pediment features ornamental reliefs. They depict the heroic deeds of the legendary Roman patrician, Marcus Valerius, an ancestor of Jan Dobrogost Krasinski.
The reliefs are the work of Andreas Schluter, a gifted sculptor and architect who later designed the Arsenal and Royal Castle in Berlin.
The Krasinski house had luxurious furnishing. It included a gallery featuring the works of Rembrandt, Rubens, Durer, and Correggio. Until 1765 the Krasinski family owned the palace.
Thereafter it housed the royal treasury, followed by various legal departments. Rebuilt after World War II, the Krasinski Palace now houses an antique print and manuscripts collection from the National Library (Biblioteka Narodowa).
Address: plac Krasińskich 3/5, Solidarity Avenue Area Warrsaw
One of Warsaw’s most beautiful palaces on Warsaw Solidarity Avenue is from 1728 and built for Jan Jerzy Przebendowski, who was the treasurer of King August II. The design, by Jan Zygmunt Deybel, features mansard roofs (with slopes on both sides and both ends), as well as a bow front.
From 1760, the Spanish envoy, Count Pedro Aranda, occupied the palace for two years. A fierce opponent of the Spanish Inquisition, he founded the Spanish Masonic Lodge and instigated the Jesuits’ banishment from Spain.
During his spell in Poland, the count also held magnificent parties. The palace’s quiet site in a narrow shopping street changed after the East-West tunnel emerged in 1948-1949. That resulted in a major traffic artery surrounding the palace.
After the war, the palace became the Lenin Museum. Since 1990 it has housed the Independence Museum (Muzeum Niepodleglosci). There’s a document collection on Poland’s history from the 18th-century partition to the present day.
Address: al. „Solidarności” 62
The Polish Vodka Museum at the Theater Palace Square in Warsaw comprises the world’s largest collection of exhibits related to vodka history.
Many museums dedicated to local spirits operate in many countries. It’s a form of preserving the cultural heritage of particular nations. Poland is the country of vodka, produced here for ages. It forms a relevant element of the national history, tradition, and culture.
The world’s unique collection of the Vodka Museum resulted from a merger of Adam Łukawski’s and Piotr Popiński’s rich collections gathered for over 20 years. It’s complemented by exhibits either donated or loaned by alcohol producers, institutions, museums, and private collectors from Poland and abroad. Exhibits are displayed in the form of permanent and periodic exhibitions. There are also lectures, workshops, and educational activities.
The Vodka Museum at the Theater Square in Warsaw is one of the most interesting museum concepts in Europe. It’s without doubt a mandatory attraction on the tourist map of Warsaw.
Address: Plac Konesera 1
Completed in the late 17th century, later rebuilding gave the Morsztyn Palace a late Baroque façade and Neo-Classical outbuildings. In the early 18th century the Voivode (Lord Lieutenant) of the Sandomierz region, Stefan Bidzinski, was the owner of the palace.
He was a fearless soldier, famous for donating a vast sum to release the noblemen of Sandomierz from their Muslim captors. Later owners of the palace included J. Massalski, the bishop of Vilnius, a distinguished man of letters.
But as he also was a gambler and a rake, and expropriated former Jesuit estates. He was hanged during the 1794 Kosciuszko Insurrection. On 17 and 18 April 1794, the palace was the scene of a fierce battle between Russian troops and Varsovians. When the Russians finally ran out of shots, in desperation they used coins and buttons instead.
Adres: Miodowa 10
The Blue Palace dates from the 17th century. King August II Mocny acquired it for his beloved daughter, Anna Orzelska. This entailed refurbishing the palace in a Rococo way. This was Anna Orzelka’s favorite architectural style.
The designers were Joachim Daniel Jauch, Jan Zygmunt Deybel and Karol Fryderyk Poppelmann. Moreover, as there wasn’t much time before the Christmas in question, the completion of the alterations took place in a great hurry.
A total of 300 masons and craftsmen worked day and night for six weeks. Anna Orzelska later named the palace after her favorite color. In the late 18th century the palace passed into the Czartoryski family. In 1811 the Zamoyskis acquired the palace.
They refurbished it in a late Neo-Classical style, designed by Fryderyk Lessel. The apartments functioned to entertain royalty. From 1948 to 1950 the palace underwent reconstruction works.
| Address | Miodowa 15, Solidarity Avenue Warsaw Area |
The Baroque Capuchin Church of the Transfiguration built between 1683 and 1692, is a design by Tylman van Gameren and Augustyn Locci. Founded by King Jan III Sobieski in gratitude for his victory over the Turks at Vienna in 1683, the church has a modest facade modeled on the Capuchin church in Rome.
The somewhat strict interior also features unusual epitaphs. The king’s chapel has a Rococo urn with the ashes of King August II Mocny. It also has a 19th-century sarcophagus containing the heart of King Jan III Sobieski.
Another chapel houses an 18th-century marble urn, by Jan Redler. It’s dedicated to Anna (born Kolowrath), wife of Henryk Brühl, a hated minister at the court of King August II Mocny. Since 1948 the church vaults have housed a nativity scene with moving figures, of particular interest to children.
| Address | Kapucynska 4, Solidarity Avenue Warsaw Area |