Belweder

About

Belweder (Polish pronunciation: [bɛlˈvɛdɛr]; from the Italian belvedere, "beautiful view") is a neoclassical palace in Warsaw, Poland. Erected in 1660 and remodelled in the early 1800s, it is one of several official residences used by Polish presidents as well as a state guest house for visiting heads of state. The complex is situated south of Warsaw's city center, in the vicinity of the historic Royal Baths Park (Łazienki).

History: The present building is the latest of several that stood on the site since 1660. Belweder once belonged to Poland's last king, Stanislaus Augustus, who used it as a porcelain-manufacturing plant. From 1818 it was the residence of Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich, who de facto acted as viceroy in the Congress Kingdom of Poland. He fled from Belweder at the beginning of the November 1830 Uprising. After the re-establishment of Poland's independence following the First World War in 1918, the Belweder served as the residence of Marshal Józef Piłsudski, Chief of State (1918–1922) and later (1926–1935) Minister of Military Affairs of Poland. Intermittently, it was also the residence of President Stanisław Wojciechowski. After the May 1926 coup d'état, the...