The palace was built in the 1670s according to a design created by the architect Tylman van Gameren. It was remodelled several times. The present-day complex dates to the times of Izabella and Adam Czartoryski, who had the palace remodelled according to Chrystian Piotr Aigner’s design. The remodelling took place between 1788 and 1801. The residence is accompanied by a landscape park with numerous structures – the Palace of the Virgin Mary, the Yellow House, the Gothic House, the Temple of the Sybil, to mention just a few. 

At the beginning of the 19th century, it was an important centre of the cultural and political life of the country.

History

The beginnings of the residential complex in Puławy are connected with Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski, the Grand Marshal of the Crown and his wife Zofia née Opalińska, who had inherited the Końskowola estate with the village of Puławy. Between 1671 and 1678, they built a palace in the form of an Italian villa. Their residence was erected on the edge of a steep hill. The building was rectangular in shape with four alcoves in the corners and had defensive functions too. The whole was surrounded by a large garden. The spatial layout of the palace complex and its composition were designed by Tylman van Gameren. In 1687, the Końskowola estate with the village of Puławy became the property of the only daughter of Stanisław and Zofia Lubomirski – Elżbieta, wife of Adam Sieniawski.  In 1706, the residence was burnt down by the Swedish army. The palace was rebuilt in the following years. In the early 1830s, Puławy became the property of the Czartoryski family and remained in their hands for one hundred years. Maria and August Czartoryski, who rebuilt and decorated the residence, played a significant role in its history. The new residence was designed by Jan Zygmunt Deybel and was built by Franz Mayer.  However, most innovative changes in the development and functioning of the palace were introduced by Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and, above all, by his wife Izabella, who created an important centre of cultural and political life. They hired a group of outstanding artists who remodelled the entire palace complex thoroughly, especially the park. The visions of the new owners were put into effect, among others, by Joachim Hempel and the architect Christian Piotr Aigner, who was beginning his career at that time.

Over the next few years, new buildings were erected: the Palace of the Virgin Mary, the Temple of the Sibyl (1798-1803), the Roman Gate (around 1800), the Greek Theater, the Gothic House (1809). Grottos were also carved out and decorated in the limestone slope of the escarpment. Small pavilions were built nearby: Fisherman’s House and Hermit's House. Around 1801, a marble sarcophagus (M. Laboureur), brought from Italy, was erected on the Wild Promenade to honour the memory of August and Maria Zofia Czartoryski, while in the slope of the escarpment next to the side courtyard a classicist Yellow House was built and a walkway with Gothic-like features was created. Between 1800 and 1803, a classicist chapel of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was erected, modeled on the Roman Pantheon. The construction of the library building also commenced then. The garden, arranged in the English style, was dominated by natural forms associated with landscape elements. After the confiscation of the property by the tsarist authorities (1832), the palace buildings housed the Alexandrian Institute for the Upbringing of the Ladies, also called Mariinsky Institute. Between 1840 and 1843, the entire complex was remodelled according to Józef Górecki’s design. Between 1858 and 59, the palace chapel, damaged by a fire, was remodelled in accordance with a design created by Julian Ankiewicz. In 1861, the palace was designated as the seat of a state university - the Polytechnic and Agricultural-Forestry Institute, and after 1863 - as the seat of the Institute of Rural Farming and Forestry, which functioned as a training and research institution until the First World War. 

In 1897, a water tower was built in the park. During the war, the palace was slightly damaged. Between 1917 and 1939, it housed the State Research Institute of Rural Economy, which continued its activity also during the Second World War under the German administration. Around 1920, attempts were made to tidy up the park. The post-war renovation of the palace was accompanied by efforts to restore the historical appearance of the park. To that end, works were undertaken in accordance with the guidelines of Gerard Ciołek. In 1947, some of the movable objects removed by the Czartoryski family (garden sculptures, sarcophagus) returned to the park. In 1949, the Gothic House and the Temple of the Sybil were converted into the Museum of the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society (PTTK). In 1950, the Institute was reorganised and changed its name to the Institute of Soil Science and Plant Cultivation. In 1958, a general renovation of the Chinese House was undertaken, and in 1965 a public library building was erected next to the Greek House. Between 1972 and 1989, repairs and conservation works were under way in the park, covering nearly all permanent elements of the park. Nevertheless, the condition of the park has continued to deteriorate due to frequent storms and windstorms in Puławy. The most serious ones occurred in 1949, 1956, 1962, 1965, 1981, 1997 and 2001. 

Description

Situation: The complex is situated on the south-western edge of the town and covers a fairly large area, bordering on the north-eastern side with Czartoryskich Street, on the north-western side - with Waryńskiego Street and Izabeli and Aignera Street, spanning to the lower section of Piłsudskiego Street, descending towards the Vistula River at the foot of the hill where the former manor chapel of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary had once stood on its highest point. On the western side, the edge and the slope of the escarpment form a natural boundary. The complex also covers an area situated to the south-west and to the south of the escarpment: The Lower Garden together with a section of Łacha, which separates it from the park, delineate the south-eastern boundary of the entire complex. On the eastern and north-eastern side, the boundary is defined by the fence of the Palace of the Virgin Mary and the perimeter wall of the park running along the first section of Kazimierska Street, Gen. Fieldorfa - “Nila” Street and along the lower section of Głęboka Street. In addition, the complex includes the Upper Garden between the escarpment on the east and the Royal Avenue on the north-west. The complex is completed by two linden alleys: The Small Alley and the Royal Alley, which run in the north-east direction, perpendicularly to Czartoryskich Street.  

Composition: The main compositional axis of the palace complex is delineated by the axis of the palace, two courtyards (the “honorary” courtyard and the front courtyard) and four-row linden avenue, called the Royal Avenue. On the axis behind the palace, there was a terraced garden on the slope of the escarpment. The second, transverse axis is delineated by the present-day Czartoryskich Street and the upper section of Głęboka Street. Both street sections, once lined with linden trees, mark the boundaries of the core manor complex, contained between the moat with a pair of guardhouses and the perimeter walls. Initially, the arms of this axis corresponded with two zones: the economic one, with farm buildings on the side of the alley (Czartoryskich Street) and a large courtyard stretching to the edge of the escarpment and contained between the palace buildings on the north-western side and the garden on the opposite side. The palace is situated on the edge of a high escarpment on the right bank of the Vistula River valley and on top of a slightly raised terrain. Established on the north-east – south-west axis with the façade facing north-east, on the closure of the viewing perspective of the Royal Avenue. The palace has two courtyards with a fence in-between and is separated from the transversely running Czartoryskich Street by a dry moat with a bridge and a pair of guardhouses at its ends. 

From the north-west, the courtyard is adjoined by a long and low outbuilding, connected by its wall with the northern guardhouse. In the guardhouse, there is a vaulted gate leading to the utility part. The park covers the area between the south-eastern side and Mokradki, whilst also occupying the slope of the escarpment and the bank of the old river bed of the Vistula (currently Łacha) and a fragment of a terrain surrounded from the west by a fence. There are many historic buildings in the landscape park, including: Temple of the Sybil, Gothic House, Greek House, Roman Gate (Roman Arch), marble sarcophagus and a sculpture of Tancred and Clorinda. In the south-eastern part, the Wild Promenade covers the area below the slope of the escarpment. On the slope of the escarpment, there is a clearly discernible depression where once the Greek Theater was. Below, there is the Sarcophagus of the Czartoryski Family erected in a slightly elevated place. In the south-easternmost part, there is the complex of the Palace of the Virgin Mary, situated on a low, terraced escarpment of the river bank, perpendicularly to Łacha.  In the westernmost part of the former Lower Park, there is the Chinese House and on its north-eastern axis - the English Passage - formerly a ravine lined with retaining walls, leading to the upper platform of the spacious former side courtyard that stretched to the north-western side of the palace. From the north-east, the courtyard area is enclosed by the long structure of the former outbuilding connected with the palace by a wall section and a passage with a roofed driveway that leads to the utility yard. The passage is perpendicular to the wing of the palace. The Yellow House is situated on an elevated ridge of the escarpment. On the transverse axis of the House, there are the scarce remnants of the four-row linden alley that used to line the edge of the escarpment in the north-western direction up to the end of the hill on whose top there is the rotunda of the manor chapel of the Virgin Mary. 

Palace

The oldest parts of the main body of the palace are built of limestone and brick and covered with lime mortar. The newer parts are built of full bricks and covered with paster. Some partition walls are made of bricks, however, most partition walls have a wooden skeleton to which fibreboard, plywood and plasterboards are attached. The stairs in the main staircase and in the two staircases in the side wings (southern and western ones) are made from cast iron, with three-flight half-turn main stairs and three-flight turn stairs on the sides. In other staircases, there are cast-concrete two-flight stairs with landings. In the main body of the building, there is a spiral brick staircase with stone steps. The parquet is made of wooden tiles arranged diagonally, in other rooms - in a herringbone pattern. Vaults on the ground floor: in the hallway, there are cross-vaults resting on columns in a hall system, in the rooms on the south-eastern side, there are barrel and cross vaults, in corner rooms - spherical and cross vaults. The Gothic Hall (chapel) has pointed-arch stellar vaults on four beam pillars. The cellars under the old outbuildings have barrel vaults and cross vaults, the rooms on the ground floor – cross and barrel vaults with lunettes. In the room on the first floor in the north-west wing, there is a coffer ceiling. In other rooms, the ceilings are made of boards, reed, plastered, covered with whitewash. The window joinery is made of wood. The windows are integrated with window panes, with divisions typical for Polish windows. The floor is made of square marble slabs in a checkerboard, diagonal arrangement. The queen post roof truss is made of wood, with copper sheet cladding.

The palace was erected on a floor plan of an elongated horseshoe with symmetrically placed arms and two elongated, perpendicular wings of unequal length – the north-western wing is longer, because it incorporates a section of the outbuilding. The principal block follows a floor plan resembling a rectangle, in a basic tripartite, three-bay arrangement. The seven-partite third bay is wider and has three avant-corpses. The central part is two-bay with an internal half-bay. The hall has a three-aisled hall layout.

Both arms at the principal block are shifted forward. They are two-bay, with a clearly discernible newer part.

The building has a two-storey structure, with a two-storey front part of the principal block, covered with a flattened hip roof. The rear side of the principal block is covered with a flat three-span roof resting on the rear wall of the second floor, divided on the axis in a part of the central, three-sided avant-corps with a flat five-span roof decorated with a low, full attic. The roofs over the rear avant-corps of the corner extensions on the southern and western sides are three-sided and turn into lean-to roofs. The roofs above both arms next to the principal block are three-span and turn into gable roofs. Over the side wings, there are gable roofs with bricked-in gables. The remaining parts of the wings are topped with gable roofs.  

The front elevation of the principal block is three-storey, seven-axial, divided by the entablature with a plinth strip between the upper storeys, with the whole width of the ground-floor part covered by an arcaded portico with a terrace on the first storey. The ground floor wall is divided by lesenes which turn into arches of the portico vault, whereas the opposite lesenes rest on the pillars of the arcades. Windows on the axes. On the central axis, there is an entrance surmounted by an eared surround. The central part of the façade has the form of a pseudo-avant-corps divided by four single pilasters on pedestals; Ionic ones on the first floor, Corinthian ones on the second floor. The storeys have a Doric entablature with a smooth frieze. The second floor is topped by an entablature with an architrave, a smooth frieze and a Corinthian cornice without serration. In the avant-corps area, there is an attic (full and with a baluster railing). The upper windows on the axes are enclosed by profiled surrounds; on the first floor with simple parapet cornices, topped with pediments with a pair of corbels – in the pseudo-avant-garde porte-fenêtres, on the second floor – standing on a continuous plinth cornice, with a window cornice resting on corbels. The arcades of the portico (the three central ones) make up an avant-corps. 

The front elevations of the arms are ten-axial, with an internal, five-axial part, delineated by a shallow avant-corps and the first-storey baluster railing.

In the central part of the palace, a beautiful baroque hallway has been preserved, on the first floor – the Stone and Gothic Halls, and on the second floor – the Knight's Hall. In the right wing, there is the Column Hall, Ballroom Hall and the Drawing Room.

English Stairs known as The English Passage (before 1770) are located on the east-west axis. They lead from the side courtyard down to the Lower Garden. It is a complex of two brick retaining walls and sections of vaults that make up a recessed descending walkway. In the eastern part, they are covered with a cradle vault. As a result, this section of the passage looks like a tunnel. In the western part, it is terminated with three semi-circular arches. 

Palace of the Virgin Mary (1791-1794) situated on the slightly raised right bank of the Łacha, facing Kazimierska Street (formerly the four-row linden avenue). The palace is preceded by a large, circular courtyard. From the north-west, it adjoins the palace park, and from the south-east, it adjoins the area of the former Mokradki grange.

The building is made of bricks and covered with plaster. It is built on a rectangular floor plan with a convex avant-corps at the back. The interiors have a tripartite, two-bay layout, with a hallway in the front bay, preceded by a recessed portico with four columns and stairs, as well as a circular lounge in the rear bay, partly jutting out beyond the outline of the principal block. It is a storied building with no cellars. Its principal block is covered with a flattened hipped roof. Circular rooms, on the other hand, are covered with a flattened conical roof. The façade is nine-axial in the great Corinthian order with a four-column portico, topped with an entablature and an attic, with rusticated stonework.  

The side elevations are five-axial, rusticated, separated by a cordon cornice and topped with an entablature. They are inter-spaced with blind windows containing illusionistically painted windows. On the central axis of the nine-axial rear elevation, there is a convex avant-corps preceded by a terrace.

The Temple of the Sybil (1798-1803) was placed on a high riverside slope, in the southern part of the park, originally at the intersection of the main alleys of the Upper Garden. It was an important element of the spatial and visual composition of the complex. The building was built of bricks, sandstone and marble. It is partly plastered (in some parts have unplastered brickwork). It is a cylindrical, two-storey building with a roof over a dome with a skylight. The lower storey is buttressed from the south-west, the upper storey features an open colonnade, accessible on the north-western side from the Upper Garden, preceded by single-flight fan stairs. It was designed as an eighteen-column monopteros (architecturally following the model of the ancient Temple of Vesta in Tivoli). Each storey contains a single space, the lower one with an internal circular walkway supported on pillars and arcades.  The façade of the upper storey rests on a pedestal. It is plastered and surrounded by a Corinthian colonnade, which supports the entablature with a garland frieze. The entrance to the portal contains the following inscription in the finial: “THE PAST FOR THE FUTURE”, preceded by stairs flanked by sculptures of lions lying on pedestals.

Chapel, currently the Parish Church of the Ascension of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1800-1803)

The temple, together with the clergy house, parish house and bell tower, forms a complex of sacred buildings accessible from J. Piłsudskiego Street. The church is situated on the northern edge of the palace and park complex, on a protruding promontory of the high riverside escarpment. The building represents the type of central temple and follows the model of the Roman Pantheon. It is built from bricks and covered with plaster. The temple was follows a circular floor plan with a rectangular annex (vestibule and symmetrical staircases) at the front and a portico preceded by stairs. On its internal walls, rectangular niches alternate with semi-circular ones. The nave is surrounded by twelve columns, which delineate a walkway (ambulatory) around the central space. 

The building is topped with a rotunda covered with a dome with a skylight, with a full-height front annex, preceded by a six-column portico topped with a triangular tympanum. The elevation is divided by two profiled cordon and window cornices, over which there is a number of semi-circular windows. At the front, there is a door with the following inscription above: “IN LOVING MEMORY OF THE FAITH AND VIRTUES OF THE BELOVED MARYJA SIENIAWSKA, THE PRINCESS, CHERISHED BY W. R./ADAM KAZIMIERZ CZARTORYSKI”.

Alexandrian cottage known as Yellow House (1800-1830) situated in the north-western part of the park, to the north of the palace. Façade facing east. A brick building made of ceramic bricks, plastered. Rectangular in shape with a garden-facing (western) elevatoiin with truncated corners and a four-column portico on the eastern side and a small terrace in the north-western corner. The rooms have a two-bay, tripartite layout with a hall on the main axis. The main entrance is placed on the axis of the building. It is preceded by a four-column portico. It is a single-storey building without cellars, covered with a hipped roof. Plinth elevations, rusticated, topped with a crowning cornice in the form of a Doric entablature fragment. The front (eastern) elevation is three-axial and is preceded by a portico, with Tuscan columns supporting the entablature and a triangular pediment.

Gothic House (1809 – remodelling of a Baroque pavilion) situated in the southern part of the Upper Garden, near the intersecting main park alleys. Its façade faces south-east.

It is a brick building (colonnade and stone portico), plastered and covered with a polychrome imitating a brick pattern. Wooden, beamed ceilings. Wooden rafter-purlin roof framing. The roof has copper sheet cladding. Stone stairs and floors, wooden parquet.  

The building is erected on an irregular, complex floor plan. The principal block is two-storey, rectangular from the outside, and oval from the inside, covered with a gable roof. It is adjoined by two-storey annexes which differ in height. Access to the building is provided through the main entrance situated in the north-eastern annex. The elevations are set on a plinth and topped with a cornice, the north-eastern and south-eastern ones with a columned portico. The north-western elevation with a column gallery which carries the weight of the terrace. Arranged as a lapidarium exhibition. The window openings are terminated with a pointed arch, semicircular or round, some are fitted with stained glass panes. In total, the elevations comprise nine walls with names carved on stone tablets to commemorate historical figures and other persons.

Museum of the Czartoryski Family in Puławy

Puławy, No. 8 Czartoryskich Street

tel.:  81,888 44 11

e-mail: kontakt@muzeumczartoryskich.pulawy.pl

open every day:

 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. (in winter season)

 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (in summer season)

Anna Sikora – Terlecka, 30 November 2017

Bibliography

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• Jaroszewski T., Chrystian Piotr Aigner 1756 –1841, Warsaw 1965
• Kseniak M., Rezydencja Książąt Czartoryskich w Puławach, issue 2., Lublin 1998
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• Idem, Tylman z Gamerem, architekt polskiego baroku, Wrocław, Warsaw, Krakow, Gdańsk 1973
• Idem, Pałac 2003 
• Puławy. Teka konserwatorska, issue 5, multi-author compilation edited by St. Lorenza, Warsaw 1962