Belweder
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Belvedere.
Belweder (/bɛlvɛdɛr/; Polish: Pałac Belwederski, Belweder Palace, from the Italian bello and vedere — "beautiful" and "to see") is a palace in Warsaw, a few kilometers south of the Royal Castle. The present building is the latest of several that have stood on the site since 1659. Belweder once belonged to Poland's last king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, who used it as a porcelain-manufacturing plant.
From 1818 it was the residence of Russian Grand Duke Constantine, who fled it at the beginning of the November 1830 Uprising.
After the re-establishment of Poland's independence following World War I, it was (with a hiatus, 1922-26) the residence of Józef Piłsudski, Chief of State (1918–22) and later (1926-35) dictator of Poland, who died there in 1935. (During the May 1926 coup d'etat, President Stanisław Wojciechowski had abandoned it ahead of Piłsudski's advancing forces.)
During World War II, the building was extensively remodeled for Hans Frank, Governor-General of the German-occupied "General Government" of Poland.
In 1945-52 it was the residence of Bolesław Bierut, and later of the president of the Council of State. From 1989 to July 1994, it was the official residence of Poland's president, but proved too small for that purpose.
Protection of the Belweder Palace by the Government Protection Bureau (Biuro Ochrony Rządu, abbreviated BOR) has been difficult, as the palace is located on a hill that shares a fence with the Łazienki Park, located below, a major tourist attraction. For security reasons, the park has had to be partly closed during visits by foreign heads of state to the Belweder. Due to the size of Łazienki Park, this has proven difficult and time-consuming, and the Polish press has mocked BOR agents checking the bushes and disturbing the Park's peacocks.
Currently Belweder is used by the President for ceremonial purposes, while the President resides at the "Governor's Palace" in the city center.
There are plans to turn the Belweder Palace into a museum dedicated to Józef Piłsudski.
