The Wilanów Palace was built in the second half of the seventeenth century in a style that was a mixture of baroque, traditional Polish architecture and Versailles.
The Palace was built for king Jan III Sobieski to demonstrate his power after the triumph in the Battle of Vienna. Here you can see him (and his horse of course!) defeating the Ottoman Turks.
The palace used to be a luxury residence, filled with many paintings and sculptures.
In some rooms you almost cannot spot the walls!
Even the ceilings are covered with frescoes.
Some of the rooms were used for official meetings and celebrations.
Others had a private character, with an office ...
... a bedroom ...
... and a chapel.
The dining room was equipped with gold cutlery. King's privilege.
The china was obviously of Chinese origin. It was kept in a real Chinese room.
When the king wanted to take some rest he could sit on one of these benches. Unfortunately this is not allowed to sit on them nowadays.
Through the window he could see his garden, cut in the Versailles style again.
On the lower floor of the Palace there is an exhibition of traditional clothes worn by nobility in seventeenth century.
No, these are not both for females. Ladies were wearing long dresses like the beige one on the left side. Gentlemen were wearing robe-like garment called kontusz, like the green one on the right side. A kontusz was surrounded by a sash, being a piece of fabric, often decorated with gold fibres. They were the most distinctive element of the clothes of a Polish nobleman.
I hope that you have enjoyed this little travel in the times of king Jan.
The sun is shining bright so I propose that we take a walk in the beautiful garden surrounding the Palace. We have already seen it in summer but it is in autumn when its true beauty is revealed.
O dziwo podobają mi się ich stroje, jednak sypialnia jest zupełnie nie w moim stylu :) Pałac prezentuje się wspaniale, pokój chiński i freski - najbardziej zapadną mi w pamięci. No i ta ściana pełna obrazów! Nie byłam nigdy w Wilanowie, ale chciałabym kiedyś zobaczyć to miejsce na żywo.
ReplyDeletePozdrawiam!