Pałac „jakoż nigdzie w Polsce nie masz”. Saskie inspiracje w architekturze warszawskiej rezydencji marszałka wielkiego koronnego Józefa Wandalina Mniszcha
The Palace 'of the Kind You Have Nowhere Else in Poland'. Saxon Inspirations in the Architecture of the Warsaw Residence Józef Wandalin Mniszech, Grand Marshall of the Crown

Summary/Abstract: The raising of the residence of Józef Wandalin Mniszech (1670-1747) in Senatorska Street was one of the major constructing projects in Warsaw in the 1720s. The office of the Grand Marshal of the Crown held by Mniszech, the palace’s owner, stipulated the necessity to create ceremonial space. The genesis and importance of extremely novel architectural forms of the facility, including e.g. mansard roof, become justifiable once the political impact of the palace’s owner and his broad intellectual horizons, the alterations of royal residences undertaken in the period, as well as a wider European context, are taken into account. What emerges as the main reference point is the architecture of Saxony. Interestingly, craftsmen working simultaneously for Augustus II and his projects, were employed to work on the Marshal’s residence. The analysis of the preserved archival records allows to unequivocally affiliate the construction with General Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, who being a hydraulic engineer and architect militaris served at the court of Augustus II. Let us remind that the Count won fame as the builder of the Peter and Paul Fortress where in 1734 he continued its construction after the death of Domenico Trezzini. Contrary to the generally ascertained view, Münnich did not leave Warsaw for good in 1721. On 25 April and 16 May 1735, he hosted dinners in Warsaw; the latter was held to celebrate the coronation of Empress Anna. The architect may have met with Mniszech in Saxony where the Grand Marshal travelled regularly. The main part of the project had been implemented by 1718, however the finishing off works still continued in the latter half of the 1720s. The Mniszech Residence was highly appreciated by the contem¬porary and ranked among the most sumptuous magnate residences; it was painted in the panoramas by F. C. Hübner and F. C. Schmidt respectively, and following the re-roofing conducted by Józef’s son Jerzy August Mniszech, it was immortalized in the famous painting by Canaletto...

• Details
• Contents