Our youthful cherry-cheeked hero frequently gave concerts in the Belvedere Palace (G-5, ul. Belwederska 52), then the stamping ground of the Russian aristocracy. It was here he played for the Tsar’s brother, Great Prince Konstanty, whose numerous duties included being the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army. So taken was he by Chopin’s skills that he persuaded him to pen a march to be played during military parades.
Elsewhere in Łazienki don’t dare miss a visit to the art nouveau Chopin Monument (G-4) next to the Botanical Garden. Set in the midst of a rose garden it was erected in 1926, the work of acclaimed sculptor Wacław Szymankowski. As part of the Nazi brutalization of Warsaw it was dynamited by German busybodies on May 31, 1940. The following day an unknown patriot had placed a placard on the smouldering ruin declaring: ‘I don’t know who destroyed me, but I know why; so I don’t play the funeral march for your leader’. A plaster-cast of the original model allowed the statue to be rebuilt and a faithful reconstruction was unveiled in 1958. An identical replica can be found at Japan’s Hamamatsu Academy of Music.
Since 1959 live Chopin recitals have been held here from May until September each Sunday at midday and 16:00. This is deckchair and ice-cream paradise, and summer Warsaw at its best –don’t miss it.
Elsewhere in Łazienki don’t dare miss a visit to the art nouveau Chopin Monument (G-4) next to the Botanical Garden. Set in the midst of a rose garden it was erected in 1926, the work of acclaimed sculptor Wacław Szymankowski. As part of the Nazi brutalization of Warsaw it was dynamited by German busybodies on May 31, 1940. The following day an unknown patriot had placed a placard on the smouldering ruin declaring: ‘I don’t know who destroyed me, but I know why; so I don’t play the funeral march for your leader’. A plaster-cast of the original model allowed the statue to be rebuilt and a faithful reconstruction was unveiled in 1958. An identical replica can be found at Japan’s Hamamatsu Academy of Music.
Since 1959 live Chopin recitals have been held here from May until September each Sunday at midday and 16:00. This is deckchair and ice-cream paradise, and summer Warsaw at its best –don’t miss it.
