One piece of lost Warsaw that is set to rise again is the Saski Palace, formerly located in the grounds of Saski Park (B-2). Originally the residence of the Morsztyn family the building was purchased by King Augustus II and substantially enlarged and used by both him and his successor, Augustus III. Off-topic, but nevertheless worth airing, amateur historians will delight in learning that Augustus II sired 12 children by different women, while his successor managed to match the number, only this time staying loyal to his wife in the process.
Back on track, when Augustus III passed away (shagged out most likely) the building fell into disuse before being rented out for accommodation. Between 1806-1816 the Prussians established Warsaw Lyceum on the premises, and conflicting evidence suggests that Chopin either lived there for a time, or that his father taught French in one of the outbuildings. Extensively remodelled in 1842 the Palace finally assumed its best known shape in 1925 when the Tomb of the Unknown soldier was added to the series of colonnades used to link the two wings together. Serving as the seat of the Polish General Staff after WWI it was here that the German Enigma Code was first cracked by local science boffins. WWII signalled the end of the Palace and it was flattened by retreating Nazi troops, with only the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier surviving the blasts.
But the story continues. In a rare act of foresight the city of Warsaw has decided to cover the 201 million złoty cost of rebuilding Saski Palace. Budimex Dromex have been awarded the tender to undertake the work and the façade, thanks to blueprints made available by the Central Military Archive, will look just like it did in 1939. It’s not known what will occupy the space, with ideas ranging from a Museum of Polish History to an institute dedicated to the thoughts of Pope John Paul II. Completion was originally set for 2010, though so far building work has not entirely gone to plan. Although sappers failed to find any undetonated devices, builders have since come across over 10,000 rare archaeological finds including baroque sculptures, secret tunnels, ancient wells, German helmets and wine glasses bearing August III’s monogram. The one problem being that no provision was made for discoveries of this scale, meaning that many of the treasures recovered have since corroded after being incorrectly stored. For the time being work appears to have stopped completely, with even the fences taken down – when it’ll resume is anyone’s guess, though we could be in for a bit of a wait.
Back on track, when Augustus III passed away (shagged out most likely) the building fell into disuse before being rented out for accommodation. Between 1806-1816 the Prussians established Warsaw Lyceum on the premises, and conflicting evidence suggests that Chopin either lived there for a time, or that his father taught French in one of the outbuildings. Extensively remodelled in 1842 the Palace finally assumed its best known shape in 1925 when the Tomb of the Unknown soldier was added to the series of colonnades used to link the two wings together. Serving as the seat of the Polish General Staff after WWI it was here that the German Enigma Code was first cracked by local science boffins. WWII signalled the end of the Palace and it was flattened by retreating Nazi troops, with only the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier surviving the blasts.
But the story continues. In a rare act of foresight the city of Warsaw has decided to cover the 201 million złoty cost of rebuilding Saski Palace. Budimex Dromex have been awarded the tender to undertake the work and the façade, thanks to blueprints made available by the Central Military Archive, will look just like it did in 1939. It’s not known what will occupy the space, with ideas ranging from a Museum of Polish History to an institute dedicated to the thoughts of Pope John Paul II. Completion was originally set for 2010, though so far building work has not entirely gone to plan. Although sappers failed to find any undetonated devices, builders have since come across over 10,000 rare archaeological finds including baroque sculptures, secret tunnels, ancient wells, German helmets and wine glasses bearing August III’s monogram. The one problem being that no provision was made for discoveries of this scale, meaning that many of the treasures recovered have since corroded after being incorrectly stored. For the time being work appears to have stopped completely, with even the fences taken down – when it’ll resume is anyone’s guess, though we could be in for a bit of a wait.
