Ostrogski Palace

Ostrogski Palace, or Ostrogski Castle (Polish: Pałac Ostrogskich, or Zamek Ostrogskich), is a fortified mansion in the city center of Warsaw, Poland, on Tamka Street. The castle was originally constructed for the powerful Ostrogski family in the 17th century. It currently houses the Fryderyk Chopin Society and the Fryderyk Chopin Museum.

The spot for the palace, a large lot of land on the Vistula escarpment directly below the Nowy Świat, was bought by Prince Janusz Ostrogski in early 17th century. As the area had been still a suburb of Warsaw and exempted from the laws of the city which prevented the inhabitants from building private fortifications, Ostrogski decided to build a small castle there. For that he financed a bastion on which the manor was to be constructed. However, it was not until after his death that the manor itself was started. Designed by Tylman of Gameren, the palace built on top of the bastion was to become one of the wings of a huge future palace. However, it was never completed and was bought by deputy chancellor of the crown Jan Gniński, who turned it into his seat.

In 1725 the palace was bought by yet another magnate family, the Zamoyski, who made it a seat of their jurydyka. However, as the unfinished manor lacked many features of an 18th-century magnate palace, it never served its original purpose and with time became neglected. Since 1778 it was divided onto small flats and started serving as a hostel for students, owned by Marcin Nikuta. Converted into a military hospital by the French in 1806, between 1812 and 1817 it was abandoned and gradually fell into disrepair. During the November Uprising it was bought by the Polish government and refurbished to become a military hospital once again.

Turned over to civilian authorities in 1836, it continued to be a hospital until 1859, when it was bought by the Musical Institute. It was there that both Stanisław Moniuszko and Ignacy Jan Paderewski received their education. In late 19th century an additional story was added and in 1913 a new, much larger seat for the institute was built adjacent to the palace.

Destroyed by the Germans in the effect of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, the building had been rebuilt by Mieczysław Kuzma between 1949 and 1954, while the ruins of the 1913 construction were demolished. Since then it has housed the Fryderyk Chopin Society.

Text adapted from “Ostrogski Palace” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ostrogski Palace ranks #1,994 of 7,738 worldwide in the atlas's castle fame ranking, and #69 of the 366 mapped in Poland. Founded c. 1675, it is older than 24% of the atlas's dated landmarks — one of 580 atlas entries founded in the 17th century. Its Wikipedia articles were opened 1,479 times in the last 60 days, more than 59% of the atlas. 41 more atlas landmarks stand within 25 km. The nearest day-trip guide is Warsaw, 1 km away. See how Poland compares in the castle statistics.

View on the interactive castle map →

Read the full history on Wikipedia ↗