Manuscripts of the chronicles of Gallus Anonymous and poems by Cyprian Kamil Norwid, the original of Jacek Kaczmarski's "Walls” - these are just a few of the National Library's collections that can be seen since May 21st in the modernized and opened to the public Krasinski Palace in Warsaw.
"For the first time in history, from May 21st, the palace will be open to all visitors six days a week from 11 am to 7 pm, except for Tuesdays. Everyone will be able to see the hidden great Polish, Warsaw treasure" - said Dr. Tomasz Makowski, director of the National Library, on May 20, 2024, at a press conference preceding the opening of the Krasinski Palace.
Until now, the palace was generally closed to the public. It was opened only on special occasions, e.g., for Jan Kochanowski's Name Day, the National Library's literary picnic. Now, the modernization of the palace, financed from the EEA and Norway Grants, has been completed. You can see the interiors of the palace and the permanent exhibition located there. Admission to the exhibition is free.
Front of the Krasiński Palace in Warsaw (source: National Library, photo: Paweł Morawiec)
See the works of masters
"We are reclaiming this part of the capital near Krasiński Square. For us, the most important thing is to show the greatest treasures of Polish and world literature, music and culture" - assured Director Makowski.
The exhibition at the palace will feature priceless monuments of Polish and world literature, such as the Holy Cross Sermons, the Florian Psalter, the Old Holy Cross Chronicle, manuscripts of the chronicles of Gallus Anonymous and Vincent Kadłubek, as well as medieval and renaissance works of European illuminators, including the famous Sforziada.
Manuscript of Adam Mickiewicz's Ode to Youth (source: National Library FB profile)
Literary manuscripts will occupy a separate place in the permanent exhibition - the only autograph of Jan Kochanowski's work, "Ballad" by Juliusz Słowacki, "Ode to Youth" by Adam Mickiewicz, and collections of manuscripts by Cyprian Kamil Norwid, Zbigniew Herbert and Czesław Miłosz. There will also be monuments of musical culture, such as manuscripts by Fryderyk Chopin and Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, as well as originals of works by Agnieszka Osiecka's "Małgośka", Jacek Kaczmarski's "Walls" and the original recording of Krzysztof Komeda Trzciński's "Lullaby" from Roman Polanski's horror "Rosemary's Baby"
"Almost the entire collection of Cyprian Kamil Norwid's works is here, along with his own illustrations. Here you can see how great a draftsman and outstanding painter he was" - the director of the National Library told journalists.
Temporary exhibitions will also be held in the renovated palace. In June, there will be the inauguration of an exhibition dedicated to Czesław Miłosz, and in October - to Zbigniew Herbert.
Manuscript of a poem by Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński (source: National Library Facebook profile)
Opening of the Krasinski Palace
The opening of the Krasinski Palace on May 21st was accompanied by an outdoor concert directed by Krzysztof Materna. In Krasiński Square in Warsaw, you could listen to, among others, the piece "Słowo” (in English: „Word”) This piece was composed by Tadeusz Woźniak - specially for the opening of the palace.The performers on stage included the most famous Polish artists, among others: Joanna Kulig, Jolanta Majchrzak, Justyna Schneider, Daniel Olbrychski, Marcin Przybylski, Olek Różanek, Tadeusz Woźniak, the Progressive Rock Band under the direction of Marek Radula and Sinfonia Varsovia conducted by Wojciech Michniewski.
After dark, the façade of the palace became the backdrop for a multimedia show prepared by Melt Immersive, with music by Wojciech Urbański and the participation of Anna Dymna, Jan Peszek and Wiktor Zborowski.
Illuminated facade of the Krasiński Palace on the opening day (source: National Library, photo: Paweł Morawiec)
Help from the EEA and Norway Grants
The palace was modernized and its interiors were arranged thanks to support from the EEA and Norway Grants. The co-financing agreement was signed in 2021, and the culmination of the project was the official opening on May 21, 2024. As part of this undertaking, the palace's interiors were rebuilt and refreshed. All this to create an exhibition space that is now available to visitors. The project is worth almost PLN 25.5 million, and co-financing from the EEA and Norway Grants amounted to PLN 15.11 million.
A few years earlier, in 2014, the National Library also benefited from the EEA and Norway Grants. The revitalization and conservation of the Krasinski Palace lasted until 2017. As part of the project, all the facades of the palace were renovated. The sculptures crowning the tympanum from the side of Krasiński Square were restored, as were the bas-reliefs and stuccowork on all facades. All windows, sheet metal trimmings and external stairs on the west, south and north sides were replaced. The arcades on the garden side were glazed in. A new, energy-saving building lighting system was installed. Architectural barriers were also removed to adapt the building to the needs of people with disabilities. This work was supported from the EEA and Norway Grants in the amount of PLN 13.7 million.
Participants of the concert at Krasiński Square in Warsaw (source: National Library, photo: Paweł Morawiec)
A witness to history
Let’s stop right here. We have a small request for you. Once you come to see the renovated Krasinski Palace, do one thing.
Stand anywhere, close your eyes, take a deep breath and try to smell the scent of history. You will be in a place that has seen it all - power, decline and rebirth. This triad contains not only the history of the palace, but also the history of Poland.
The palace was built for Jan Dobrogost Krasiński (Polish nobleman) according to the design of Tylman van Gameren. As Dr. Tomasz Makowski, director of the National Library, said at the press conference preceding the opening of the palace, according to some art historians it is one of the most beautiful palaces north of the Alps.
Its beauty is hard to deny, but its history is the most impressive. King August II the Strong himself had a carnival ball here. In 1765 it was bought by the Crown Treasury Commission and from then on it was called the Palace of the Republic.
Under the partitions (Poland was partitioned in 1772, 1793 and 1795 by Russia, Prussia nad Austria), it was first a witness to plundering by the tsarist army, and then a shameful ceremony of swearing allegiance to the Prussian king was organized there. Then it was the seat of the offices of the Duchy of Warsaw, the tsarist offices, and during the January Uprising in the second half of 19th century, the civilian head of the Kingdom of Poland, Margrave Aleksander Wielopolski, lived here.
After the World War I, in the Second Polish Republic, the Supreme Court had its seat here. During the Warsaw Uprising in 1944, the building was bombed, and after the uprising it was completely destroyed by German Technische Nothilfe units. The destruction was estimated at 85%. After the war and after the reconstruction, the Palace was handed over to the National Library.
Krasiński Palace - view from the back (source: National Library, photo: Paweł Morawiec)
"A nation without a past, without tradition, without culture is not respected by anyone" – Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński - one of the most notable people in Polish history - once said.
We are proud that the EEA and Norway Grants helped to open the Krasinski Palace and make the most valuable collections of Polish culture available. We thank the National Library for this wonderful project and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage for their cooperation in its implementation. We also thank our partners from Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein for the fact that together we can take care of the material manifestations of our Polish culture.