Czapski Palace

The Czapski Palace stands in central Warsaw on Krakowskie Przedmieście, directly opposite the University of Warsaw. Built in about 1686 for the Primate of Poland, it was designed by the Dutch-born architect Tylman van Gameren. After a series of reconstructions, it acquired its rococo appearance between 1752 and 1765 under the Czapski family. The palace has changed hands at least ten times, each owner leaving its interiors and façades altered. It once belonged to Stanisław Małachowski, co-author of Europe’s first written national constitution in 1791. Later it was home to artists and writers such as Zygmunt Vogel, Fryderyk Chopin and Cyprian Norwid. The building’s historical layers make it worth visiting. Chopin lived in the south annex from 1827 to 1830, the last home he occupied before exile. Zygmunt Krasiński, a leading Polish romantic poet, was born here in 1812. The palace also preserves the Chopin Family Parlor, reconstructed from 1832 sketches by Antoni Kolberg. A copy of Verrocchio’s equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni stands in the courtyard. After war damage in 1939, the palace was rebuilt in 1948–59 and now houses the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts. Inside, the Chopin Family Parlor on the second floor of the south annex displays period furniture and memorabilia. The attic of the palace contains the Academy of Fine Arts museum, holding 30,000 works across painting, sculpture, graphics and design. Temporary exhibitions, lectures and meetings take place in the museum’s rooms. The entrance from Krakowskie Przedmieście leads through rococo gates adorned with eagles and allegorical figures of the Four Seasons. The surrounding street links the palace to the wider historic centre of Warsaw.