Palac Saski
Encyclopedia
buildings in prewar Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland.
To World War I
The Saxon Palace had originally been a private palace of the MorsztynMorsztyn
Morsztyn can refer to three Polish writers of that surname:* Hieronim Morsztyn * Jan Andrzej Morsztyn * Zbigniew Morsztyn...
family (Pałac Morsztynów), then had been purchased and enlarged by the first of Poland's two Saxon
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
kings, August II (reigned in Poland 1697–1706 and 1709–33).
In the early 19th century, the Saxon Palace housed the Warsaw Lyceum
Warsaw Lyceum
The Warsaw Lyceum was a secondary school that existed in Warsaw, under the Kingdom of Prussia and under the Kingdom of Poland, from 1804 to its closing in 1831 by Imperial Russia following the Polish November 1830 Uprising.-History:...
in which Frederick Chopin's father taught French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, living with his family on the palace grounds.
The Palace was remodeled in 1842.
Interbellum
After World War I, the Saxon Palace served as the seat of the Polish General Staff. In 1925, the Tomb of the Unknown SoldierTomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected after World War I.-History:...
was established within the colonnade
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
-topped arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
that joined the Palace's two symmetric wings.
The Palace continued to be sandwiched between the Saxon Garden
Saxon Garden
The Saxon Garden is a 15.5–hectare public garden in downtown Warsaw, Poland, facing Piłsudski Square. It is the oldest public park in the city...
, to its rear, and the Saxon Square in front (which would be renamed Piłsudski Square after the Marshal's death in 1935).
It was in this building that the German Enigma machine
Enigma machine
An Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor cipher machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
was first broken in December 1932 and then read for several years prior to the General Staff Cipher Bureau
Biuro Szyfrów
The Biuro Szyfrów was the interwar Polish General Staff's agency charged with both cryptography and cryptology ....
German section's 1937 move to new, specially designed quarters near Pyry
Pyry
Pyry is one of the southernmost neighborhoods of the city of Warsaw. Administratively part of the Ursynów district, it was originally a separate village located along ulica Puławska , which links downtown Warsaw with the town of Piaseczno...
in the Kabaty Woods
Kabaty
Kabaty is the southernmost neighborhood of the city of Warsaw, located in its Ursynów district. Until the late 1980s it was a small village located south of Warsaw, between Warsaw and the Kabaty Woods...
south of Warsaw.
During World War II, the Saxon Palace was destroyed (it was blown up by the Germans
Planned destruction of Warsaw
The planned destruction of Warsaw refers to the largely realised plans by Nazi Germany to completely raze the city. The plan was put into full motion after the Warsaw Uprising in 1944...
after the collapse of the Warsaw Uprising
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...
in 1944) except for the central part of the arcade
Arcade (architecture)
An arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides. In warmer or wet climates, exterior arcades provide shelter for pedestrians....
, that somehow managed to survive, housing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Warsaw
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected after World War I.-History:...
.
Since World War II
There are plans to reconstruct the Saxon Palace. The palace cellars were excavated in 2006, uncovering some 20,000 objects. Reconstruction of the palace was formerly scheduled for completion by 2009.See also
- Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, WarsawTomb of the Unknown Soldier, WarsawThe Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a monument in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected after World War I.-History:...
- Cipher BureauBiuro SzyfrówThe Biuro Szyfrów was the interwar Polish General Staff's agency charged with both cryptography and cryptology ....
. - Saxon GardenSaxon GardenThe Saxon Garden is a 15.5–hectare public garden in downtown Warsaw, Poland, facing Piłsudski Square. It is the oldest public park in the city...
- Saxon AxisSaxon AxisThe Saxon Axis is a feature of the historical city centre of the city of Warsaw. It is a line running from the Vistula through the Presidential Palace, the Krakowskie Przedmieście, Saxon Square, Saxon Palace, Saxon Garden, Lubomirski Palace to Plac Żelaznej Bramy.The idea was first proposed by...
- Brühl PalaceBrühl Palace, WarsawThe Brühl Palace , otherwise known as Sandomierski Palace standing at Piłsudski Square. It was a large palace and one of the most beautiful rococo buildings in pre-World War II Warsaw.-History:...
- Planned destruction of WarsawPlanned destruction of WarsawThe planned destruction of Warsaw refers to the largely realised plans by Nazi Germany to completely raze the city. The plan was put into full motion after the Warsaw Uprising in 1944...