Radziwiłł Palace is a Late Renaissance

Renaissance architecture

Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...

 palace in the Old Town of Vilnius, Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

. It had been the second palace of Radziwiłłs by importance in Vilnius and the largest one.

History

It is likely that Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł's wooden Vilnius mansion was on the same site, but the current building was constructed by the order of Janusz Radziwiłł from 1635

1630s in architecture

-Buildings:* 1632 – work started on the Taj Mahal, designed by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri.* 1633 – completion of the Palazzo Barberini in Rome by Gian Lorenzo Bernini...

 until 1653

1650s in architecture

-Buildings:* 1650 - The Marian column in Prague erected. * 1653 - The Taj Mahal is completed.* 1653 - The Radziwill Palace in Vilnius is completed.* 1656 - The Colonnade of St...

, according to the design by Jan Ullrich. The building fell in ruin after the Muscovite invasion 1655-1660

Russo-Polish War (1654–1667)

The Russo-Polish War of 1654–1667, also called Thirteen Years' War, First Northern War, War for Ukraine was the last major conflict between Tsardom of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Between 1655 and 1660, the Second Northern War was also fought in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth,...

 and remain mostly neglected for centuries. It was further devastated during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and only the northern wing of the palace survived. Eventually, it was restored in 1980s and a division of the Lithuanian Art Museum

Lithuanian Art Museum

The Lithuanian Art Museum was initially established in Vilnius in 1933 as the Vilnius City Museum. It houses Lithuania's largest art collection.-History:...

 is located there today. A part of the palace is still in need of renovation today.

Architecture

Being the only survived Renaissance palace in Vilnius it has features of the Netherlands Renaissance as well as Manneristic decorations native to the Lithuanian Renaissance architecture. Its original layout and symmetry of structural elements was distinctive to the palaces of the Late French Renaissance resembling that of Château de Fontainebleau

Château de Fontainebleau

The Palace of Fontainebleau, located 55 kilometres from the centre of Paris, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The palace as it is today is the work of many French monarchs, building on an early 16th century structure of Francis I. The building is arranged around a series of courtyards...

 and Luxembourg Palace

Luxembourg Palace

The Luxembourg Palace in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, north of the Luxembourg Garden , is the seat of the French Senate.The formal Luxembourg Garden presents a 25-hectare green parterre of gravel and lawn populated with statues and provided with large basins of water where children sail model...

 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

.

External links

Official website