Royal Castle

The Royal Castle (Polish Zamek Krolewski), on Plac Zamkowy was the royal palace and official residence of the Polish monarchs. The personal offices of the king, as well as the administrative offices of the Royal Court of Poland were located there until the Partitions of Poland. Between 1926 and World War II the palace was the seat of the Polish president.

Partially destroyed during the invasion of Poland, it was heavily damaged by German bombardment and artillery fire during the Warsaw Uprising. The remnants were blown up by German engineers in September 1944 and were not removed until 1971. Reconstruction was started in the early 1970s and in July 1974 the clock on the tower began working again, on the exact same time at which it was stopped by the Luftwaffe bombardment. Nowadays it is used as a branch of the National Museum. During the Siege of Warsaw in 1939 many of the works of art from the castle were transferred to several basements around Warsaw and hidden from German authorities. They survived the war and were put on exhibition in their original place.

Photo 185, May 2007

Royal Castle interior

Photo 188, May 2007