Staszic Palace – the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Warsaw Scientific Society

 

The Palace was built in the years 1820–1823 on the initiative of the then deputy minister of education of the Kingdom of Poland, Stanisław Staszic (1755–1826). It was supposed to be a temple of Polish science – the seat of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Sciences. The building was designed by the Italian architect Antonio Corazzi (1792–1877) and its appearance referred to the classicist palace of Carciotti in Trieste. In 1830, a monument to Nicolaus Copernicus by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844) was unveiled in front of the building.

 

The dynamic political situation meant that the Palace changed its purpose several times in the following decades, and at the end of the 19th century it was significantly rebuilt.

 

The Kingdom of Poland, as a consequence of the treaty signed on May 3, 1815 during the Congress of Vienna, was under the supervision of the Russian Empire. Initially, it was an autonomous state, but over the years Russification began to intensify. The Empire did not comply with the Constitution of the Kingdom of Poland (1815), which led the Poles to an independence movement – the November Uprising. In 1831, the uprising failed, and the invader, implementing the policy of denationalization, liquidated the Polish Society of Friends of Sciences and confiscated the Palace.

 

First, the Lottery Directorate (games of chance) was located there, then the Medical-Surgical Academy, and then the Gymnasium (with a boarding school) for boys of the Eastern Orthodox denomination. In the years 1890–1895, the building was rebuilt in the Byzantine-Russian style and an Orthodox church was established there. After the German army occupied Warsaw, it became the seat of a casino for soldiers (1915).

 

In 1918, Poland regained independence. The palace was returned to the Warsaw Scientific Society, which continued the activities of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Sciences. A few years later, the façade was renovated, restoring its original appearance. Since 1851, the Staszic Palace has also been the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

 

The Staszic Palace and the monument of Nicolaus Copernicus give rise to Krakowskie Przedmieście Street, which is fully entered into the Registry of Cultural Property (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krakowskie_Przedmieście). Its culmination is the bustling Old Town with the Royal Castle. The Conference Venue is surrounded by numerous restaurants, museums, theatres, concert halls and hotels.

 

 

Source:

Piotr Głogowski, Pałac Staszica – siedziba instytucji naukowych i dydaktycznych [Staszic Palace – the seat of scientific and teaching institutions], https://kolekcje.muzeumwarszawy.pl/en/city-from-a-to-z/palac-staszica-siedziba-instytucji-naukowych-i-dydaktycznych.