View source for Belweder

{{Short description|Palace in Warsaw, Poland}}
{{Other uses|Belvedere (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Historic building
|image=Pałac Belweder w Warszawie.jpg
|image_size=275px
|caption=Belweder Palace (view from ''ulica Belwederska'').
|name=Belweder 
|client=[[Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac]], [[Stanisław August Poniatowski]], [[Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia|Grand Duke Constantine]], [[Józef Piłsudski]], [[Bolesław Bierut]] [[Wojciech Jaruzelski]], [[Lech Wałęsa]], [[Bronisław Komorowski]] [[Karol Nawrocki]]
|engineer=
|construction_start_date=1660
|completion_date=1819–1822 
|date_demolished=
|cost=
|structural_system=
|style=[[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]], [[Palladian]]
|footnotes={{designation list|embed=yes
|designation1=Historic Monument of Poland
|designation1_date=1994-09-08
|designation1_partof=Warsaw – historic city center with the Royal Route and Wilanów
|designation1_number=M.P. 1994 nr 50 poz. 423<ref>{{Cite Polish law|title=Zarządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 8 września 1994 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii.|gazette=Monitor|year=1994|volume=50|number=423}}</ref>
}}}}

'''Belweder''' ({{IPA|pol|bɛlˈvɛdɛr}}; from the [[Italian language|Italian]] ''belvedere'', "beautiful view") is a [[Neoclassical architecture|neoclassical]] palace in [[Warsaw]], [[Poland]]. Erected in 1660 and remodelled in the early 1800s, it is one of several official residences used by [[Polish president]]s as well as a [[state guest house]] for visiting heads of state. The complex is situated south of Warsaw's city center, in the vicinity of the historic [[Łazienki|Royal Baths Park]] (Łazienki). 

==History==
The present building is the latest of several that stood on the site since 1660.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.warsawtour.pl/index.php?id=54&pid=408645198 |title=Belweder |work=www.warsawtour.pl |access-date=2009-03-23 |language=pl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090906204410/http://www.warsawtour.pl/index.php?id=54 |archive-date=2009-09-06 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Belweder once belonged to Poland's last king, [[Stanislaus Augustus]], who used it as a porcelain-manufacturing plant.<ref name="perelki">{{cite news |url=http://um.warszawa.pl/v_syrenka/perelki/index_en.php?mi_id=35&dz_id=14 |title=Belvedere |work=eGuide / Treasures of Warsaw on-line |access-date=2009-03-23 |archive-date=2006-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060208182613/http://um.warszawa.pl/v_syrenka/perelki/index_en.php?mi_id=35&dz_id=14 |url-status=dead}}</ref> From 1818 it was the residence of [[Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia|Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich]], who de facto acted as viceroy in the [[Congress Kingdom of Poland]]. He fled from Belweder at the beginning of the [[November Uprising|November 1830 Uprising]].<ref name="perelki" />

After the re-establishment of Poland's independence following the [[First World War]] in 1918, the Belweder served as the residence of Marshal [[Józef Piłsudski]],<ref name="perelki" /> Chief of State (1918–1922) and later (1926–1935) Minister of Military Affairs of Poland. Intermittently, it was also the residence of President [[Stanisław Wojciechowski]]. After the [[May Coup (Poland)|May 1926 coup d'état]], the ownership of the complex had passed from Wojciechowski to Piłsudski, who died there in 1935.

During [[World War II]], the building was extensively remodelled for [[Hans Frank]], Governor of Nazi-occupied Poland and the so-called [[General Government]]. It remains one of the few original structures in Warsaw to survive the war.

In 1945–1952 it was the residence of [[Bolesław Bierut]], and later of the president of the [[Polish Council of State|Council of State]]. From 1989 to July 1994, it was the official residence of Poland's presidents ([[Wojciech Jaruzelski]] and [[Lech Wałęsa]]), but proved too small for that purpose. Later on president [[Bronisław Komorowski]] used it as his private residence.
 
Belweder is normally used by the president and the government for ceremonial purposes, while the president resides at the "[[Presidential Palace, Warsaw|Presidential Palace]]" in the city center. It also serves as an official residence for heads of state on official visits to Poland and other important guests. There have been plans to turn the Belweder Palace into a [[museum]] dedicated to Józef Piłsudski. Currently it houses a small exhibition devoted to the Marshal.<ref name="perelki" />

== Popular culture ==
[[Belvedere Vodka]], owned by [[LVMH]], is named after the palace and an image of the building is featured on the bottle label.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 31, 2013 |title=LVMH Website for Belvedere |url=http://www.lvmh.com/the-group/lvmh-companies-and-brands/wines-spirits/belvedere}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery style="text-align:center">
Image:Belweder z Lazienek Krolewskich.jpg|Garden façade of the palace
Image:Canaletto Łazienki.PNG|[[Łazienki Park]] in 1775 by [[Bernardo Bellotto]]
Image:MWP 1830 Belweder.jpg|Storming of the Belweder Palace during the [[November Uprising]]
Image:Pilsudski in Warsaw3.JPG|Statue of [[Józef Piłsudski]] in front of the Belweder, Piłsudski's residence
File:Belweder Palace in Warsaw (43742896332).jpg|Night illumination in the colour of the [[Flag of Poland|Polish flag]], 2018
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Polish classicism]]
* [[Presidential Palace, Warsaw|Presidential Palace]]
* [[Royal Route, Warsaw|Royal Route]]
* [[List of Palaces#Poland|List of palaces in Poland]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commonscatinline}}
* ''[http://www.president.pl/en/presidential-residences/belweder/ Belweder], or the Polish road to independence''

{{Royal Residences in Poland}}
{{Imperial palaces in Russia}}
{{Warsaw}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:1822 establishments in Poland]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1822]]
[[Category:Neoclassical architecture in Warsaw]]
[[Category:Official residences in Poland]]
[[Category:Palaces in Warsaw]]
[[Category:Royal residences in Poland]]
[[Category:Presidential residences]]
[[Category:State guesthouses]]