The Vasas Era and The Deluge
The next alterations to the Castle were made in the reign of Sigismund III, who transferred the royal residence from Cracow to Warsaw. In 1598–1619 the Castle was enlarged. Giovanni Trevano was in charge of the reconstruction. His plans were probably amended by the Venetian architect Vincenzo Scamozzi.
Between 1601–1603 Giacomo Rodondo finished the new northern wing. From 1602 Paolo del Corte was doing stonework. Later after 1614, when Matteo Castelli took the head, western wing was built(from today's Plac Zamkowy side) as a chancelleries and marshals office. The southern wing was built at the end. In that way five-wings mannerist-early baroque assumption, work of architects, was made. In 1619 building of New Royal Tower (Latin: Nova Turris Regia) also called Sigismund's Tower was finished. It was 60 meters high and was placed in the middle of a new built west castle side of 90 meters length. At the top of the tower a clock with gilded hands and copper face was placed. New tower's spire was 13 meters high and had glided knobs and a copper flag at the top.
On 29 October 1611 in the Senator's Chamber Tsar Vasili IV of Russia, captured by the hetman Stanisław Żółkiewski, paid homage to the Polish king Sigismund III Vasa.
The Polish king Sigismund III and his successors of the Vasa dynasty — Władysław IV and Jan Kazimierz — collected many rich works of art in the castle, such as oriental fabrics, tapestries, and numerous paintings by such famous artists as Titian, Veronese, Jacopo and Leandro Bassano, Tintoretto, Palma il Giovane, Antonio Vassilacchi, Tommaso Dolabella, Guercino, Guido Reni, Joseph Heintz, Rembrandt, Pieter Soutman, Peter Danckerts de Rij, Peter Paul Rubens, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Daniel Seghers, Georg Daniel Schultz etc. and sculptures by Giambologna, Giovanni Francesco Susini and Adriaen de Vries. These splendid works of art were either destroyed or plundered during the invasions of Poland by Sweden and Germans of Brandenburg (The Deluge, 1655–1657). Swedes and Germans took all the priceless pictures, furniture, tapestries, royal library, crown archive, numerous sculptures, whole floors and royal flags. In the castle they held a military Lazareth field hospital, which additionally contributed to the devastation of the buildings. A few months later armies destroyed the rest, plundering most of the copper elements and tearing up the rest of castle's floor.
In 1628 the first Polish opera - Galatea, was staged at the Castle. The great opera hall (double-storied, over 50m long), which existed at the Royal Castle, was demolished by Sweds and Germans and rebuilt in 1660s by King Jan Kazimierz.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Royal Castle In Warsaw
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