Lubomirski Family - Lubomirski Family in The History of Warsaw

Lubomirski Family in The History of Warsaw

To rebuild his numerous residences Prince Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski (1642 – 1702) hired Tylman of Gameren, later court architect of the king Mikołaj Korybut Wiśniowiecki. He owned residences in Puławy, Czerniaków (where he founded a monastery and church of the Bernardines) and in Ujazdów (now part of Warsaw). At the end of the 17th century, he built a Bathhouse here, which became the beginning of the Palace on the Water of Stanisław August Poniatowski and Ermitage – planned as a place of meditation and relaxation. He was a friend of many artists and patrons of the arts in all Europe, as evidenced by preserved correspondence. He had relations with the French, Spanish courts or the members of the Medici family, which facilitated him to carry out a number of missions and negotiations on behalf of the Polish king.

Prince Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski was also a talented author, a precursor of the Polish Baroque in literature. He spoke several languages, applied almost all known forms of literary in his works, however, he was interested most in the new trends flowing from areas of Italy. His philosophical work “Dialogues of Artakses and Ewander” entered the canon of the Old Polish Literature and became a required reading.

An example of the organization of the very centre of the capital city is a reconstruction of the Copper-Roof Palace commissioned in the early 18th century by Jerzy Dominik Lubomirski. The palace, which got classical shapes, situated on the south side of the Royal Castle, was bought by the king himself in 1777, who put the library there in time.

The previous owner of this famous building was Prince Jerzy Marcin Lubomirski (1738 – 1811), especially distinguished in service to the Polish theatre. He financed exhibiting family and European art; organized numerous concerts, balls and meetings. Celebrations organized by him were a meeting place for artists and aristocrats from across Europe, whereas in memory of residents he was remembered as an organizer of public events combined with demonstrations of fireworks – Fokshali.

Prince Jerzy Martin was also an adventurer and member of the Bar Confederation. From 1758 he served in the Prussian Army, then in the Russian one. He was ousted from political life in Poland by his family, but went down in history as a lover of music and theatre. In 1777 he financed the performance of Tartuffe by Molière; in 1783 leased the privilege of the theatre and made Wojciech Bogusławski the director of the theatre. He also opened a ballet drama school for 1000 people.

Izabela Lubomirska (1736 – 1816), Marshal Princess rebuilt the Łańcut Castle, gathered art collections and libraries, containing hundreds of works from around Europe and the world. She was very politically active; during the revolution she sheltered part of the French court in her estate in Łańcut. She extended her residences often employing the latest architectural solutions. She built a palace on her estate in Mokotów. She gave the name to this district of Warsaw, specifying her estate Mon Coteau (My Hill). She was a lover of theatre, laid the foundation stone of the National Theatre in Warsaw. She maintained a number of stages in her palaces. The notion of theatre in history had a much broader meaning than now. It included not only the theatre performances, but also opera, cabaret and acrobatic performances. It was a medium that strongly affected the senses of audience. For her, Princess Izabela, Franciszek Karpiński wrote the “Song about the Lord’s birth”, better known under the title “God is born”. In honour of her daughter, Cyprian Kamil Norwid wrote a panegyric. Tadeusz Kościuszko set out from the residence in Łańcut and went to Kraków, from where he started an uprising across the country.

Prince Stanisław Lubomirski, Izabela’s husband went down in history as an administrator of Warsaw. He introduced here permanent lighting of the streets and supported a police unit with his private money. Above all, he wished to care for the health of the Varsovians, therefore he decided to surround the city, on both sides of the Vistula, with an earth bank, which was initially to protect against the spreading plague epidemic. Only three crossings were created in the bank, in which people and carts entering the city were controlled. Later, the embankment reinforced with guns was used to defend the capital during the Kościuszko Uprising and the November Uprising. Throughout the 19th century it marked the boundaries of the city. By the Act of 1770 he introduced permanent street names, which greatly facilitated the administration of the city and its functioning organizing the registration issues or providing correspondence.