Description of the attraction
The Ostrogski Palace is a mansion located in the center of Warsaw, which currently houses the Chopin Music Society.
The site for the palace - a large plot of land on the Vistula, was bought by Prince Janusz of Ostrog in the early 17th century. Since the land was still in the suburbs of Warsaw at that time and was exempted from the laws of the city, which forbade residents to build private fortifications, Janusz decided to build a small castle. For this, he financed the construction of the bastion, on which he planned to build a castle. However, the prince died even before construction began. The construction of the castle was undertaken by the architect Tillman van Gameren by order of the new owner - the diplomat Jan Gninsky.
In 1725 Zamoyski bought the palace. The palace was never completely finished and did not meet the requirements of the new owner, so from 1778 the building was divided into apartments and began to serve as a student dormitory. It was converted into a military hospital by the French in 1806, but already in 1817 it was abandoned and gradually fell into disrepair. The palace was bought by the Polish government and handed over to the civil authorities in 1836. It continued to be a hospital until 1859, after which it was purchased by the Institute of Music. In 1913 the institute moved to a new building next to the palace.
During the Second World War, the palace was destroyed, restoration work was carried out under the leadership of Mechislav Kuzma in 1949-1954. Since the opening, the Chopin House-Museum has been located in the Ostrozhsky Palace, where photographs, manuscripts, documents of the composer, letters and works of Chopin are presented.
