Description of the attraction
The Branicki Palace is a palace in the Polish city of Bialystok, built in the Baroque architectural style. The interior interiors of the residence are made with great luxury and sophistication, due to which the Branicki Palace is called the "Polish Versailles". In connection with the construction of the palace, Bialystok received the status of a city.
The palace was built for Count Klemens Braniki, the great hetman and patron of art and science, an aristocrat and a famous citizen of Bialystok. The building was built on the site of a previously existing palace. In 1728, the construction work was entrusted to the architect John Sigismund Deibel. Under his leadership, one floor was added, the facade of the building was changed. A pond was created on the site of the former outbuildings, and in 1758 the entrance gate by John Henry Klemm appeared. After Deibel's death, work on the reconstruction of the palace was continued by Jakub Fontan, who formed the final appearance of the building and the area around it.
In 1807, the palace passed into the hands of the Russian emperor Alexander I. During the reign of the Russian emperor, the palace was completely plundered. Trees and bushes were taken to the Tsar's residence, and more than twenty sculptures from the garden were taken to St. Petersburg.
The palace survived the First World War without serious damage. The building housed a field hospital, and after the war, the governor was housed here. The Second World War did not spare the residence. More than 70% of the structure was destroyed by the retreating Germans, and the rest by the Red Army.
The restoration work began in 1946 and continued until 1960, with Stanislaw Bukowski appointed as the head. Currently, the Branicki Palace houses the Medical University.
