Ogiński Palace in Siedlce

The Ogiński Palace in Siedlce is a classicist residence with a white columned portico, set in Aleksandria Park – the town's most important historic monument. In the 18th century Princess Aleksandra Ogińska turned Siedlce into a centre of Enlightenment culture, visited by King Stanisław August Poniatowski. Today the palace is used by a university, and the park, revitalised in 2023, is a pleasant place for a walk.

History: from the Czartoryskis to Ogińska

The brick palace was built before 1730 by Kazimierz Czartoryski on the site of earlier wooden manor houses recorded in 1698, and his son Michał Fryderyk renovated it in 1769–1770. In 1775 the Siedlce estate passed to Michał's daughter, Aleksandra Ogińska. In 1779–1781 she had the palace remodelled to plans by Stanisław Zawadzki and Joachim Hempel: the central part gained an upper floor with a new façade, and two wings were added at the sides. It was the first building in the Polish lands with a columned portico.

From 1774 Ogińska staged theatre performances in the palace. The comic opera "The Gypsies" by Franciszek Dionizy Kniaźnin, with music by her husband Michał Kazimierz Ogiński, was the first in Poland to bring Roma folklore to the stage. King Stanisław August stayed here on 20 July 1783 and again in 1793, Tadeusz Kościuszko was a guest too, and the poets Franciszek Karpiński, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz and Kniaźnin wrote here.

The palace in the 19th and 20th centuries

After the princess died in 1798 the estate passed to Izabela Czartoryska, who in 1807 exchanged it for state land in the Lublin region. From then on the palace was a public building: until 1912 it housed the provincial government, later the bishop's curia and a diocesan grammar school, and in 1939–1944 the Wehrmacht. It burned in 1944 and was rebuilt in 1950. After a renovation in 2005, which won a distinction in a contest for the best EU-funded revitalisation projects, it has been used by the University of Siedlce since 2006.

What to see

• The portico façade from the courtyard, and a sarcophagus-shaped monument from 1953.
• Aleksandria Park – a former sentimental garden designed to a concept by Szymon Bogumił Zug, which by the late 18th century had over 30 garden buildings. After a revitalisation opened on 24 June 2023 it has new paths, a restored bridge-gate and a small Italian garden with a pavilion, fountains and a bench dedicated to the princess.
• Chapel of the Holy Cross – an octagonal classicist mausoleum with a dome, built in 1791 to a design by Zygmunt Vogel, where Ogińska was laid to rest.
• The former stables and outbuilding, now the State Archive in Siedlce.

Tripto tips

As a university building, the palace has no regular interior tours – but it hosts classical music concerts, conferences and lectures, which offer a chance to look inside. The park is municipal and free. Allow 1–1.5 hours for a walk through the park and a look at the palace and chapel from outside. The complex is in central Siedlce on ul. Konarskiego, and you can get there by train from Warsaw.