Sanguszko Palace, Lubartów

At the northern edge of Lubartów, on the axis of the avenue leading towards Kozłówka, stands a Baroque palace that two of the greatest architects of the Polish Baroque worked on: Tylman van Gameren and Paweł Antoni Fontana. The façade is crowned by a pediment with Apollo surrounded by putti, and behind the palace lies a park that has been a public town park since 1935. Today the Sanguszko residence houses the district authorities.

History: the Firlej, Lubomirski and Sanguszko families

The town was founded in 1543 by Piotr Firlej, voivode of Lublin, who named it Lewartów after his Lewart coat of arms. In the mid-16th century he built a fortified manor here, known as the castle, later extended by his son Mikołaj. In 1683 the estate came as the dowry of Teofila Ostrogska-Zasławska, wife of the Grand Marshal of the Crown Józef Lubomirski, and in 1693–1703 Tylman van Gameren transformed the castle into a Baroque palace with a geometric garden. As the dowry of Marianna Lubomirska, the residence passed to Paweł Karol Sanguszko. Damaged in the Great Northern War, the palace was rebuilt in 1722–1741 to Fontana's design — the outbuildings, the gate with a clock tower and the orangery date from that time. It was at Sanguszko's request that King Augustus III renamed the town Lubartów in 1744.

In the 19th century the palace changed hands, served as a military hospital and from 1867 fell into decay. It was damaged in 1918, gutted by fire in 1933, and the town council bought the ruins and garden in 1935–1938. After destruction in the Second World War it was rebuilt in 1950–1970 to a design by Tadeusz Witkowski.

What to see

• The front façade — thirteen bays wide, with a portico of four pairs of Tuscan columns supporting a balcony, and rich stucco: festoons, medallions, masks and shells. In the triangular pediment, Apollo surrounded by putti.
• The garden façade with projecting corner pavilions under bulbous domes topped with lanterns.
• The interiors — of the original décor, mainly the double staircase and the former ballroom survive.
• The orangery north of the palace, about 60 metres long.
• The town park — once a formal French garden, later a landscape park; after 1949 its Baroque layout was partly restored to a design by Gerard Ciołek. South-east of the palace you can still trace the old moat and bridge.

Did you know?

From 1840 to 1850 the former palace stables housed a faience factory founded by Henryk Łubieński, producing ceramics modelled on English Wedgwood ware. Paweł Karol Sanguszko died in 1750 in Volhynia; his body was laid to rest with the Capuchins in Lublin, but his heart was placed in St Anne's Church in Lubartów, also designed by Fontana.

Tripto tip

The palace at ul. Słowackiego 8 houses public offices, including the district administration, and is only partly open to visitors — you can see the façades and park freely, and it is best to ask on site during office hours about entering the interiors. Allow 45–60 minutes for the palace and a walk in the park. Be sure to add St Anne's Church and the Capuchin church, Baroque works by Fontana built in the 1730s and funded by Sanguszko. The Zamoyski Palace in Kozłówka is about 9 km away.