- Wilanów
Infobox_Warsaw
name=Wilanów
no_diacrite=Wilanow
area=36,73
population=14 032 (2003 )
density=355
mayor=Rafał Miastowski
landmarks=Wilanów Palace ,Poster Museum , palace park
coa_pic=
website=http://www.wilanow.pl/en/index.htmlWilanów is a district of the city of
Warsaw ,Poland . It is home to historicWilanów Palace , the "Polish Versailles," and second home to other Polish kings.The first mentions of a settlement in the area can be traced to the 13th century, when a village named "Milanów" was founded by the
Benedictine monastery ofPłock . In 1338 it became a private property of theDukes of Masovia and in 1378 Prince Janusz gave it to one of his servants. It was he who established the first mansion and a chapel in the village. His descendants adopted the name "Milanowski", after the name of the village.In the 17th century the village was bought by the family of
Stanisław Leszczyński , who started the construction of a new palace; however, the works were stopped by The Deluge when the forces ofSweden captured the area and plundered it completely. In 1676 the depopulated village was bought by KingJan III Sobieski . By his order,Tylman van Gameren andAugust Locci erected the newbaroque -style palace and St. Anne's Church. Initially the palace was named "Villa Nova" ("New Village"), to distinguish it from the nearby village of "Stara Wieś" ("Old Village"). However, soon the name was polonised to Wilanów, similar to the former name Milanów.Thanks to the proximity of both the kings' summer residence and the city of
Warsaw , Wilanów has for ages been a suburb of Warsaw and a popular holiday spot for Polish magnates. It was also the final point on the historicalRoyal Road . In the 18th century, the palace became the property ofHetman Adam Mikołaj Sieniawski . His widow, Elżbieta Sieniawska, joined the village with the nearby villages ofKabaty ,Powsin andWolica . After that both the so-called "key" of villages (group of villages run together by a common owner) and the palace changed hands several times, with each new owner changing something in the look of the palace.In 1863, after the fall of the
January Uprising , theRussia n authorities introduced a new administrative division, stripping the "key" of the rest of villages and making Wilanów a capital of all the communes located south of it. The area became one of the most important providers of food for ever-growingWarsaw and in 1890 a horse-drawn railway was opened for transport of grain and passengers. The line linking Wilanów withWarsaw 'sPlac Unii Lubelskiej proved to be a major success and in 1892 the line was extended and started to run steam-drawn trains. Also, new railway stations were built on both ends of the line.After
World War II the palaces in Wilanów,Natolin andMorysin were nationalised by the new communist authorities of Poland. The former was converted into a museum and in one of the palace's barracks a Museum ofPoster s was opened onJune 4 ,1968 . It is probably the only such museum in Europe. In 1951 Wilanów was incorporated intoWarsaw . Initially a separate unit of administrative division, in 1976 it was joined with the borough ofMokotów . In 1994 it became a separate unit of administrative division and the following year it became one of the boroughs of Warsaw.Currently, the surrounding area is home to many expatriates living in Warsaw, as this area is home to many international schools. However, in 2000, the American School of Warsaw moved about 6 km out, to the suburb of
Konstancin .References
::In-line:::General:
# cite book | author = Wojciech Fijałkowski | coauthors = | title = Wilanów. Rezydencja Króla Zwycięzcy | year = 1983 | editor = | pages = | chapter = | chapterurl = | publisher = Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza | location =Warsaw | id = | url = | format = | accessdate =External links
* [http://www.wilanow.pl/en/index.html Wilanów webpage]
* [http://www.wilanow-palac.art.pl/wilanow1a.htm Wilanów Palace Museum]
* [http://www.zacharz.com/wilanow/wilanowen.htm Pictures of the Wilanów Palace]
* [http://varsovie.hypatie.com/ Wilanów Poster Museum]
* [http://mokotow.policja.waw.pl/?page=Structure&id=136 Wilanów Police Station]
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