Rydzyna
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rydzyna is a Polish town that was the seat of king Stanislaw Leszczynski during Leszczyński's first short reign from 1704-1709. Rydzyna is known as “the pearl of the Polish baroque”.
Rydzyna is situated in the southern part of the Wielkopolska Province, in the vicinity of Leszno (about 10 km), in the Leszno district.
[edit] History
It was founded at the beginning of the 15th century by Jan from Czernina, a descendant of Wierzbnow and a knight of Władysław Jagiełło. At the end of the 17th century the town and its environs were owned by well-known magnates, the Leszczyński and Sułkowski families, whose investment in the town resulted in its current nickname as “the pearl of the Polish baroque”.
[edit] Rydzyna Castle
The most historically important site in Rydzyna is the Rydzyna Castle, formerly the residence of the king Stanisław Leszczyński and the Sułkowski princes. The castle in Rydzyna was built at the beginning of 15th century by Jan of Czernina. At the end of 17th century Italian architects Joseph Simon Bellotti and Pompeo Ferrari erected the present Baroque castle on its ancient foundations. The first owners of the castle were the Leszczyński family. Together with its park and surrounding areas, it was one of the most splendid palaces in Poland. Between 1704-1709 it was a residence of the Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński. In 1709, during the Great Northern War, the castle was partly burnt by tsar's soldiers. However wall-paintings and stucco works in representative rooms, made by best Italian artists, were not destroyed completely. The castle together with its adjacent park and the surrounding terrain forms one of the most valuable castle-park complexes in Poland.
[edit] Other historical sites
Other historical monuments within the town boundaries are baroque tenement houses at the market square together with the town hall and the unique in Poland Trinity figure, the baroque parish church and the evangelical church building. The monumental former annexes to the castle buildings present classicism. All the monuments are the works of prominent architects brought in from all over Europe by the magnate court of the Leszczyński and Sułkowski families. The Museum of Agriculture and Milling is situated in the renovated windmill, “Józef”.
