Natolin
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Natolin is a historic park and nature reserve (1.2 km²) on the southern edge of Warsaw, Poland. "Natolin" is also the name of a neighborhood located to the west of the park — a part of Warsaw's southernmost, Ursynów district. Located in this neighborhood is the Natolin metro station.
Until the 1980s, Natolin was a small village just outside the Warsaw city limits. It has since become urbanized, with large apartment blocks. Since 1994 it has been the site of one of two College of Europe campuses (College of Europe, Natolin).
[edit] History
[edit] Park and palace
The history of Natolin begins at end of the 17th century, when the King of Poland John III Sobieski started the construction of a royal zoological garden in the village of Natolin. It was a part of his royal residence of Wilanów and also served as a hunting lodge. In early 1730's his successor, King August II the Strong, reformed the garden into a pheasant breeding and hunting area. The place was thus called Bażantarnia - Peasantry. With time the former royal grounds were passed to the mighty Czartoryski family. In 1780 Prince August Czartoryski built on the spot his new summer residence. Located in dense forests on the escarpment of the Vistula River, the new classicist palace was designed by a renown contemporary architect Szymon Bogumił Zug while the internal design was prepared by Vincenzo Brenna. The palace featured a distinctive half-open salon, with a view on the forest below the escarpment.
In late 18th century the Wilanów estate, including the grounds around the Pheasantry, passed on to son-in-law of Izabela Lubomirska, Stanisław Kostka Potocki. Potocki, who was a leading representative of Enlightenment in Poland and one of the most renown politicians of the times of the Four Year Sejm. After the Partitions of Poland, in 1806, Potocki started an extensive modernization of the palace and the park. The Pheasantry was also renamed to its modern name of Natolin in honor of Potockis granddaughter, Natalia Potocka (born 1807). The palace's reconstruction included rebuilding of the facade and the courtyard elevation, as well as notable changes in the internal design and decorations. The new design was created by another of Poland's notable architects of the epoch, Chrystian Piotr Aigner, though some of the changes are attributed to Potocki himself.
The polychromes inside of the palace were replaced with stuccos by Wirgiliusz Bauman. Significant changes were also applied to the surrounding park, which was reformed from a typical classicist French park into a picturesque and then-popular landscape park. The park was also extended to include some romantic buildings and sculptures such as the Holendernia built between 1812 and 1814 by Aigner or two guard houses modeled after medieval castles built in 1832. The palace itself was also extended to include buildings that made it a full-time residence rather than a summer resort. Among the buildings added were the stables, a residential annex and a coach house. A small Gothic revival chapel was also built opposite the Holendernia and a newly-built monument modeled after the so-called Neron's Sarcophagus and Jean-Jacques Rousseau's tomb in Paris.
The Alexander Potocki death splendid period finishes development of Natolin. The next administrators of estate, son August and the daughter-in-law Alexandra do not apply too of consequence maintainable the palace and park then in appropriate it will stand up. Natolin begins falling in ruin. The palace and park be used rarely, mainly as place temporary quarters of the owners' varied relatives. It tinned and decoration park buildings began decaying natural case. It was has taken apart it then and remove.
In the first half of the 20th century Natolin passed in hand the Braniccy family. Despite he treat of different kind of redecorating and conservatory rules he fell in more far ruin he. In 1916 r. Braniccy they leased estate on 20 years Helena from Radziwiłłów Potockiej, for which tenses Natilin goes in further deteriorates. In tense II World War Natolin bears next losses. At time of Warsaw Uprising and after his fall, the Palace became an object of robbery, devastation and the purposeful led by soldiers of Wehrmacht failures. It underwent almost total destruction man-sized the interiors of palace, and Antique park was plowed with trenches destroying thereat large part his historical old trees. In the 1945 year Natolin was nationalized and devoted in custody of the Warsaw National Museum, then stood soon oneself the residence of President of Polish Republic, and then the representative object/ In result the general restaurant conducted runnings yet through Museum, done away the results became the and destructions war many years' negligences. Yet already after several years with reason of negligences and lack of current conservatory care Natolin he began again undergoing the case of quickly progressive degradation. The state of only palace and buildings worsened him concurrent, and grow green park, devoid solid nurturing as well as along with brought in effect the untidy for many years arrangement of roads and gully-holes to wearing away the characteristic compositive elements of park the part of park alleys. It in 1991 year, the decision of state authorities Natolin was intended on seat of the branch the College of Europe in Brugia. Designed thereon cells funds permitted on beginning the widely conceived revaluation of palatially - park complex. In the same year whole bottom over one square kilometre part of park was admitted for nature reserve. Since 1994 it is the site of one of the two College of Europe campuses (Natolin College of Europe).
[edit] Part of Ursynów
Until the 1980s Natolin and neighbor area named Wolica, was a small village located right outside of the city limits, with numerous fruit orchards. After that it was urbanized with large blocks of flats. Now Natolin is a modern part of Warsaw with many shops, restaurants and houses. There is also a Warsaw Metro station of the same name located in the middle of the district.
