Museum

The Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów provides care for the historical royal residence, established in the 3rd quarter of the 17th century, which includes the palace, park, gardens and the nature reserve. in 1805, the palace interiors, with a collection of works of art, as well as the park, were opened to the public as the first Polish art museum. Subsequent owners of the residence from the aristocratic Sieniawski, Lubomirski, Potocki and Branicki families made the Wilanów collections available continuously until World War II, after which, under the agricultural reform, the Wilanów estate became property of the state treasury.

Revitalisation works

Starting in 1954, extensive revitalisation works were carried out in the palace and the park. The adopted benchmark was a reference to the era of the first owner of Wilanów, King Jan III Sobieski, wherever it was possible. The Palace was a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw and in 1995, became an independent institution under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. At the beginning of the 21st century, extensive revitalisation works were carried out, covering both the façade and the interior of the palace, as well as the park and the palace forecourt. Most of the works were financed by the European Union and the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Network of European Royal Residences

Since 2006, the Museum has been a member of the Network of European Royal Residences. The Museum regularly organises temporary exhibitions, conferences and scientific seminars, conducts scientific research, publishes academic and popular science books, organises educational activities devoted to both cultural and natural values of the Wilanów royal residence. The Museum website offers several thousand articles presenting the history and culture of the Poland of old. The museum is also introducing new technologies to make it easier to visit the museum.