Chronology
- 1690
Ca. 1690. Nieborów was bought by Cardinal Michał Stefan Radziejowski, who expanded the former Nieborów manor house, transforming it into a Baroque palace. Probably simultaneously with the construction of the palace a garden was created on its southern side, designed, as it is believed, by Tylman of Gameren. The regular garden was laid out symmetrically on both sides of the main axis of the palace.
- 1736
In 1736, the Nieborów estate with the palace was bought by Stanisław Łochocki, castellan of Dobrzyń. Tradition links the Łochocki family with work in the garden and the construction of an L-shaped canal. Perhaps it was then that the garden on the south side of the palace was laid out according to the plan of an unknown architect. Shortly afterwards, in 1765, the Nieborów estate including the palace passed into the hands of Duke Michał Kazimierz Ogiński, who transformed the palace interiors in accordance with the spirit of the Rococo. The palace gained a new layout and decoration, and the garden also underwent work. The master plan prepared by the architect Bogumił Zug in 1775 shows the layout of the regular garden and the adjoining game preserve.
- 1774
The Nieborów estate became the property of Michał Hieronim Radziwiłł, swordsman of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and his wife Helena née Przeździecka. In 1780, the village of Łupia (later Arkadia) was incorporated into the Nieborów estate. The new owners added new elements to the Nieborów garden and transformed its eastern part into a landscape layout in keeping with the spirit of the age. In 1778, Helena Radziwiłłowa established the Sentimental Garden in Arkadia. Work on its decoration continued until her death in 1821.
- 1945
The Nieborów estate remained the Radziwiłłs' property until January 1945, when a branch of the National Museum in Warsaw was established on the grounds of the palace and garden complex in Nieborów and the Arkadia garden. The Museum also received part of the farmland, including meadows and pastures, surrounding the Nieborów residence from the east and south.
- 1950s
The entire layout has been the subject of ongoing conservation care since the 1950s. In the post-war years extensive conservation work was carried out here under the direction of Professor Gerard Ciołek, later carried out by the State Enterprise for the Maintenance of Monuments. The individual elements of the layout have been well preserved thanks to the constant and meticulous restoration work carried out by the team of the National Museum in Warsaw and its branch, the Museum in Nieborów and Arkadia. The condition of individual buildings and architectural structures and gardens, although requiring further systematic conservation intervention, is satisfactory.
