Myślewicki Palace, Sobieski's Bridge & the Agrykola Valley
Why is it significant?
Stop in front of the little palace whose wings curve forward to embrace a small courtyard, and then turn your head towards the bridge, where a king on a rearing horse tramples a fallen enemy. You have reached the north-eastern edge of Łazienki, where the park meets the green valley of Agrykola.
Key Facts
| Place | Myślewicki Palace, Sobieski's Bridge & the Agrykola Valley |
|---|---|
| Address | ul. Agrykola 1, 00-460 Warszawa, Poland |
| Geo Coordinates | 52.21550, 21.03820 |
| Part of Walk | Warsaw's Green Royal Route: Aleje Ujazdowskie to Łazienki Park, Chopin and the Palace on the Isle |
| Generated | Generated |
Stop in front of the little palace whose wings curve forward to embrace a small courtyard, and then turn your head towards the bridge, where a king on a rearing horse tramples a fallen enemy. You have reached the north-eastern edge of Łazienki, where the park meets the green valley of Agrykola.
This is Myślewicki Palace, built by Dominik Merlini in the 1770s and named after the old village of Myślewice that stood on this land. The king intended it for his nephew, Prince Józef Poniatowski, the dashing soldier who later became a marshal of Napoleon and drowned in 1813 at the Battle of Leipzig. Inside, the walls of one room are painted with Italian views, a little holiday in the south for people who stayed in the north.
And here is the surprise. From 1958, this delicate royal pavilion hosted the talks between the ambassadors of the United States and the People's Republic of China, two countries that did not recognise each other. For years Warsaw, behind the Iron Curtain, was one of the very few places where Washington and Beijing spoke face to face, and some of those conversations took place in these rooms.
The monument on the bridge is older and louder. It shows King Jan the Third Sobieski, the hero of the relief of Vienna in 1683, and Stanisław August unveiled it in 1788, more than a century later. The sculptor gave the king all the drama a baroque horseman can carry.
Below the bridge the Agrykola valley runs down towards the Vistula, along the same old axis as the Piaseczyński canal you saw from the castle terrace. Stand still, and the park closes the walk for you: a squirrel on a trunk, a peacock crying somewhere, wind in the old trees. From stone crosses to water and palaces, this was Warsaw's green Royal Route... and the path ahead belongs to you.