Natolin
| Natolin Park | |
|---|---|
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Potocki Palace.
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| Type | Municipal |
| Location | Warsaw |
| Area | 105 ha |
| Created | 2006 |
| Status | open 2 days a week |
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. Since 1993 Natolin has been the site of one of two College of Europe campuses (College of Europe, Natolin).
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 1730s his successor, King August II the Strong, reformed the garden into a pheasant breeding and hunting area. The place was thus called Bażantarnia – Pheasantry. 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 renowned 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, . 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 the Potocki's granddaughter, (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.
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