INFORMATION

Łańcut Castle rises amidst the ancient trees of an old landscape garden, beyond the town's eastern limits. Once upon a time the castle was fortified. A ring of bastions cornered with towers which defended the entry can still be seen, though they have been significantly changed in numerous reconstructions. A small library pavilion built in the late 18th century adjoins the castle from the north and to the south there is an early 19th-century conservatory.

The origins of the castle go back to the early Middle Ages. Civic rights are believed to have been granted to Łańcut in 1349 and the foundation deed was signed by King Casimir the Great though there is no documentation to confirm these facts. The town was founded according to the then binding German law, probably in the area of a trade settlement.

The first known owners of the estate were the Pileckis, a rich and influential family whose members held numerous posts of eminence in Poland, enjoying the sovereigns' confidence and friendship. This made their wooden castle-lated manor, built on top of a hill near the present church a much-frequented place among mighty visitors. There was among them King Władysław Jagiełło himself. It was here, too, that the King's meeting with Witold, the Grand Duke of Lithuania - and Poland's ally in the victorious battle of Tannenberg (Grunwald) against the Teutonic Knights in 1410 - was held. Under the Pileckis Łańcut also played host to Emperor Sigismund of Luxemburg and King Sigismund the Old.

In 1586, Łańcut became the property of Stanisław Stadnicki (1551-1610), notorious all over Poland as  the Devil from Łańcut", a nick-name hę earned himself among his comrades-in-arms with valour shown during campaigns against Gdańsk. Moscow, and in Hungary against the Turks. However, underestimated by the so-vereign, Stadnicki waged his private war against the King and the Diet (Parliament). Hę also ignored numerous court yerdicts for robberies of neighbours and merchants, and in 1608, the troops of Łukasz Opaliński, the Governor of Leżajsk ploundered and burnt down his residence in the former Pileckis manor. Stadnicki mana-ged to escape, but was killed two years later in the battle with Opaliński's troops at Tarnawą near Sambor. Łańcut was inherited by his two sons, Władysław and Stanisław.
In 1628, the estate was bought by Stanisław Lubomirski (1588-1649) who fortified it, building a new defensive castle outside the town's eastern limits in the years 1628-1642.
Another Polish King, Jan Kazimierz, visited Łańcut Castle in 1656. One year later, it withstood the siege by Transylvanian ruler George II Rakoczi. In the łatę 17th-century reconstruction project, Tylman of Gameren, a prominent architect, added baroąue cupo-las to the towers flanking the western elevation. At the turn of the 17th century, the castle was owned by Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski (1642-1702), a famous political writer, play-wright and poet. In 1702, the castle was besieged by the Swedes under General Magnus Stenbock and in July 1704, King August II came to Łańcut to announce a manifesto against the Swedes.

The last owner of the estate in the Lubomirski linę was Stanisław Lubomirski (1721-1783), the Grand Crown Marshal who mar-ried Elżbieta (Izabella) nee Czartoryska (1736-1816), She was a con-noiseur, patron of the arts, and an art collector. Together with her husband she brought numerous objects of art to Łańcut from her foreign travels. They mounted an extensive development project in the 1760s. Her idea was to turn the castle into a lavish pałace. The works took several decades. The ramparts were levelled, the park laid out close to the castle and the interiors redesigned. Among the famous artists who had their share in the project were Vincen-zo Brenna, Szymon Bogumił Zug, Jan Christian Kamsetzer, Jan Griesmeyer, Christian Pierre Aigner, and Frederic Bauman. The result was a uniąue complex of palące interiors. Some of them survived to this day and include Brenna's Suitę, Turkish Suitę, Rococo Room, the Duchess's Bedroom, Boucher's Salon, Ball-Room, Grand Dining-Room, the former Chapel, Column Hali, Chi-nese Suitę, and the Pompeian Salon.

During the Targowica Confederation, Łańcut Castle provi-ded a safe shelter for the advocates of the May 3 Constitution. Tadeusz Kościuszko came to stay there mil 92.
No wonder the Castle became a throbbing centre of musie and theatre life. There were chamber musie concerts conducted by Peter Haensel  disciple of Joseph Haydn.
Marcello Bernardini known as Marcello di Capua composed special picces for the Duchess. The castle's theatre gave the first private performance of Jan Potockfs Parady (Parades) in 1792.
After the death of the Duchess, her grandson Alfred Potocki (1786-1862) took over and, to prevent its division, established in 1830 Łańcuts estate in taił. Hę also introduced further alterations to the castle and its surroundings and furnished the first floor rooms en suitę with beautiful inlaid parąuets. His son and successor, Alfred Józef Potocki (1822-1889) performed several state duties such as, among others, the minister of agriculture, the prime minister and governor of Galicja. Hę enjoyed great confidence of Kaizer Franz Joseph who visited Łańcut in 1883. Archduke Rudolf with other eminent guests attended hunting parties organized by Potocki in Łańcut. However, Potocki spent most of his time in Vienna and Lvov, and his Łańcut residence, uncared-for, began to fali into ruin.

Upon inheriting the estate after Alfred's death, his son Roman (1851-1915) with wife Elżbieta nee Radziwiłł (1861-1950) decided to modernize the palace preserving, however, some of its 18th-century interiors. To ensure the highest quality of work-manship, artists and craftsmen of yarious nationalities were brought to Łańcut. The construction supendsed by architects Armand Beaąue and Albert Pio from Vienna covered all the floors. Several new rooms were added, central heating, water-supply and electricity were installed. The pseudo-Gothic elevation was refurbished in French neo-baroque style. A new southern wing with a tower was added (nów housing a restaurant and hotel), the park was doubled in size, and fenced in. The stables and coach-house in the park's southern area with the world-famous collection of coaches datę back to that period.

The next owner was Alfred Potocki (1886-1958), Roman Potocki's son. Educated at Oxford, Vienna and Lvov he traveled a lot, went on a trip around the world and on safari in Sudan. A legacy from Mikołaj Potocki - a distant relative from Paris, and the last owner of the Tulczyn estate, made Alfred the richest mań in Poland. He enriched the collections with precious objects d'art and entertained many prominent visitors like King Ferdinand of Romania and his consort, Maria; Polish President Ignacy Mościcki; Prince George of Kent and his wife Marina. Łańcut was the scene of ceremonial dinners, balls, and hunts, and throngs of visitors, who played tennis, polo, and rode horses.
During the Second World War, the castle served as headąu-arters for various Nazi troops. As soon as the news of the Red Army's victorious approach reached the town, Potocki started preparations to leave the country. About six hundred crates containing the most valuable objects: paintings, silverware, Chinaware, clocks, furniture, tapestries, and archives were dispatched to Vienna for several months.
Potocki left Łańcut on July 23,1944. Six days later the Nazis retreated. The Soviet troops entered Łańcut on July 30, 1944. Juliusz Wierciński, Potocki's plenipotentiary, placed an inscription in Russian saying:  Polish National Museum on the gates to the abandoned residence. General Pavel Kurochkin ack-nowledged Wierciński's plenipotence and appointed a special troop to protect the castle.
No more than one month later the museum opened to the public. In the course of conservation and reconstruction works carried out after the war, many discoveries were made which contributed to our knowledge of the castle's history.

Nowadays, Łańcut Castle is an interior design museum with a multitude of art objects on display. Together with the old pavilions and farm buildings surrounded by the park it forms a landmark of history of the highest architectural class, known worldwide, visited and admired by Polish as well as many foreign tourists.