Titled Saxon Visions: The Architecture of Power, the show opened to the public on Friday and runs through July 20.
The exhibition marks the first major presentation prepared entirely under the new leadership of the Royal Castle.
Museum director Małgorzata Omilanowska-Kiljańczyk described the show as "a fascinating look at architecture as a political tool," focused on the reigns of King Augustus II the Strong and his son, Augustus III, both of the Wettin line.
The Wettin period (1697–1763) was marked by political instability in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, yet also saw a flourishing of art and architecture.
Augustus II, who was also Elector of Saxony, had grand plans for modernising Warsaw, but was unable to realise most of them due to financial and political constraints.
Nonetheless, his architectural ambitions left behind striking designs, including a detailed turn-of-the-century drawing of a proposed reconstruction of the Royal Castle, by court architect and garden designer Johann Friedrich Karcher.
The exhibition features original 18th-century architectural drawings from the Saxon State Archives in Dresden, Germany and the National Museum in Warsaw.
Curator Jakub Bendkowski said that these works "offer rare insight into the grand architectural vision for the Commonwealth’s most important government building."
Displayed across four rooms, the drawings are complemented by scale models and elaborate dioramas. A notable highlight is a fragment of a historical inscription plaque once adorning the castle’s east façade, uncovered during 2023 archaeological work at the site of the former Brühl Palace.
It was Augustus III, ruling during a more stable and prosperous era, who oversaw the castle’s significant reconstruction.
The exhibition features several surviving designs by architect Carl Friedrich Pöppelmann for the new "Saxon wing," which was added to the east side of the castle and later helped guide postwar reconstruction efforts after the building’s near-total destruction in World War II.
“This show is the first in a planned series on architecture," Omilanowska-Kiljańczyk said. "We want to spark public interest in Warsaw’s urban design."
An educational program runs alongside the exhibition, aimed at visitors of all ages. A dedicated learning space explains the work of historical architects, and a printed guide in the form of a treasure hunt leads visitors through the castle’s surroundings.
(rt/gs)
Source: dzieje.pl, zamek-krolewski.pl