Staszic Palace

1818

Scandal! A priest commits suicide at the altar during a service, prompting authorities to demolish the building following this devastating desecration.

1820-1823

A new building arises thanks to efforts and investments of Stanisław Staszic. The architect is Antonio Corazzi, a man that would later author the Grand Theatre and what is today the seat of City Hall.

1830

Eight-years in the making, a monument honoring the astronomer Nicolas Copernicus is placed in the front. Sculpted by Bertel Thorvaldsen, it references the new building’s role as the home of the Warsaw Society of Friends of Science.

1831

On May 1st, Wojciech Jastrzębowski, presents a draft constitution for a European Union to the Friends of Science. A visionary coalition aimed at preventing future war, a plaque unveiled in 2022 commemorates the idea.

1857

With the Friends of Science outlawed in the wake of the January Uprising a couple of decades before, Warsaw’s Russian’s rulers establish the Academy of Medical Science, the first higher educational institution sanctioned in Warsaw under their hegemony.

1862

Following another failed insurrection, the Russians close the Academy of Medical Science and replace it with a boarding school.

1892-1893

Ongoing Russification sees the palace reimagined in elaborate Byzantine-Ruthenian style and adorned with a gilded dome and ten bells. In 1899, two years after being visited by Tsar Nicholas II, it begins its official role as the Church of St. Tatiana of Rome.

1915-1918

During Germany’s brief WWI occupation of Warsaw, the former palace is transformed into an ‘entertainment house’ for officers –one that reputedly houses a casino, boarding rooms, brothel and other amusements.

1919-1926

Newly independent, Poland passes a resolution to restore the palace to its previous neo-Classical form. This plan is finally realized in 1926.

1942

During the occupation, the Germans place a plaque underneath Copernicus declaring him to be a German astronomer. In 1942, the sign is daringly removed by a scout called Aleks Dawidowski.

1944

The bloodlust: the palace is heavily damaged during the Warsaw Uprising and later gutted by German sappers. Total destruction is estimated at 60%.

1945

Spirited away to be smelted by the Nazis towards the end of the Warsaw Uprising the year before, the Copernicus statue is discovered in tact lying in the town of Nysa. Three years later, it will be reinstalled.

1953

Rebuilt as a matter of national urgency, the palace is reopened in 1953 and becomes the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

1981

After Martial Law is declared, 17 professors are arrested for subversive activities. Sit-in protests are organized in response, and within a month over 100 employees have returned their official party passes.

2023

The palace continues to flourish in its role as the heart of Polish science. According to more lurid accounts, its history is reflected by the despairing priest that is said to stalk the corridors late at night.