Pulawy - City Of The Noble Families

The City of Pulawy was established in the XVII century as a small fishing and trade settlement at the Vistula crossing. Stanislaw Herakliusz-Lubromirski, Grand Marshal, built a defensive palace on the Vistula escarpment's steep edge. It was designed by Tylman of Gameren. During the Northern War of 1706, the Swedish army commanded by King Charles XII crossed over the Vistula River and to burned down the settlement.

Swedish invasion of Poland (1701–1706)
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Elzbieta Sieniawska and her daughter Zofia - Prince August Czartoryski's wife were responsible for the reconstruction of the settlement. The Czartoryski family acquired the city and made Pulawy a prominent center of political and cultural life. It was called the "Polish Athens". The court of Duke Adam Czartoryski, the son of Augustus, and his wife Izabela Née Flemming was home to many outstanding artists.

Zofia and her family

The Czartoryski collection contained not only Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting, but also more than 86 000 other artworks, exhibits, as well as an enormous, highly valuable library that was rich in rare prints, manuscripts, and other materials. Poland bought the collection from the Czartoryski Foundation for 100 mln euro which was approximately only 3-5% of the real value.

The Czartoryskis were punished by the Tsarina Katarzyna II (last reigning Empress of Russia, born in today's polish city of Szczecin) by inflicting destruction on Pulawy because of their support for the Tadeusz Kosciuszko uprising. After the uprising, Princess Izabela decided that the park should be rebuilt and expanded. Gothic House, Sybil Temple, Roman Gate, and Chapel based on the Roman Pantheon were all built. All buildings built in that period of the settlement were designed by Christian Piotr Aigner.