Photos

The history of the Royal Łazienki Museum has its beginnings with Jazdów –
a medieval Slavic fortified settlement belonging to the Dukes of Mazovia.

This earth-wooden fortress was situated on the banks of a river fording point in existence during that era, the 12th century. The fortress was captured in 1262 by the Ruthenians and Lithuanians. During the siege Duke Zimowit I was killed. This tragic moment opens the history of the Royal Łazienki, as well as the history of Warsaw, as it is one of the first recorded and confirmed historical events from that period. After the merger of Mazovia with the Crown, Ujazdów became the property of Queen Bona in 1548. It was during these times that the court buildings were constructed and were most probably located where the later Belvedere would appear. Around the year 1570, near the present-day Łazienkowska route, a wooden palace belonging to Anna Jagiellonka was constructed. On the terrain located below the slope – a hunting enclosure with a variety of wild animals, a menagerie, was created