The Wilanów Palace was built from 1677 to 1679 by Augustyn Wincenty Locci on behalf of King Jan III. Sobieski was built at the southern end of the Warsaw Royal Route in the Warsaw district of the same name, Wilanów, and is known as the Polish Versailles. Its name goes back to the Polonized Italian name “Villa Nuova”.
The baroque furnishings with busts of the ancient Roman emperors and consuls as well as reliefs glorified the victories of Jan III. Sobieskis and the virtues of his wife Queen Marysieńka. Statues of Atlas the Titan stand on the two towers.
After the death of Jan III. Sobieski, his successor King August II the Strong resided here until 1700. He was famous for the large and extravagant festivals that he organized in the castle. After that, the palace successively passed into the possession of the Sieniawski, Lubomirski, Czartoryski, Potocki and Branicki magnate families, who redesigned the palace in the forms of the following eras. The Wilanów estate included various villages and residences in the surrounding area, such as Gucin Gaj, Morysin, Natolin, Powsiń, Służew or Ursynów.
The palace was looted and set on fire by the German Wehrmacht in 1944 after the Warsaw Uprising; However, they were no longer able to achieve their original goal of completely destroying this symbol of Polish culture due to the advance of the Red Army. The palace was rebuilt in its original Baroque form after the Second World War.