Imperial houses in Poland: Spala, Skierniewice, Bialowieza

one more picture of alexander ii`visit in 1860




inhabitants of belovzh and surrounding villages were invited for a party to commemorate the emperor`s visit

this monument was erected in belovezh in 1862 to commemorate the emperor`s hunting in 1860

the monument before WW I



when the WW I started this monument was evacuated in accordance with nikolay II`s personal order.In 1915 it was taken to Moscow. After WW I the Polish government asked the Soviet government to return the monument. Initially, the monument was placed in front of the Royal Palace in Warsaw but in 1928 the Polish president moved it to Spala where Polish presidents hunted too.

the monument in Spala between the wars




During WW II the bizon remained intact though according to the local legend the Germans wanted to take it to Berlin. At the end of the 1980-s the authorities of Belovezh wanted to get the monument back but the locals of Spala organized a committee to protect the symbol of their place from moving to belovezh.

a modern picture of the bizon taken ian autumn 2009
 

in 1889 alexander 3 decided commissioned nicholas de rochefort to design and build a residence in belovezh. it took 5 years to build and cost 500 000 roubles.
i
- it consisted of 134 rooms
- alexander 3 specifically stated that he didn` t want gold,silver or silk to be used while arranging the interior of the palace

-they used 10 kinds of wood. to make is colour identical they kept it in water and then dried it

- instead of traditional wallpapers linen was used

- in some rooms there was original and inimitable interior e.g. in one of the rooms the walls and furniture were decorated with stamps from all over the world

interior of the palace

the study of the emperor



the study of the empress

[a summary]

the account of the last stay of alexande 3 in belovezh,1894,made by mr polevoy who was in charge of the imperial post

a summary

the emperor came to belovezh with his wife, his sons nikolay and mikhail,olga and grand dukes vladimir alexandrovich and mikhail nikolaevich. life in belovezh was very quite.the imperial couple were accompanied only by a small group of people so they felt at ease. a3 and mf woke up at approx 8 a.m. and drank coffee together on a balcony.the emperor felt so comfortable in belovezh that he wore a bathrobe in the morning.

according to the personal request of the emperor, the residence was not particularly protected i.e. only one military unit was present there. the emperor didn`t like to see military men near the residence so the unit was on duty from 10 p m to 6 a m. the residence was protected only by the internal guard: the members of the guard checked entrance tickets at the entrance to the park. but the emperor and his family had to be protected anyway so the police was to be made "invisible" so that the   imperial family didn`t feel their presence.  servants and guards did thei best to protect the imperial family`s peace because it was peace and quiet that their guests needed.

it was clear that the tzar`s health was deteriorating. mr polevoy remembered alexander 3 as a healthy full of vigour and strength man so he was statled by the emperor`s changed looks: he lost a lot of weight and his face expression  was sad and tired. it was clear that the tzar was suffering from a serious disesase.
the tzar`s condition was rapidly deteriorating:during the first day of his stay in belovezh he was able to stand during the entire church service but in the couse of time he had to linger on mariya feodoovna`s shoulder. the change in his condition was so evident so whenever 2 or 3  people gathered together they started to discuss the issue of alexander 3`s health.
the tzar`s condition was so serious that grand duke georgiy alexandrovich came to visit his father. the change of climate put a serious toll on georgiy`s health.

finally,doctors managed to persuade the tzar to move to a warmer and drier climate.the tzar decided to move to spala. as alexander 3 was leaving the people present during the farewell ceremony had an impression that he was saying his last good-bye to the people of belovezh.

although belovezh was a hunting residence,alexander 3,ironically, was not particularly fond of hunting.

but,anyway, all the rituals were strictly observed e.g. after hunting,in the evening,huntes demonstated their trophies. it was an elaborate ritual conducted in the presence of the imperial family. meat was divided between the paticipants of the hunting and employees in belovezh residence.

some pictures of this ritual

after 1918,after poland gained independence, the authorities continued hunting in belovezh

a similar ritual of inspecting trophies, 1937




and 1931

railway station built for the imperial family called BELOVEZHA-PALACE. situated a few hundred meters from the palace.built in 1897 because that year railway connection between belovezh and warsaw and bialystok appeared.non-existent.railway connection was liquidated at the beginning of the 1990-s when the authoities decided that this connection did not generate enough income.local protested but their protests were ignored

Palace in Spala in 1886





and Study room of the Emperor in the Palace

So, of the three Imperial residences in Poland, that Greg refers to in Court Of The Last Tsar, only one still exists today (the other two having been torched by the Nazis in World War II)?

So, of the three Imperial residences in Poland, that Greg refers to in Court Of The Last Tsar, only one still exists today (the other two having been torched by the Nazis in World War II)?

That1s true. Only the residence in Skierniewice has been preserved. As for Spala and Belovezh, other building e.g. the former hotel, Alexander III1s stone, stables etc. are still there.

Thanks for the info.  I wasn't really sure what was left in Poland.  Greg's book mentions them, but not what ultimately happened to them.