Royal Palace - the official residence of the Polish monarchs, located in the center of Warsaw, at the entrance to the Old City.

The construction of the Royal Palace began under King Sigismund III Vasa in 1598 on the site of a medieval palace of the 13th century the princes of Mazovia. Before him, the castle held the Queen Bona Sforza, who was the wife of Sigismund I. Reconstruction began with the expansion of the castle, the building in the early Baroque to get in shape of a pentagon, was erected a defensive tower height of 60 meters, which was called "The Tower of Sigismund." On top of the tower clock was installed gold-plated discs. In 1637, the south wing on the second floor of the project was built by Augustine Lochchi "Hall del Teatro" - the hall to view performances and operas.

During the Swedish invasion in the years 1655-1656, the Royal Castle in Warsaw was sacked - the Swedes have taken pictures, furniture, tapestries, the Royal Library.

During the reign of Stanislaw August Poniatowski Royal Castle flourished. During this period of the interior decoration works of great painters, sculptors and architects such as Victor Louis, Jakub Fontana, Domenico Merlini. It was built Ballroom, Knights' Hall, as well as a new library.

During the First World War, the palace was damaged, restoration work began in 1915 and continued do1939 year. Works were supervised by the architect Kazhimezh Skorevich and Adolf Szyszko-Bogush. Fully complete the reconstruction did not succeed because of the outbreak of the Second World War. At the beginning of October 1939 under the leadership of German historians and art experts from the University of Wroclaw began to dismantle all the things of value. The floor was removed, carmine, cornices, sculptures. All the furniture was sent to Germany.

On Hitler's orders, the palace was to be blown up in the early 1940s. However, due to protest Italian palace was abandoned. He was later destroyed in 1944 during the bombing. After the war, the communist authorities delayed the decision on restoration of the palace. This decision was made only in 1971.

Currently, the palace serves as a museum and is subordinate to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Many official visits and public meetings are held here. More than 500 thousand people visit the Royal Palace every year.