The Castle - 50 years of reconstruction

This documentary commissioned by the Polish History Museum marks the 50th anniversary of the decision made in January 1971 to reconstruct the Royal Castle in Warsaw.
The 20-minute-long film goes back to the times when the building was the seat of the authorities of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (the King and the Sejm), then of the Chief of State and the Polish President. The wartime fate of the castle is shown, too, ending in that symbol of Polish statehood being blown up by the Nazis. Fortunately, the 1949 plans to rebuild it in the Social realist style never materialised yet there was still a long way to its reconstruction. Some members of state authorities did not want to see what they considered a symbol of ‘bourgeois turpitude’. It was only Edward Gierek, who, in a clear break with the period of Gomułka’s rule, used the Royal Castle as a vehicle of propaganda seeking to win the nation’s favour and decided to have it rebuilt. The model to follow was its image in Bernardo Bellotto (Canaletto)’s painting A View of Warsaw Seen from Praga.
The film The Castle - 50 years of reconstruction showcases various concepts related to the reconstruction of the castle’s interior as well as their implementation. It also presents such persons important for the reconstruction efforts as Prof. Stanisław Lorentz. In its final part, the film focuses on the contemporary state of the castle, now used as a site for prestigious functions, a museum and a centre of education. The documentary also includes contributions by the former and current directors of the Royal Castle Prof. Andrzej Rottermund and Prof. Wojciech Fałkowski, the custodian of the photography division Bożena Radzio and the historian Dr Piotr Majewski.
Title: The Castle - 50 years of reconstruction
Production: The Polish History Museum in Warsaw 2021
Executive producer: Magnum Opus Lidia Chołody
Duration: 22 minutes