Czapski Palace

The Czapski Palace stands on Krakowskie Przedmiescie, the grand thoroughfare of Warsaw's Royal Route, and ranks among the city's finest late-Baroque magnate residences. It was built in 1686 to designs by Tylman van Gameren and changed hands several times - Lubomirski, Sieniawski, Czartoryski - before the Czapski family acquired and enlarged it in the early 18th century. Between 1827 and 1830 the young Frederic Chopin lived here with his family in the left side wing; in that apartment he composed some of his late Warsaw works. Today the palace houses the Academy of Fine Arts; the Chopin family rooms have been preserved as a small salon recreating the 1820s living arrangement. The elegant facade with its central risalit and mansard roof catches the eye of anyone walking the Royal Route towards the Old Town.