Branicki Palace in Bialystok

The medal can be purchased in the main hall, at the reception!

The Branicki Palace in Bialystok is counted among the most beautiful realisations of Baroque architecture in this part of Europe. The patronage of Hetman Jan Klemens Branicki led in the 18th century to the Bialystok palace being dubbed the ‘Polish Versailles’.

The origins of the Bialystok residence date back to the 16th century. At that time, the owners of Bialystok – the Wiesiołowskis – built a brick manor house on the site of today’s palace. The greatest development took place in the 17th and 18th centuries, during the time of the Branicki family. From the 1790s onwards. Stefan Mikołaj Branicki began rebuilding the manor house into a baroque palace. His son, Jan Klemens Branicki, continued to develop the residence, making it one of the most beautiful in Central and Eastern Europe. The palace was surrounded by extensive gardens and zoological gardens, which Jozef Kraszewski wrote about as if created by magic and brought to the Podlasie plains from another heaven. European kings and princes came here with pleasure, and the palace became known as the ‘hotel of crowned heads’.

The period of splendour ended with the annexation of the Republic of Poland. First under Prussian and then under Russian annexation, the palace changed its functions. Finally, in 1837, the Institute of Noble Ladies was located there, which caused numerous changes in the architecture of the palace and the appearance of the gardens. During World War I, the residence was turned into a German field hospital, and in the interwar period into the Provincial Office and the governor’s residence. Finally, in 1944, the palace was burnt down by retreating German troops. After the end of the Second World War, the reconstruction of Podlasie Versailles began and it was used as the main seat of the newly established Medical Academy in Bialystok.

The Hetman’s legacy is continued by the Medical University of Bialystok, which has owned the residence since 1950. The palace is the main seat of the University in Bialystok, which carries out systematic renovation and conservation work aimed at restoring the residence to its 18th-century splendour. Through numerous initiatives such as the Night of Museums, UMB Open Days, Podlasie Festival of Science and Art, European Heritage Days, and the organisation of the Museum of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy, the palace fulfils scientific and didactic functions and contributes to the cultural life of the city.