Królikarnia, Classicist palace in Mokotów, Poland
Królikarnia is a palace in the Mokotów district of Warsaw, built in a classicist style on a hillside slope with symmetrical wings arranged around a central rotunda. The structure stands within extensive grounds that slope from the street level down to the lower garden, now serving as a sculpture park.
Domenico Merlini designed the palace between 1782 and 1786 for Karol de Valery Thomatis, a merchant and royal banker. After damage during the Second World War, reconstruction took place and the building opened as a museum in 1965.
The building carries its name from the rabbit warren that once occupied this site under royal ownership. Visitors today walk through park grounds where sculptures stand among old trees, turning the estate into an open-air gallery.
The museum opens from Thursday to Sunday and offers guided visits along with rotating exhibitions. The park surrounding the building remains accessible for longer hours and invites walks among the displayed works.
Merlini drew directly on the Villa Rotonda by Palladio in Vicenza when designing the structure, creating one of the few direct references to that Italian model north of the Alps. The central dome and four columned porticos follow the Renaissance example, adapted to Polish conditions.
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