The Royal Castle in Warsaw served as the official residence of Polish monarchs until the partitions of Poland.
Today, the Royal Castle functions as a museum and houses various art collections.
The Royal Castle is located at the entrance to the Old Town, overlooking the square that bears its name: Plac Zamkowy (Castle Square).
The original structure dates back to the 14th century, but it underwent significant modifications under King Sigismund III Vasa, beginning in 1596, when the monarch moved his residence to Warsaw—the city he had chosen as the capital of the kingdom.
Castle is laid out around a large, pentagonal inner courtyard, with two of its sides facing Castle Square. The main entrance is topped by the Sigismund Tower, which has housed a clock since 1622.
Between 1926 and the Second World War, the castle served as the residence of the President of Poland.
The red-brick structure is not the original palace, but rather an exact replica; the original was destroyed by Nazi bombing toward the end of the Second World War.
The reconstruction of the Royal Castle was funded by private donations and did not begin until the early 1970s.
In July 1974, the tower clock was set running again—restarted at the very time it had stopped during the German bombardment. The entire complex was completed in 1988.
