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DOI Artikel:Zarębska, Teresa: Wielkie osie urbanistyczne XVIII-wiecznej Warszawy a kreacje André Le Nôtre'a
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49351#0082
76
Teresa Zarębska
The Great Axes in the town-planning
of eighteenth-century Warsaw
and the creations of Andre Le Nótre
The great axes laid out in Warsaw during the 18th
century have long attracted the interest of histori-
ans, the number of studies devoted to and designs
intended for them having been many. These latter
were no morę than partially applied in carrying out
the actual spatial layouts, there having also survived
a collection of designs that never saw the light of
day. These tend to be regarded by researchers as
being of little interest; rejected versions of spatial
Solutions exerting no influence on the proposed
alternatives that were actually accepted.
Looking through the rich documentation, it is
possible to come to the conclusion that some of the
unrealised designs contained certain ideas that were
introduced into the urban plan of Warsaw: they were
renounced either during the course of work which
could have introduced them into the city’s layout or
beforehand, becommg an important aspect in decid-
ing the shape of the futurę plan.
Seeking out the traces of these plans demands
conducting an analysis, chronologically stratifying
the laying out of great urban plans and the distin-
guishing of their basie stages. Of use here are Euro-
pean models whose umversally known and admired
spatial programme was freąuently reduced and
adapted to local conditions. Traces of this kind of
approach are to be found in the work of architects
from varying nations active in Warsaw at the courts
of the Saxon monarchs, as well as that great patron
of the arts, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski.
In the 18th century, equally close to both the
royal patrons, personally involvmg themselves in
the shaping of residential and urban layouts, and the
architects working on their commission were
French models. In the plans of Warsaw, both those
carried out and those rejected, numerous Solutions
may be identified which were mspired by the cre-
ations of that great French representative of the
French garden school and the distinguished town-
planner Andre Le Nótre. In Warsaw, as in numerous
other European cities, the layouts at Versailles, Marły
and Pans were used as prototypes. Le Nótre’s con-
ception for the Champs Elysees was possibly mod-
elled on the residential town of Richelieu with its lay-
out of radiating avenues Crossing at a circus, which in
all certainty inspired Warsaw’s Stanislavian Axis.
However, the search for French inspirational
sources in the various urban conceptions in Warsaw
demand considerable attention, sińce the designs of
both the Saxon and Stanislavian Axes took shape
over a number of phases. The great creations of Le
Nótre and his continuators went through numerous
stages of transformation and alteration. Comparing
them is no straightforward task: numerous known
designs were never dated and defining their se-
ąuence demands minutę inside analysis of graphic
sources available.
The considerations presented in this article
provide a basis for establishing the development
of large-scale Warsaw creations of town planning
in the 18th century. There is room for hope that
the conclusions proposed, apart from serving as a
smali step in understanding the creative intentions
of the authors responsible for carrying out these
projects, will be complemented and corrected.
A morę precise analysis of these plans should be
applied to decisions currently being taken in the
city’s planning.
Translated by Peter Martyn
Teresa Zarębska
The Great Axes in the town-planning
of eighteenth-century Warsaw
and the creations of Andre Le Nótre
The great axes laid out in Warsaw during the 18th
century have long attracted the interest of histori-
ans, the number of studies devoted to and designs
intended for them having been many. These latter
were no morę than partially applied in carrying out
the actual spatial layouts, there having also survived
a collection of designs that never saw the light of
day. These tend to be regarded by researchers as
being of little interest; rejected versions of spatial
Solutions exerting no influence on the proposed
alternatives that were actually accepted.
Looking through the rich documentation, it is
possible to come to the conclusion that some of the
unrealised designs contained certain ideas that were
introduced into the urban plan of Warsaw: they were
renounced either during the course of work which
could have introduced them into the city’s layout or
beforehand, becommg an important aspect in decid-
ing the shape of the futurę plan.
Seeking out the traces of these plans demands
conducting an analysis, chronologically stratifying
the laying out of great urban plans and the distin-
guishing of their basie stages. Of use here are Euro-
pean models whose umversally known and admired
spatial programme was freąuently reduced and
adapted to local conditions. Traces of this kind of
approach are to be found in the work of architects
from varying nations active in Warsaw at the courts
of the Saxon monarchs, as well as that great patron
of the arts, Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski.
In the 18th century, equally close to both the
royal patrons, personally involvmg themselves in
the shaping of residential and urban layouts, and the
architects working on their commission were
French models. In the plans of Warsaw, both those
carried out and those rejected, numerous Solutions
may be identified which were mspired by the cre-
ations of that great French representative of the
French garden school and the distinguished town-
planner Andre Le Nótre. In Warsaw, as in numerous
other European cities, the layouts at Versailles, Marły
and Pans were used as prototypes. Le Nótre’s con-
ception for the Champs Elysees was possibly mod-
elled on the residential town of Richelieu with its lay-
out of radiating avenues Crossing at a circus, which in
all certainty inspired Warsaw’s Stanislavian Axis.
However, the search for French inspirational
sources in the various urban conceptions in Warsaw
demand considerable attention, sińce the designs of
both the Saxon and Stanislavian Axes took shape
over a number of phases. The great creations of Le
Nótre and his continuators went through numerous
stages of transformation and alteration. Comparing
them is no straightforward task: numerous known
designs were never dated and defining their se-
ąuence demands minutę inside analysis of graphic
sources available.
The considerations presented in this article
provide a basis for establishing the development
of large-scale Warsaw creations of town planning
in the 18th century. There is room for hope that
the conclusions proposed, apart from serving as a
smali step in understanding the creative intentions
of the authors responsible for carrying out these
projects, will be complemented and corrected.
A morę precise analysis of these plans should be
applied to decisions currently being taken in the
city’s planning.
Translated by Peter Martyn