State at the Castle. Residence 1926–1939

State at the Castle. Residence 1926–1939

6 November 2026. – 7 February 2027

The Zamek Królewski w Warszawie was the seat not only of kings and the Sejm, but also – in the years 1926–1939 – of the President of the Republic of Poland. Ignacy Mościcki had both his office and private rooms here. In the representative state rooms he received ambassadors and representatives of royal families, but also delegations of various social groups – veterans of the January Uprising, farmers and school youth. Over eighty photographs from this period show the interiors of the Castle, its host and his many guests. We present them in the rooms where they were taken.

From Office Seat to Head of State's Residence

On the day Poland regained independence, the Castle was in poor condition after years of use by the partitioning and occupying authorities. Initially it served as the seat of offices and a venue for state ceremonies. Both Marshal Józef Piłsudski and President Stanisław Wojciechowski stayed in it occasionally.

The historic interiors were gradually restored to their former splendour: under the Treaty of Riga, works of art previously taken to Russia returned, and new acquisitions also arrived for the Państwowe Zbiory Sztuki.

The President's Castle

In 1926 President Ignacy Mościcki chose the Royal Castle as his seat. He lived and worked here until the outbreak of the Second World War. In those years the Castle was the centre of state and diplomatic life of the Second Polish Republic. Here ambassadors presented their letters of credence, and here the April Constitution was signed in 1935. At the same time the Castle functioned as a museum and centre of art.

What you will see

The photographs show the interiors during visits by presidents, monarchs and diplomats from many parts of the world. The Castle hosted, among others, King Amanullah Chan with Queen Suriya, Japanese princes and ambassadors of the great powers at the New Year reception in January 1939. The historic plates also capture the famous Japanese pianist Chieko Hara during a passionate performance, as well as… “a device for producing so-called mountain air” – an invention designed by President Mościcki himself, who was trained as a chemist.

The photographs come from the collections of the Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe, Instytut Sztuki PAN, Muzeum Warszawy, Archiwum Akt Nowych, Biblioteka Cyfrowa Polona and Archiwum Fotograficzne Zamku Królewskiego.