page_title: Saxon Garden
section_title: 19th and 20th centuries
hierarchical_section_title: Saxon Garden / Features / 19th and 20th centuries
caption_attribution_description: English: The Saxon Palace in Warsaw, Poland. Deutsch: Das Sächsisches Palais in Warschau, Polen.
context_page_description: The Saxon Garden is a 15.5–hectare public garden in central Warsaw, Poland, facing Piłsudski Square. It is the oldest public park in the city. Founded in the late 17th century, it was opened to the public in 1727 as one of the first publicly accessible parks in the world.
context_section_description: Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, dedicated to the unknown soldiers who have given their lives for Poland. It is one of many such national tombs of unknowns that were erected after World War I, as well as the most important national symbols of bravery and heroism. In 1925, architect Stanisław Ostrowski produced a design to be located under the arcades of the Saxon Palace in Warsaw. The triple arch of the Tomb is the only remnant of the Saxon Palace colonnade. Here official delegations place wreaths and pay homage to the killed soldiers. The tomb has a change of guards every hour.
  Fountain, with an elaborately carved plaque resting on a shell form basin supported by a scrolled bracket, is often used by dating couples as their meeting place. It was established in 1855. The fountain is the centrepiece of gardens designed by the 19th-century designer Henryk Marconi and also one of the most precious urban symbols of Warsaw.
  Marble sundial, an 1863 horizontal sundial, is situated close to the big fountain in the centre of the park. It was established by the significant physicist and meteorologist Antoni Szeliga Magier (1762–1837).
  Water Tower, in the northwest part of the Saxon Garden, is situated by the ornamental lake surrounded by willows. This classicist water tower in the shape of a Roman monopteros was modelled on the Temple of Vesta in Tivoli. It was designed in 1852 by the architect Henryk Marconi.
  Summer Theatre, a popular summer variéte theatre, existed between 1870 and 1939. It was under Stanisław Moniuszko's "rule" at the Teatr Wielki that the wooden Summer Theatre was built in the Saxon Garden, between the Water Tower building and the Blue Palace by Aleksander Zabierzowski. From then on, summer performances from the Warsaw theatres were shown there every year. At the time, the Summer Theatre could seat an audience of 1,065. Helena Modjeska and Pola Negri made several appearance there. The theatre burned in September 1939 following a direct hit by an incendiary bomb and was never restored.
  Palm House, modeled after Victorian glass and iron structures in England, was built in 1894. It was created specifically for the exotic palms being collected and introduced to Europe in the 19th century. The elegant design, with its unobstructed space for the spreading crowns of the tall palms, was a perfect marriage of form and function. The structure was destroyed during the Warsaw Uprising and Planned destruction of Warsaw and was never restored.
  The Monument dedicated to Maria Konopnicka, famous Polish poet and writer mainly for children and youth, was unveiled in 1965.
  The Statue of Stefan Starzyński, leader of the fighting capital during the Siege of Warsaw, was added in 1981.
caption: The Saxon Palace
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