Preservation predicament
Located on the capital's Pl. Piłsudzkiego, the planned investment was meant to recreate one of the most valuable elements of the city's pre-war architecture and provide Warsaw with room for a new city hall.
Severed contract
"After long discussions with the contractor we came to the conclusion that the contract cannot be realized," Paweł Barański, director of the Capital Board of City Development (SZRM), the substitute investor of the project, told a press conference. "Neither side is responsible for this state of affairs nor will lodge any claims to compensation," he added.
The city will pay Budimex-Dromex only for the work that has already been carried out. "If we have difficulties in appraising the cost we will turn to independent experts," said Krzysztof Kozioł, spokesman for Budimex-Dromex.
Warsaw authorities' contract with Budimex-Dromex, signed in 2006, called for the construction of the palace on top of a two-storey underground parking lot, following an archeological survey of the building site. As the basements of the original building were excavated, however, they were deemed too historically valuable to be demolished. In May 2007, the underground remnants of Pałac Saski were entered into the register of historic buildings. Preservation of the basements will now require extra reinforcement of the palace's structure, causing it to encroach on other neighboring state-owned plots.
Starting over
According to Tomasz Andryszczyk, Warsaw City Hall's spokesman, cancellation of the contract does not imply that the project has been discontinued. In March, the city is going to announce a tender for a new architectural design of Pałac Saski that will provide for the preservation of the basements. Another tender will then result in the selection of a general contractor for the investment.
If all goes well, construction work should start in autumn 2009 and is expected to last two years. In addition to the Pałac Saski reconstruction, Warsaw's authorities also plan projects to reconstruct Pałac Brühla (the Brühl Palace) as well as tenement houses that once neighbored Pałac Saski and formed the western frontage of Pl. Piłsudzkiego.
Palatial origins
Pałac Saski was originally built in the second half of the 17th century by the Polish baroque poet and politician Jan Andrzej Morsztyn and its architecture was modified a number of times in subsequent decades. In 1713, the palace was bought by Polish King August II and, in 1724, the royal court moved into the property. After King August III's death in 1763, Pałac Saski lost its status as a royal residence.
In 1925, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was built into the palace's columnade. Destroyed by Germans after the Warsaw Uprising in December 1944, Pałac Saski was not rebuilt by Poland's communist authorities and only the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was preserved.
