Main entrance gate

One of the oldest Wilanów historic objects, which have fortunately survived in their original form till our times, is a monumental stone entrance gate situated on the axis of the layout. The basic baroque architectural structure of the gate was made in the last quarter of the 17th century according to a design by Agostino Locci – the court architect and builder of the Wilanów Palace. The sculpting decoration was systematically supplemented from 1684 till 1692. Thanks to Locci’s correspondence with the king, we know that “trophies” (which probably mean panoplies) were made in 1689. In the first quarter of the 18th century, when Wilanów was managed by Elżbieta Sieniawska, Johann Georg Plersch worked on the decorations of panoplies on pillars. After John III Sobieski’s return from Vienna, the gate was enriched with two enigmatic allegorical stone statues by the Gdańsk sculptor Schwaner. Their interpretation continues to arouse many emotions. The statue of a warrior in a karacena armour with the motif of the Janina coat of arms repeated in the decoration, which is positioned on the northern pillar, and the statue of a woman on the southern pillar were associated with Sarmatian Mars and Triumphant Peace, Mars and Victoria, Valour and Strength. The unusual attributes of the monarch’s soul and body are also stressed in the form of a bear symbolising persistence and courage in the gate decoration (the northern side) and a dog embodying loyalty and vigilance (the southern side). Thanks to the fact that the entire architectural-sculpting composition and rich décor of relief panoplies adorning pillars and abutments were designed to emphasise the military successes of John III, who was commonly regarded as the incarnation of a new Mars – Sarmatian Mars, the gate acquired a specific form of porta triumphalis being a monument to the king’s merits. Symmetrically situated benches flanking the little bridge in front of the Main Gate and lanterns adjacent to them were added by Francesco Maria Lanci only in the middle of the 19th century. The wings of the gate in the form of an openwork cast-iron grille were mounted probably around 1833. Formerly there was also a metal grille, of which only iron fastening spindles have remained in stone pillars, but we do not know what it looked like and when it was built.