This page and those that follow contain
more or less all of the information and many of the images we
have collected on the fantastic lodge
built by Tsar Alexander III in the bison reserve at Bialowieza
(Russian: Belovezh), eastern
Poland. It complements both the material that appears in Greg's book,
"The Court of the last Tsar" and in our longer article "It was heavenly in
the forest" published by Royalty
Digest Quarterly in 2006. (The book and article also encompass
much information on the Spala hunting estate that we do not propose to
reprint here).
Used a scant six times by the last two Tsars, the extraordinary,
hyper-modern
building at Bialowieza no longer stands, and had a sinister history. For the Romanovs, its only
purpose was as a base for the recreational slaughter of animals. It is
true that their love for this sport led to the careful
conservation of endangered species - they preserved the bison in order
to shoot them - but the photographs of row upon row of the
beautiful animals laid out dead in the palace garden strike
an unpleasant note, particularly when one reads that the young children
of these princes and Emperors considered it a great treat to be allowed
downstairs to view the kill.
A successful holiday at Bialowieza in Nicholas II's reign
Alexander, the dedicated huntsman whose dream home Bialowieza
was, was fatally ill during his one and only visit to the completed lodge, shown below.
Although
Nicholas
II had happier times there, his final visit in 1912 was marred by a
serious bout of haemophilic bleeding in his son. The estate was
twice
overrun by
occupying forces from Germany, and played a significent role in the
events leading up to World War Two:
at Bialowieza in 1939, the Nazis attempted to persuade Poland to join
them in an invasion of Russia. Poland refused, and was invaded instead. On leaving the country, the defeated Nazis largely destroyed the
palace, the ruins of which were razed a few years later. Today, all
that remains of the unique edifice is a collection of outbuildings in
various styles, but the park is beautiful still and the protected forest all around is full of sunlight and silence.
You can follow the chronological history of the palace and estate by reading the pages on this site in the order given by the contents groundplan (one, two, etc). Alternatively, if you prefer, the site can be read thematically, as we have linked each page to a roughly pertinent building on the estate plan.
You can follow the chronological history of the palace and estate by reading the pages on this site in the order given by the contents groundplan (one, two, etc). Alternatively, if you prefer, the site can be read thematically, as we have linked each page to a roughly pertinent building on the estate plan.
Now please return to the groundplan and contents to read more