Second floor
The Princess' Room - the Berlin Line of the Radziwiłł family
The Princess' Room - the Berlin Line of the Radziwiłł family
The Princess’ Room, also known as the Golden Room, belonged to the daughter of the palace's last owner, Janusz Radziwiłł - Krystyna (1908-2003), who married Józef Alfred Potocki (1895-1968). Today, it houses memorabilia related to the Berlin line of the Radziwiłł family - the line of the last owners of Nieborów. The Berlin family history begins with the marriage of Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł (1777-1833), son of Helena née Przeździecka and Michał Hieronim (owners of the palace at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries), to Frederica Dorothea Louise Philippine of Prussia (1770-1836), a Prussian princess and niece of King Frederick II. The couple’s prenuptial agreement stipulated that they would live in Berlin. In order to fulfil the agreement, his father purchased the magnificent palace at Wilhelmstrasse 77, whose splendour and grandeur was rivalled only by the royal palace. Apart from the palace, the couple owned the large estate of Przygodzice in Greater Poland, and from 1814 the Nesvizh and Olyka estates, as well as a palace in Ciszyca in Lower Silesia, which was purchased in 1824. Antoni Henryk held the office of governor of the Grand Duchy of Posen from 1815 to 1831. Since his mandate was restricted by the Prussian administration, he was not the best politician, which he made up for by being an exceptionally talented artist, who played various instruments, sung and composed music to Goethe's Faust. He hosted Fryderyk Chopin at his Antonin residence on several occasions. Antoni and Louisa had numerous children: Wilhelm (1797-1870), Bogusław (1809-1873), Eliza (1803-1834), Wanda (1813-1845), Ferdynand (1797-1827), Louisa (1799-1808), Fryderyka Helena (1802-1803) and Władysław (1811-1831). After the death of their parents, the estates were jointly managed by the eldest brothers Bogusław and Wilhelm, who married two sisters from the Clary und Aldringen family in 1832 - Wilhelm was married to Matilda (1806-1896), and Boguslaw married Leontyna (1811-1890). Of the brothers' numerous children, Wilhelm's son Antoni Wilhelm (1833-1904) and Bogusław's son Ferdynand (1834-1926) played the greatest role in history. The first of them married Marie de Castellane (1840-1915), later known as the restorer of Nesvizh. The other, who became deeply involved in politics, fought against the Kulturkampf for many years, and remained president of the Polish Circle (Koło Polskie) for a long time. He also had the honour, as the oldest senior Speaker, of opening the sessions of the Legislative Sejm in independent Poland in 1919. In his efforts, he could always count on the support of his wife Pelagia née Sapieha (1844-1929). They had five children: Michał (1870-1955), Zygmunt (1871-1873), Karol (1874-1906), Małgorzata (1875-1962) and Janusz (1880-1967). The youngest of them turned out to be the most eminent - despite his brother Michał's seniority, he was chosen by his father to inherit the Olyka estate. In addition, after the heirless death of his uncle Michał Piotr Radziwiłł, he purchased the Nieborów estate, and a few years later the palace on Bielańska Street in Warsaw (Przebendowski Palace). He was an active politician. During the 1928 parliamentary elections, he was elected to the Sejm of the Republic of Poland from the list of the Non-Partisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government, becoming one of the leaders of this movement, and from 1935 to 1938 he held the position of senator. He married Anna née Lubomirska (1881-1947) and had four children with her: Edmund (1906-1971), Krystyna (1908-2003), Ferdynand (1911-1929) and Stanisław (1914-1976). In 1945 the whole family left Nieborów, together with other representatives of aristocratic families they were arrested by the NKVD and deported to a camp in Krasnogorsk, where Anna passed away. Janusz and the rest of his family returned to Poland in 1947 and, like other landowners, lost all their estates and businesses.