Wierzbno () is a neighbourhood, and a City Information System area, in Warsaw, Poland, located within the northwestern portion of the Mokotów district. The area is part of its western half, known as the Upper Mokotów. The neighbourhood is a residential area. This includes the housing estates of Wierzbno and Skarpa Puławska, in the east and west, respectively, consisting of the mid- and high-rise apartment buildings. It also has single-family detached homes and tenements in the east. The area also includes the Dreszer Park and Arcadia Park, as well as the Warszawianka sports complex. Wierzbno also includes the Fanshawe Palace, a neoclassical residence from around 1850, and the Saint Michael the Archangel Church, a parish church built between 1950 and 1966. It also features the Polish Radio, a national public-service radio broadcasting organisation. The neighbourhood also has the Racławicka and Wierzbno stations of the M1 line of the Warsaw Metro underground rapid transit system.
Some documents from 15th century suggest that a settlement existed in the area of modern Wierzbno, which was then deserted and incorporated into Mokotów. Wierzbno was established as a small hamlet in the 1770s, by Józef Jakubowski, a brigadier in the French Army. In the early 19th century, the hamlet of Henryków was founded to its east, being originally settled by French people. In 1786, the Rabbit House palace was built to the south of Wierzbno. In 1840, nobleperson Ksawer Pusłowski had built his residence, known as the Ksawerów Manor House, to the south of Wierzbno, and in 1849, he had bought the nearby Rabbit House palace, which was built in 1786. Over time, the area developed into two separate settlements, known as Ksawerów and Królikarnia. In the 19th century Wierzbno functioned as a holiday village. In 1856, the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in Wierzbno, becoming a Roman Catholic parish church in 1917. It was demolished in 1944 during the Second World War, and replaced by the Saint Michael the Archangel Church, being built between 1950 and 1966. In 1916, the area was incorporated into the city of Warsaw. Throughout the 1920s and the 1930s, the area developed into a suburban residential neighbourhood with numerous villas and tenements being built there. Between 1956 and 1971, the housing estates of the Wierzbno and Skarpa Puławska were developed in the area, consisting of mid- and high-rise apartment buildings, constructed using the large panel system technology. In 1995, the M1 line of the Warsaw Metro was opened crossing the neighbourhood, with the Racławicka and Wierzbno stations.
Toponomy The name of Wierzbno comes from Polish word wierzba, which means the willow tree. Its founder, Józef Jakubowski, had originally named it in 18th century as Pod Wierzbą, which means "under a willow", most likely referring to willow trees present in the area.
History
Some documents from 15th century suggest that a settlement existed in the area of modern Wierzbno, which was then deserted and incorporated into Mokotów.Józef Kazimierski, Ryszard Kołodziejczyk, Żanna Kormanowa, Halina Rostowska: Dzieje Mokotowa. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1972. (in Polish)
In 1732, a pavilion, designed by Carl Friedrich Pöppelmann, was built on the Rabbit Hill, in place of a rabbit husbandry established earlier that century.Łukasz Przybylak: "'Niezbędne i użyteczne' – rezydencja polowa Augusta Mocnego z 1732 roku na szczycie Króliczej Góry w Warszawie", Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbanistyki, no. 17/1 (2022), p. 15. (in Polish)Franciszek Galiński: Gawędy o Warszawie. Warsaw: Instytut Wydawniczy Biblioteka Polska, 1939, p. 244. (in Polish) The structure served as a residence and an observation deck for king Augustus II the Strong, the monarch of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, during the military exercises and exhibition, which were held from 31 July to 19 August 1732, on the nearby fields in Czerniaków. It was deconstructed around 1735.Łukasz Przybylak: "'Erholung vom Krieg' ist 'notwendig und nützlich – Feldresidenzen August des Starken in Sachsen und Polen", Die Gartenkunst, no. 35/1 (2023), p. 58. ISSN 0935-0519. (in German)
In the 1770s, a plot of land was given by king Stanisław August Poniatowski to Józef Jakubowski, a brigadier in the French Army, who then established there a small agricultural estate, with a hamlet called Pod Wierzbą, later renamed to Wierzbno. The term comes from Polish, meaning "under a willow tree".Lech Chmielewski: Przewodnik warszawski. Gawęda o nowej Warszawie. Warsaw: Agencja Omnipress. 1987. p. 83. ISBN 9788385028567. (in Polish)Józef Kazimierski, Ryszard Kołodziejczyk, Żanna Kormanowa, Halina Rostowska: Dzieje Mokotowa. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1972. p. 69. (in Polish)
Between 1782 and 1786, the Rabbit House, a neoclassical palace residence, was built to the south of Wierzbno on the Rabbit Hill. It became residence of buisnessperon Carlo Alessandro Tomatis, and his wife, dancer Caterina Gattai Tomatis, who was a royal mistress of king Stanisław August Poniatowski.Stanisław Herbst: Mokotów od połowy XVII w. do 1939 r. In: Dzieje Mokotowa. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1972, p. 48. (in Polish) The building was designed by Domenico Merlini.Hanna Faryna-Paszkiewicz, Małgorzata Omilanowska, Robert Pasieczny: Atlas zabytkoẃ architektury w Polsce. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2001, p. 317. (in Polish) In 1794, during the Kościuszko Uprising, it served as the residence of Tadeusz Kościuszko, the leader of the insurgent forces.Wojciech Fijałkowski: Szlakiem warszawskich rezydencji i siedzib królewskich. Warsaw: Wydawnictwa PTTK Kraj, 1990, p. 82. ISBN 83-7005-191-X. (in Polish) In 1816, the building was sold to statesman Michał Hieronim Radziwiłł. Currently, the it is located within the City Information System area of Ksawerów.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Henryk Bonnet, a French-born clerk who served as the state councillor and a judge in the district court of Warsaw, bought an area around current Malczewskiego Street, founding a hamlet of Henryków. It was originally inhabited by French settlers, and included a small palace residence of the Bonnet family.B. Petrozolin-Skowrońska (editor): Encyklopedia Warszawy, Warsaw: Polish Scientific Publishers PWN, 1994, p. 245, ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish).Teresa Mroczko: Vademecum warszawskie. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Warszawskiego Tygodnika Ilustrowanego Stolica, 1957, p. 139. (in Polish). In 1824, Louisa Bonnet de Belon, Henryk Bonnet's daughter, married George Fanshawe, an English-born chamberlain and colonel in the Imperial Russian Army. The couple inherited the property around 1830, and around 1850, they built the Fanshawe Palace, in place of their former residence.Juliusz A. Chrościcki, Andrzej Rottermund: Atlas architektury Warszawy. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Arkady, 1977, p. 185. (in Polish)Marta Leśniakowska: Architektura w Warszawie. Warsaw: Arkada Pracownia Historii Sztuki, 2005, p. 214. ISBN 83-908950-1-3. (in Polish) In 1900, it was inherited by nobleman August Potocki, who, while never living there himself, had accommodated there the less wealthy members of his family.Jerzy Kasprzycki, Marian Stępień: Pożegnania warszawskie. Warsaw: Arkady, 1971, p. 144. (in Polish) The building was burned down in 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising in the Second World War.Eugeniusz Szwankowski: Ulice i place Warszawy. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1970, p. 175. (in Polish)
In 1840, nobleman Ksawer Pusłowski built his residence to the south of Wierzbno, now known as Ksawerów Manor House.B. Petrozolin-Skowrońska (editor): Encyklopedia Warszawy, Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994, p. 394, ISBN 83-01-08836-2. (in Polish)Juliusz A. Chrościcki, Andrzej Rottermund: Atlas architektury Warszawy. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Arkady, 1977, p. 84. (in Polish) In 1849, he bought the Rabbit House palace. Over time, the area developed into two separate settlements, known as Ksawerów and Królikarnia.
In 1840, physician Ludwik Sauvan opened a hydrotherapy facility in Wierzbno, which used the local water spring, and operated until 1866.Wojciech Fijałkowski: Zabytki dzielnicy Mokotów, ich przeszłość, współczesna funkcja i znaczenie. In: Dzieje Mokotowa. 1st edition. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1972, p. 69. (in Polish)."Wierzbno (1)". In: Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland, vol. 13: Warmbrun – Worowo. Warsaw: Kasa im. Józefa Mianowskiego. 1893. p. 399. (in Polish) During said century, Wierzbno and Mokotów also became popular holiday villages.Józef Kazimierski, Ryszard Kołodziejczyk, Żanna Kormanowa, Halina Rostowska: Dzieje Mokotowa. Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1972. p. 537. (in Polish)
In 1856, the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built at the current intersection of Puławska and Dolna Streets. It originally belonged to the Roman Catholic Parish of St. Alexander, and in 1917, it become a seat of a new parish. It was the first church built within the boundaries of the modern Mokotów district. The building was destroyed in 1944, during the Warsaw Uprising. Between 1950 and 1966, the Saint Michael the Archangel Church was built in its place.Grzegorz Kalwarczyk: Przewodnik po parafiach i kościołach Archidiecezji Warszawskiej. vol 2: Parafie warszawskie. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna Adam, 2015, p. 424. ISBN 978-83-7821-118-1. (in Polish)Andrzej J. Szymański: Historia warszawskiej parafii św. Michała (1853-2007). Warsaw. 2007. (in Polish)
On 13 January 1867, villages of Henryków, Królikarnia, Ksawerów, and Wierzbno became part of the rural municipality of Mokotów, established as part of the administrative reform in the Kingdom of Poland.Maria Nietyksza, Witold Pruss: Zmiany w układzie przestrzennym Warszawy. In Irena Pietrza-Pawłowska (editor): Wielkomiejski rozwój Warszawy do 1918 r.. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Książka i Wiedza. 1973. p. 43. (in Polish)Wojciech Trzebiński, Adam Borkiewicz: Podziały administracyjne Królestwa Polskiego w okresie 1815-1918 r.: Zarys historyczny. Dokumentacja Geograficzna 1956, vol. 4. Warsaw, 1956. (in Polish)
In 1881, a tramline connecting Wierzbno with Moktów and Warsaw, was opened with tracks built alongside Puławska Street. It was first operated by a horsecar, and since 1909, by an electric tram. Since 1892, the narrow-gauge tracks were also operated by the Wilanów Railway, and since 1898, also by the Grójec Commuter Railway.Jarosław Zieliński: Plac Unii i okolice. Warsaw: EKBIN Studio PR, 2013, p. 39–40. ISBN 978-83-929745-4-3. (in Polish)Symeon Surgiewicz: Warszawskie ciuchcie. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1972, p. 18. (in Polish) In 1906, the Wierzbno station, operated by the Grójec Narrow-Gauge Railway, was opened near the current intersection of Puławska and Woronicza Streets, and near the Rabbit House palace. It operated until 1937. In 1935, the Warsaw Mokotów station, which was previously placed at the Union of Lublin Square, was moved to the intersection of Puławska and Odyńca Streets in Wierzbno, where it operated until 1938.Hanna Faryna-Paszkiewicz: "Pierwsza wąskotorówka", Skarpa Warszawska, issue 9 (66). Warsaw, September 2014, p. 10. (in Polish)
In 1892, the Fort M-Che was built near Wierzbno by the Imperial Russian Army. It was part of the inner circle of the series of the city fortifications, known as the Warsaw Fortress. It was retired and abandoned in 1909, and demolished in the 1920s.Lech Królikowski: Twierdza Warszawa, Warsaw, 2002. (in Polish)Wiesław Wróblewski (editor): Działania militarne na Mazowszu i w Polsce północno-wschodniej. Wasaw: Agencja Reklamowo-Wydawnicza Comandor. 2000. p. 256. ISBN 9788388329098. (in Polish)