Archaeologists in Poland have rediscovered the remnants of a lost royal palace long believed to have vanished during one of Europe’s bloodiest invasions, offering a rare glimpse into the nation’s turbulent 17th-century past.
The Museum of Polish History announced that the discovery was made in Warsaw’s Vistula River and connected to the royal residence known as Villa Regia — once “one of the most magnificent palaces of 17th-century Europe.” The structure was destroyed during the Swedish Deluge, a brutal invasion from 1655 to 1660 that devastated the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and wiped out nearly a quarter of its population.
In 1656, Swedish troops looted the palace and attempted to flee with valuables, but their ship sank in the Vistula before leaving Warsaw. “Architectural elements, from marble claddings and tiles to fragments of monumental staircases, were carried off and some were sunk in the Vistula,” the museum said.
Among the artifacts retrieved was a 440-pound fragment of an arcade arch and a pillar capital “previously unknown in the context of finds from this site.” All artifacts have been secured and transferred to the Museum of Polish History for conservation and study.
“With this monumental structure, we will tell the story of the power and wealth of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and, by referring to the Swedish Deluge, about the crisis of the state,” said Krzysztof Niewiadomski, the museum’s deputy director of programs.
Officials say the find not only illuminates Poland’s royal legacy but also underscores the resilience of a nation that continues to uncover—and preserve—the glories buried by centuries of conflict.
