Branicki Palace

The Branicki Palace, also called the "Versailles of Podlasie" or the "Versailles of the North", is one of the most magnificent and best preserved aristocratic residence in Poland. It was built in the late Baroque style and refers to the buildings set up by the French kings, therefrom its colloquial names. The whole object consists of a palace, as well as picturesque gardens.

The Białystok Palace dates back to the 16th century. At that time, there was a small manor there which became the property of the Branicki family in the 17th century. Jan Klemens Branicki ordered to rebuild it into a residence, and the form of the palace of that time remained unchanged to our times. To get to the palace area, you had to pass through the gate called "Griffin" which name refers to the ancestral coat of arms of the Branicki family.

As a result of numerous conservation and reconstruction works, the current interior of the monument has been presented in a less splendid and poorer way than it used to be, however a large part of the rooms still impress very much, especially the Chinese room, the chapel, and the Great Hall.

The palace and park complex consists of two levels. The lower part is a garden in the English style, while the upper level is in the French style and has the shape of a regular quadrangle. Both levels refer to compositions from a few hundred years ago and are considered the best preserved Baroque garden in Poland.

In the past, in the building the Medical Academy was located, nowadays there is the rectorate of the Medical University of Białystok, together with the largest library with a scientific-medical profile in the Podlasie voivodeship, as well as the Museum of the History of Medicine and Pharmacy.