Białystok is
the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the
Podlaskie Voivodeship. Located in the North Podlasie Lowland on the banks
of the Biała River, Białystok ranks second in terms of population
density, eleventh in population, and thirteenth in area, of the cities of
Poland. It has historically attracted migrants from elsewhere in Poland and
beyond, particularly from Central and Eastern Europe. This is facilitated by
the fact that the nearby border with Belarus is also the eastern border of the
European Union, as well as the Schengen Area. The city and its adjacent
municipalities constitute Metropolitan Białystok. The city has a Warm Summer
Continental climate, characterized by warm summers and long frosty winters.
Forests are an important part of Białystok's character, and occupy around 1,756
ha (4,340 acres) (17.2% of the administrative area of the city) which places it
as the fifth most "wooded" city in Poland.
Branicki Palace is a
historical edifice in Białystok, Poland. It was developed on the site of an
earlier building in the first half of the 18th century by Jan Klemens
Branicki, a wealthy Polish–Lithuanian, into a residence suitable for a man whose
ambition was to become king of Poland. The palace complex with gardens,
pavillons, sculptures, outbuildings and other structures and the city with
churches, city hall and monastery, all built almost at the same time according
to French models was the reason why the city was known in the 18th century
as Versailles de la Pologne (Versailles of Poland) and
subsequently Versailles de la Podlachie (Versailles of Podlachia)With the first Partition of Poland it went to the Prussian Kingdom and, after 1807, to Russia. In the summer of 1920, briefly, the palace was the headquarters of the Provisional Polish Revolutionary Committee. Branicki Palace suffered from bombing and fires caused by the Germans, with damage totalling approximately 70%. It was restored after World War II as a matter of national pride. The Medical University is now housed in the Palace. Justyna a resident sent me this card.