The Iron Gate was once one of the key elements of the Saxon Axis, serving as the main western entrance to the Saxon Garden in Warsaw. The historic structure was located roughly where the Tadeusz Kościuszko monument now stands on the Żelazna Brama Square, near the Lubomirski Palace. Although the gate no longer exists today, its significance is still alive in the city’s memory.
The Saski Garden began to be formed as early as the 18th century, and its western area, extending from the Saski Palace, was designed on a kite-like plan. The Saxon axis was the main axis of the garden, ending at the western entrance, the Iron Gate. The gate, whose construction was commissioned by King Augustus II, was completed in 1735. Architects such as Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, his son Carl Friedrich or Joachim Daniel Jauch were probably responsible for the design. Immediately behind the gate was the Grand Salon – a representative gazebo with a feasting space. On the other side of the Iron Gate stretched the market square of the Wielopole jurisprudence, known as the Wielopolska Market.
A mock-up of the Iron Gate and the Grand Salon presented at the Exhibition of Miniatures of the Mazovian Voivodeship. Photographer: mamik/photopolska.eu, Licence: CC-BY-SA 3.0
Despite its name, the gate was not entirely made of iron. Only some elements, including the side bars, were forged from this material. The gate itself, set in a stone frame decorated with symbols of royal power – the coats of arms of Poland and Lithuania surmounted by a royal crown, and on the other by the coats of arms of the Wettin dynasty with an elector’s hat, had two cast-iron wings with a geometric pattern in the lower part and ending above with vertical bars with blades.
In 1818, the wall surrounding the garden was replaced by a cast-iron fence and the stone pillars of the gate were replaced with new ones made of wrought iron. Shortly afterwards, as a result of the expansion of the area of the nearby market, the gate was moved slightly deeper into the garden. Further changes came in 1936 when, during the extension of the Marszałkowska Street roadway, the fence together with the gate was dismantled and exposed as a monument of great historical value, although it actually dated from the first half of the 19th century.
Saski Garden and its surroundings in 1768 and 2023. The Iron Gate is marked in red. Photo: mapa.um.warszawa.pl
Unfortunately, the gate was lost during World War II and, despite strenuous efforts, was never found. However, the memory of it has not been lost. The square where it once stood still bears its name, and the large housing estate built nearby between 1965 and 1972 is known as “Behind the Iron Gate”.
Source: wawamaniak.wordpress.com, warszawska.info
Read also: Architecture in Poland | Monument | City | History | Warsaw
