Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska removed Paweł Jaskanis as director of the Museum of King Jan III’s Palace at Wilanów following controversy over the Circoloco event, which took place on the palace grounds last Saturday.
Piotr Górajec, previously the museum’s deputy director, has been appointed acting director.
Maciej Wróbel, a state secretary at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (MKiDN), said Jaskanis was dismissed for breaching the museum’s organizational and financial agreement and damaging the institution’s reputation.
“I cannot accept actions that damage the good name of the museum and are contrary to its fundamental mission,” Cienkowska wrote on X. “The autonomy of directors cannot mean exemption from the consequences of their decisions.”
The Wilanów palace, on Warsaw's southern outskirts, is one of Poland’s best-known royal residences and a major historic monument. The museum also manages historic gardens and protected nature areas, including the nearby Morysin nature reserve.
The techno event drew criticism before and after it took place. Concerns focused on the possible impact of hours of loud music, heavy equipment, stage structures, pyrotechnics and large crowds on the historic site and the surrounding natural environment. The party began at 4 p.m. on Saturday and lasted until 4 a.m. on Sunday, according to reports.
The ministry said the museum’s statute requires it to care for collections, monuments and natural resources. It said the agreement allowing the May 9 event conflicted with the museum’s core activity.
The Mazovian heritage conservator said checks after the event found no damage to the historic fabric of the palace or its historical surroundings.
Górajec said the event had not got out of control. “When I came to see the situation after the event on Sunday, everything seemed to be in order,” he told TVN24. “The monument itself did not suffer.”
He said noise levels were monitored throughout the night and that, according to the museum’s nature team, no animals, birds or surrounding vegetation were harmed. He acknowledged that the courtyard lawn required more serious restoration work than usual after a major event and said it would take several days.
Górajec also apologized to nearby residents, especially those in Miasteczko Wilanów, a large residential area close to the palace, after complaints about the overnight noise.
Jaskanis, an art historian, had headed the museum since 2002. The museum, in a statement, thanked him for more than two decades of work. It said he had led the institution through major conservation, research, educational and investment projects, helping maintain Wilanów’s status as an exceptional historic royal residence.
(rt/gs)
Source: PAP