Inheriting A Palace
Polish families, of aristocratic heritage in particular, have continued to struggle for the restitution of property in Poland since the fall of communism. The Branicki family in Warsaw however, seem to have one of the most significant cases and are demanding the return of their family's previous estate - the entire Wilanow Palace.
Wilanow, an enormous baroque palace built by King Jan III Sobieski in the 17th century, is now in public hands and is home to the Wilanow Palace Museum. However, the Branicki family claim that the government has mismanaged the museum, unnecessarily wasting such huge sums as 30 million zloty in tax payer money per year for the upkeep of the estate. Despite the value of the estate being around 1.3 billion zloty, the family says they have no interest in selling the property and would like to retain a museum in the space, though one assumes a better-managed one.
The Polish government has continued to drag its feet in resolving the restitution issues that have been notoriously difficult to resolve for many families in the country - and the Wilanow Palace debacle is just one, albeit quite remarkable, example.