Belongs (next to Gdańsk Neptune with 1549 r.) to the oldest secular monuments in Poland. The main designer of the monument was Konstanty Tencalla, its spatial arrangement was dealt with by Augustyn Locci (senior), and the figure of the king was modeled by Clemente Molli. Originally, the column was made of red Chęciny marble, and the pedestal and other architectural elements of the monument are made of black Dębnik marble, plinth of the monument, eagles, the bronze statue of the king and the letters on the tablets were gilded. In years 1885-87 the shaft of the column was replaced with granite and all gilding was removed. After the devastation of war, w 1949 r. the broken shaft of the column was replaced with a new one, made of Strzegom granite. From the Zygmunt Column we go towards the Royal Castle. It was built on the site of the end of the 13th century. a fortified ducal castle founded by prince Konrad II or Bolesław II. Another Mazovian prince, Trojden I, resided in this stronghold (1284-1341). The original ducal residence was wooden. Probably approx. half. XIV c. in the south. part of the castle area, a brick bergfried was built, mentioned as the Great Tower. At the end of the 14th century. the wooden castle was replaced with a gothic one, brick, the so-called. The great house. It housed living rooms and representative rooms for the princely family. Near the Great House (the later Greater Manor) Other brick buildings were also built. Closer to today's cathedral, there was also a complex of brick buildings known as the Lesser Manor. Both complexes of buildings, possibly with separate fortifications, together formed the complex of the medieval Warsaw castle. After the death of w 1526 r. the last of the Masovian Piasts – Prince Janusz III – the castle became one of the provincial royal residences. After the death of King Sigismund I the Old the castle was by 8 Queen Bona resided for years. After concluding the so-called. union of Lublin in 1569 r. and designating Warsaw as the place of Polish-Lithuanian parliamentary debates, the Greater Manor was rebuilt according to the design. Jan Baptiste Quadro to the Sejm building with two chambers for deliberations (MPs and senators). At the same time, a new edifice was built for the royal residence. Another reconstruction of the castle was made after the decision of King Sigismund III Vasa to transfer his permanent seat from the so far capital city of Krakow to the Seym Warsaw. At the beginning. 17th century. the castle received a pentagonal shape, an early 24-hour residence with a magnificent façade from the city side and an inner courtyard for ceremonial parades. The previously free-standing buildings of the Greater Court and the new building were part of the early baroque building as its wings. The dominant element of the building was the so-called. Sigismund Tower. The former parliamentary halls have not been changed, although the entrances to them were enlarged and connected with monumental stairs. The royal suite remained in the so-called. new building. New ones were created, richly decorated rooms, m.in. Audience room, Marble Room, Theater Hall and Chapel. Outstanding architects, Jan Baptysta Gisleni and Augustyn Locci, and an outstanding painter, Tomasz Dolabella, worked on arranging them.. In years 1655-56 during the Swedish invasion, the castle was looted and devastated. The new interior design was obtained in the years 1679-83 thanks to the efforts of King Jan III Sobieski, m.in. wg proj. Augustine Loc-ci (younger). Castle in 1704 r. was again destroyed by the Swedes. Reconstruction and new interior design were made after 1720 r. on the initiative of King August II of Saxony. In years 1737-47 the castle was enlarged by adding a wing from the side of the Vistula River (wg proj. Gaetano Chiaveri). Rich exterior decorations, m.in. with the coats of arms of Poland, Lithuania and the Saxon Wettin family, were made by Jan Jerzy Plersch. Another reconstruction of the interior giving it the features of classicism was made during the reign of kings August III the Saxon and Stanisław August Poniatowski.. The interiors created during this period are known as the Great Apartments. Among the galaxy of architects then employed, they were among the most outstanding: Jan Christian Kamsetzer, Dominik Merlini and Jakub Fontana. The interiors were also decorated by famous royal painters Bemardo Bellotto (called Canaletto) and Marcello Bacciarelli.