The Polish campus of the College of Europe, located around ten kilometres from Warsaw in Natolin, currently runs a master’s in European interdisciplinary studies. Every year, it plays host to about a hundred students in a pastoral setting. The Natolin campus stretches out over some 120 hectares and has nearly four centuries of history behind it.

The history of the campus began on 23 April 1677, when the village of Milanow became the property of the Polish king, Jan III Sobieski. He who was called the ‘Lion of Lechistan’ by the Turks at that time first had a residence of relatively modest size built there before reviewing his plans and erecting a real palace on the back of his military triumphs.

But the evolution of the domain, whose name would then change to Wilanow (instead of Milanow) because it sounded more Polish, did not stop there. When the king died, it passed into the hands of great Polish families, who had secondary buildings constructed there, such as an amphitheatre in front of the palace, an area reserved for servants and stables as well as a ‘coach house’.

In 1830, the domain changed name again and was christened the Domain of Natolin in honour of Natalia Potocki, the daughter of the couple who owned it at the time. But this grand expansion was held in check during World War Two, when the domain became a refuge for Polish patriots. The palace was damaged and pillaged by the Nazis during the Warsaw uprising before become a state property a year later (1945) and a summer residence of the president of the Polish Republic.

Following the fall of Communism and ahead of the enlargement of the European Union, the Polish government proposed to the College of Europe that it set up a site there for its Bruges (Belgium) establishments, where it ran a master’s in European legal studies, a master’s in international and diplomatic relations of the EU and a master’s in European economic studies. Since 1993, the campus has played host every year to a hundred or so students who have come to prepare themselves for professions as civil servants as well as professions from the private sector and from non-governmental organisations. The royal palace, which was renovated a few years ago, now plays host to the college’s academic closing ceremonies and some concerts. This building is reputed to be one of the most beautiful of the neo-classical period in Poland, harmoniously combining European art and Polish architectural tradition. The stables have been converted into a conference room and a library, while the coach house today houses several seminar rooms.

The campus has lost none of its success of yesteryear. It continues to play host to eminent professors and is used to train future leading personalities. Those who have been to Natolin include Manuel Marin, the former European commissioner from Spain, Alexander Stubb, Finland’s foreign affairs minister since 2008 and Nicholas (Nick) Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats and current British deputy prime minister. In addition, the Polish films ‘June night’ by Andrzej Wajda and ‘The Witcher’ by Marek Brodzki have been shot there.