| Summary: | The influence of the model of the French court in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth increased systematically during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The travels of Polish elites in France, especially their visits to Versailles, were an important source of Polish–French cultural transfer. The present article draws on the reports of the representatives of prominent magnate families (Radziwiłł, Jabłonowski) and members of the intellectual elites (Bohusz), whose fascination with French culture resulted in the revival of these models and their transposition into Sarmatian culture. Four kings of Poland reigning in the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries took part in such experiments. Traces of French influence can be found in the court practices of these rulers, especially the kings of the Wettin dynasty. Polish magnates who travelled to France also left colourful descriptions of their participation in ceremonies at Versailles. Their accounts provide a great deal of information about court etiquette, the architecture of the palace and the design of the gardens. This form of cultural transmission also contained reflections on court ceremonies, opinions on the rulers and their families and assessments of the differences between the Polish and French realities. The experiences of these Polish travellers is also analysed from the point of view of foreign sovereigns and diplomats (from the embassy of Siam, for example) hosted by French kings, everyday court ceremonies (such as royal meals) and entertainments (such as the carrousel at Versailles).
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