Poland’s prime minister says he’s given instructions for the government to buy a house in France where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent holidays and weekends from 1904-1906.
Premier Mateusz Morawiecki said on Twitter this week that the house, on the southwest outskirts of Paris, is “part of Poland’s history.”
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Poland’s prime minister says he’s given instructions for the government to buy a house in France where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent holidays and weekends from 1904-1906.
It said that Polish-born Marie Curie may have painted some ceiling designs herself, but there is no proof of that.
One day in April 1906, Pierre headed back to Paris for an academic meeting and was hit and killed by a horse-drawn cart.
Some critics in Poland commented on social media that taxpayers' money would be wasted on a house where Marie Curie did not spend long.
In 1903, Marie and Pierre Curie and French scientist Henri Becquerel jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies on radioactivity.
The manual pump of a water well in the garden of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The front door of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The interior wooden staircase of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The interior ceiling of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The pigeon garden loft of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone building in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse carries a price tag of 790,000 euros ($950,000). It's in disrepair but its peeling wall-paper, the fireplaces and the floor tiles date back to the Curie times, according to local real estate agency Stephane Plaza.
FILE - In this undated file photo, pioneers of science Marie Curie and her husband Pierre are shown in their lab in France. Poland’s prime minister says he’s given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906. Premier Mateusz Morawiecki said on Twitter Wednesday, May 12, 2021 that the house, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, is a “part of Poland’s history.” (AP Photo, file)
It said that Polish-born Marie Curie may have painted some ceiling designs herself, but there is no proof of that.
“This property was built in 1890 and was Pierre and Marie Curie’s holiday destination between 1904 and 1906," where they came with their daughters Irene and Eve, said Daniel Cazou-Mingot, head of the real estate agency.
“They (came) here during weekends, Easter holidays, summer holidays,” Cazou-Mingot told The Associated Press during a visit to the property Wednesday. "There’s been no experiments done (on) this property.”
The fireplace of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
One day in April 1906, Pierre headed back to Paris for an academic meeting and was hit and killed by a horse-drawn cart.
“After this accident, Marie Curie came back from time to time with her daughters and then she stopped coming,” and the house — with its 900-sq. meter (9,700-sq. foot) garden, 19th century dovecote and water pump — was sold, Cazou-Mingot said.
Renovation costs are estimated at some 200,000 euros ($240,000).
The interior of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
Some critics in Poland commented on social media that taxpayers' money would be wasted on a house where Marie Curie did not spend long.
But the right-wing government has made it a priority to secure and care for places and objects significant for Poland's history.
Born in 1867 in Warsaw as Maria Sklodowska, the scholar moved to Paris in 1891 and was one of the first women to study science at the Sorbonne. She pursued a scientific career with her French husband. After Pierre's death that vacated the Sorbonne's physics chair, she was offered the job and became the first female professor at the renowned university.
The interior ceiling of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
In 1903, Marie and Pierre Curie and French scientist Henri Becquerel jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics for their studies on radioactivity.
Marie Curie also won the 1911 Nobel in Chemistry for discovering radium and polonium. The latter she named after Poland.
She died in 1943 in Passy, France, from radiation sickness. Marie and Pierre Curie are buried at the Paris Pantheon, among other distinguished French citizens.
The interior wooden staircase of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The manual pump of a water well in the garden of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The front door of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The interior wooden staircase of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The interior ceiling of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)
The pigeon garden loft of the 120 sq. meters (1,300 sq. feet) stone house where the Nobel-winning scientist couple Marie Sklodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie spent vacation and weekends from 1904-1906 in Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse, on the south-west outskirts of Paris, France, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. Poland's prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki says he's given instructions for the government to buy 790,000 euro house in France, and said on Twitter Tuesday that the house, is a "part of Poland's history." (AP PhotoFrancois Mori)