Palaces, manors and town halls in Poland

Old City Town Hall

Old City Town Hall in Szczecin is a shingle-roofed hall built for the municipal government in the 15th century.At the time of its construction it was known as the new Town Hall erected at the site of the one built in the previous century. In 1968, the building was brought back to its original look. With care and skill were restored, among others, Gothic ornaments of the interior walls. A sumptuously adorned elevation was ...
Founded: 15th century | Location: Szczecin, Poland

Nieborów Palace

Nieborów Palace is an aristocratic residence. Built in the 17th century by one of the greatest Baroque architects, the Dutchman Tylman van Gameren, the building belongs to one of the most renowned Poland"s aristocratic residences and serves as a museum of interior design of palace residences from the 17th to the 19th century, based on the surviving furniture and collections, featuring portraits of eminent personalit ...
Founded: 17th century | Location: Nieborów, Poland

Brzeg Town Hall

Brzeg Town Hall is a Renaissance building designed by Bernard Niuron built between 1569 and 1577. It is considered to be one of the most important Renaissance monuments in Poland. In addition to its role as the seat of the municipal government of Brzeg, the building houses several other institutions. The first building housing the municipal government in Brzeg already existed in the 14th century but was burned down ...
Founded: 1569-1577 | Location: Brzeg, Poland

Lomnica Palace

The history of the of Lomnitz (Lomnica) estate goes far back into the Middle Ages, and in the course of centuries they changed owners several times. Between 1835 and 1945 the property belonged to the von Küster family, after World War II the Castle was seized and the Polish state became the new owner. After the fall of the Iron Curtain the family was able to purchase the Great Castle back, which had fallen into ruins and ...
Founded: 1720 | Location: Mysłakowice, Poland

Slupsk Town Hall

The Town Hall in Słupsk was built in 1901, when the town was known as Stolp, and was a part of the Prussian Province of Pomerania within the German Empire. In 1945, the city became part of Poland, under the name of Słupsk. The town hall is listed in a group of monuments protected by law. Neogothic monument of 1901, the office of municipal authorities. The guildhall tower may be accessed by visitors since 2003. In the t ...
Founded: 1901 | Location: Słupsk, Poland

Rogalin Palace

Rogalin is primarily famous for its 18th-century baroque palace of the Raczyński family, and the adjacent Raczyński Art Gallery, housing a permanent exhibition of Polish and international paintings (including Paul Delaroche and Claude Monet and the famous Jan Matejko's large-scale painting Joanna d'Arc). The gallery was founded by Edward Aleksander Raczyński. Rogalin is also known for its putatively 1000-year-old oak t ...
Founded: 1768-1776 | Location: Rogalin, Poland

Kamieniec Zabkowicki Palace

1838 Marianne of Orange-Nassau, Princess of the Netherlands, daughter of King William I of the Netherlands and his first wife Friederike Luise Wilhelmine of Prussia, visits for the first time Kamieniec Zabkowicki, which was inherited after her mother. After deciding to build summer residence on its premises, the same year architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel prepares the first draft of the palace. He also involved a young, ...
Founded: 1838-1873 | Location: Kamieniec Zabkowicki, Poland

Palace of Anna Vasa

Palace of Anna Vasa, a Swedish Princess, was built before 1564 at the Teutonic castle area by the Brodnica County starost Rafał Działyński, partly with the use of the Gothic walls. The palace was rebuilt and expanded as a residence by Anna Vasa of Sweden in the years 1605-1616 then it was the seat of successive starosts. Burned by Russians in 1945 and reconstructed in 1969. During its existence there reside ...
Founded: 16th century | Location: Brodnica, Poland

Antonin Palace

The Antonin property belonged to Prince Antoni Radziwiłł (1775-1833), who married Princess Louise of Prussia, a niece of King Frederick II (Frederick the Great). The prince served as governor of the Grand Duchy of Poznań and resided in the former Jesuit college in Poznań. He spent the spring and summer months of 1821-1826 building his hunting palace in the village of Szperek, which was renamed Antonin in his honour. T ...
Founded: 1824 | Location: Antonin, Poland

Dzieduszycki Palace

Dzieduszycki Palace is characterized by rich ornamental decorations, a reference to the art of the Greeks and Romans. The building was founded by Magdalena Morska of the Dzieduszycki family, built in the years 1798-1812. Magdalena Morska initiated a new period in the history of Zarzecze. After visiting France, England, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Hungary, but primarily the Netherlands, Magdalena Morska had the ...
Founded: 1798-1812 | Location: Zarzecze, Poland

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Château de Foix

The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians. The county became a privileged refuge for persecuted Cathars.

The castle, often besieged (notably by Simon de Montfort in 1211 and 1212), resisted assault and was only taken once, in 1486, thanks to treachery during the war between two branches of the Foix family.

From the 14th century, the Counts of Foix spent less and less time in the uncomfortable castle, preferring the Governors' Palace. From 1479, the Counts of Foix became Kings of Navarre and the last of them, made Henri IV of France, annexed his Pyrrenean lands to France.

As seat of the Governor of the Foix region from the 15th century, the castle continued to ensure the defence of the area, notably during the Wars of Religion. Alone of all the castles in the region, it was exempted from the destruction orders of Richelieu (1632-1638).

Until the Revolution, the fortress remained a garrison. Its life was brightened with grand receptions for its governors, including the Count of Tréville, captain of musketeers under Louis XIII and Marshal Philippe Henri de Ségur, one of Louis XVI's ministers. The Round Tower, built in the 15th century, is the most recent, the two square towers having been built before the 11th century. They served as a political and civil prison for four centuries until 1862.

Since 1930, the castle has housed the collections of the Ariège départemental museum. Sections on prehistory, Gallo-Roman and mediaeval archaeology tell the history of Ariège from ancient times. Currently, the museum is rearranging exhibits to concentrate on the history of the castle site so as to recreate the life of Foix at the time of the Counts.