Ciechanowice Palace, is a historic building in Lower Silesia.
It is located in the Sudety Mountains (Kamienna Góra district, Marciszów municipality). It is located in the village of Ciechanowice, between the Rudawy Landscape Park and the Olowiankie Mountains, at the foot of the Miedzianka River, in the NATURA 2000 area.
History
The first documented information on the chateau itself dates back to 1568. Probably earlier there was a medieval defensive castle on the site, which began to function as a chateau in the second half of the 15th century. Extensive reconstruction of the chateau was undertaken in 1846 by the then owner, Friedrich Bernard von Prittwitz, who also contributed to the creation of an English-style park.
After the Second World War, the building became the property of the State Treasury and was adapted into a colony centre, an orphanage and then a school. In 2004 the school was closed down and the abandoned building began to deteriorate. Since 2010, the building has belonged to the Sudeckie Przedsiębiorstwo Robót Drogowych Sp. z o.o. in Jelenia Góra (photos of the building before) , owned by Andrzej Meller. The palace was lucky again, because Mr Andrzej Meller, like his 19th century German predecessor, undertook the work of rebuilding and restoring the palace and gardens.
Ciechanowice Palace at present
The present form of the palace represents the style of late Baroque Classicism - a building founded on a rectangular ground plan, with a columned entrance portal, hall and staircase and a 2 and 2.5 tract layout of the rooms inside. The preserved historical elements of decoration and furnishing include: barrel and cross vaults, stucco, stone fireplaces, decorative window frames, portals, balustrades, wooden panelling, but above all exceptionally valuable and interesting paintings on the walls - dated between the 16th and 19th centuries. Fragmentary preserved wooden and polychrome ceiling from the 16th century.
The most valuable 16th-century frescoes (ornamental and figural, and even illusionistic, with numerous German inscriptions) cover almost the entire walls of the rooms on the first floor, although there are also interesting later Baroque painting decorations in the door and window glyphs. The wall paintings also completely cover the ceiling in the Knights' Hall located on the ground floor.
Outside, the buried moat and bridge, the park with the romantic amphitheatre and the so-called 'temple of pride' - the Arcadia, the fountain and the central part of the park under the lanterns were reconstructed. The entire park complex was surrounded by a stone wall. The park gardens were divided into French, English, and Italian. An overhead prayer chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of the Bereavement, was built on the side of the former entrance gate area. New roads leading to the palace and paths in the park area were made.
The palace building itself has been architecturally enriched again by the addition of a tower with a spire, which gives it a stately appearance. Traces of the tower are preserved on the last floor of the building, which is the attic. In addition to this, dormer windows were made on the roof to beautify the body of the building and the roof itself ceased to be monotonous. Another spectacular investment was the construction of a new brick porch to replace the old wooden one. The present style of the building is in keeping with its surroundings.
While carrying out the exterior work, the owner did not forget the historic interior of the palace, which contains priceless polychrome walls and ceilings, wooden panelling, doors, cradle and cross vaults, stucco, stone fireplaces, decorative window frames, portals and balustrades.
The aforementioned paintings were accidentally discovered under a thick layer of plaster in recent years during renovation work when the electrical installation was being installed. Their artistic value is comparable to that of the Wawel frescoes. They are being extensively restored and conserved. The stature of these frescoes is very high on a national scale. These works of art are a legacy and a national value, regardless of their ownership they are a cultural asset of the Polish State and the local Little Homeland.
