The utility building (lamus), half of which now lies in ruins, is one of the few buildings of this type with a high artistic level.

History

The origins of the residential complex, founded on the site previously occupied by a Renaissance residential seat, dates back to 1798, when Józef Dembowsk acquired ownership of Bronice from Ignacy Hryniewiecki, and soon built a castle with an adjacent utility building (lamus) and a small (now non-existent) neo-Gothic building with a tower. The complex was surrounded by a park designed in the Romantic style, with ponds, which was situated adjacent to a farm complex on the north side. The palace was most likely designed by architect Chrystian Piotr Aigner, while the stucco decorations of the ball room were made by Franciszek Bauman. In the mid-19th century the village of Bronice was owned by Ordęgowie, from whom Karol Wołk-Łaniewski took ownership of the village in 1852. In the mid-19th century Henryk Marconi designed alterations to the shape of the palace, but the alteration works on the building have never been undertaken. During the Second World War German forces used the palace as a hospital. In 1944, the state took ownership of the estates; in the following years the palace which was not used and the surrounding area were severely devastated. The neo-Gothic building adjacent to the palace, farm buildings and large parts of the park were utterly destroyed. The utility building (lamus) which was initially used as a warehouse for cereal products, and later was abandoned, has been gradually falling into ruin. Between in 1959 and 1965 the palace was partly rebuilt (the walls were complemented and new brick infill ceilings were installed, among others) and was secured against further damages; in the period from 1976 to 1986 the structure underwent complete renovation to be used as a warehouse of the Hieronim Łopaciński Provincial Public Library in Lublin (Wojewódzka Biblioteka Publiczna im. H. Łopacińskiego).

Description

The palace and park complex is located to the north-west of the village of Bronice, on the edge of the river valley, and includes the palace, nearby ruined utility building (lamus), remains of the retaining wall and a park with an access alley lined with chestnut trees. The palace was designed in the neoclassical style, with its front facade facing northwest, built on a rectangular floor plan, characterised by a two-bay, multi-section (partly altered) interior layout. The central axis features a hallway with a staircase, behind which there is a ball room. The body of the building is compact, cuboidal, two-storey from the front due to the sloping terrain and three-storey from the back and on both sides. The ground floor is higher (of a representative nature) than the upper floor. It was built of ceramic brick, with more recent brick infill ceilings between the storeys, and a basement featuring barrel vaults with lunettes. Its hip roof with lids is covered with galvanised steel sheets. The roof features a pine king post truss. The front facade is five-storey and five-axial, with an entrance opening in the centre, over which there is a thermal window on the first-floor level. The rear facade is three-storeys, five-axial, with three central axes pushed together, in which semi-circular ‘French windows’ (portes-fenêtres) illuminate the ball room; beneath there is a narrow balcony with stairs to the garden. The side facades are three-storey, four-axial and have windows, including blind windows. All facades are decorated with rusticated strips on the ground floor and first floor and rusticated ashlars in the basement. The plasterwork above the ground-floor windows features keystones. The space between the storeys is filled with string courses, with bracketed cornice. The window openings of the church are rectangular. The building has double, six- and four-paned windows. The interior features preserved decorative plasterwork and wall paintings in the ball room (rich surrounds of door opening and wall decorations). The neoclassical utility building (lumus) was built of ceramic brick on a rectangular floor plan and is two-storey. Originally, one of the rooms of the lower storey was covered with a barrel ceiling, while the remaining with wooden ceilings (now damaged). The facades bear traces of plasterwork, with partitions in the form of blind arcades, in which conch niches are placed from the front. The ground floor and upper floor features small rectangular windows; the front and western facades have entrance openings. About half of the building now lies in ruins: completely destroyed ceiling, ruined interior, damaged walls.

Limited access to the monument. The palace can be viewed from the outside — now the warehouse of the Hieronim Łopaciński Provincial Public Library in Lublin.

Compiled by Bożena Stanek-Lebioda, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Lublin, 28.08.2014.

Bibliography

• Record sheet, Pałac [Bronice], compiled by Żywicki J., Lublin 1998, Archiwum WUOZ w Lublinie, Archiwum NID w Warszawie.
• Record sheet, Zespół pałacowo-parkowy [Bronice], compiled by Żywicki J., Lublin 1998, Archiwum WUOZ w Lublinie, Archiwum NID w Warszawie.