History

A grange is known to have existed in Chobielin back in 1572, comprising a water mill situated on the Noteć river bank, five houses and a swathe of farmland. During the 19th century, the mill was still prospering, while the surrounding manor was acquired by the Hulewicz family. It was them who commenced the extension works in the grange and who also erected the manor house, sometimes referred to as “the miller’s mansion”. Later on, the ownership of the manor passed to August von Falkenberg and then to his descendants, including Fryderyk Falkenberg, the founder of the sugar plant in Nakło. The members of the Falkenberg family added a new, two-storey wing to the existing manor house; the wing no longer exists, however, having been demolished in 1988. Members of the family resided in Chobielin until 1920, when the site of the manor was incorporated into the Polish territories. At that point, the family made the decision to sell the manor and move to Germany. On December 17, 1919, the estate was purchased by Julian Reysowski, one of the shareholders of the Nakło sugar plant. Together with his wife, Waleria Reysowska née Marchlewska, as well as their sons and daughters, he lived in Chobielin right until the onset of World War II. In September 1939, the family left their home and embarked upon the journey towards Lviv, taking the route leading through the town of Garwolin. The wartime hardships have proven to be too much for Julian Reysowski, who died of emaciation; his children have managed to make their way to western Europe in the end, although in the case of most of them, their journey would first take them to the Soviet Union, where they joined the army led by general Władysław Anders.

After 1945, the manor was nationalised and came under the administration of the local State Agricultural Holding (PGR) based in Wieszki. The former Chobielin grange was subdivided, with the nearby mill becoming the property of the State Fishery Plant in Ślesin. The manor house itself was taken over by the Timber Processing Plant in Potulice. The manor remained under the administration of the company until 1988. After that, the manor house was put up for sale. In 1989, it was acquired by Teresa and Jan Sikorski from Bydgoszcz. From that moment onwards, the manor house and park complex served as the country home of the Sikorski family.

The existing mill dates back to the mid-19th century, when it replaced the older structure that had stood on the same site, by the Noteć river. Until 1993, a weir with spillways - a hydro-engineering structure made of stone and wood - accompanied the mill. Later on, the weir was subjected to extensive renovation works due to its poor technical condition.

On July 1, 1992, the State Fishery Plant in Ślesin was acquired by the Potulicki Family Foundation, which also took possession of the ponds and mill in Chobielin since they had been the property of the company at the time of acquisition.

Description

The manor house and park complex is situated in the northern part of the village of Chobielin, on the left bank of one of the branches of the Noteć river. The area is surrounded by a fence. The mill is located beyond the boundaries of the manor.

The Classicist manor house was erected in several stages, with 1860 being the year of its final completion. It was designed on a rectangular floor plan as a symmetrical, single-storey building covered with a half-hip roof. The front (western) façade is preceded by a flight of steps leading up to the colonnaded portico topped with a balcony with an openwork metal balustrade. A three-axial wall dormer crowned with a triangular pediment is positioned in the middle of the façade, flanked by two smaller, single-axial wall dormers likewise topped with triangular pediments. The eastern façade, overlooking the garden, is also preceded by a flight of steps. Just like its western counterpart, the eastern façade is preceded by a colonnaded portico, topped with a triangular gable. The interiors of the manor house are illuminated by large, rectangular windows with plain surrounds. A terrace adjoins the northern façade of the mansion, stretching across the entire length thereof. The interior features a two-bay layout, with a staircase facilitating access to the habitable garret.

The so-called forester’s lodge, believed to have been erected at the same time as the manor house itself, is located along the entrance gate leading into the manor house and park complex. This small, well-proportioned house stands on a small hill. It is a building with one full storey and a tall garret, covered with a gable roof.

The front (eastern) façade follows a two-axial layout and features a porch preceding the entrance into the house, supported by a pair of columns and topped with a gable rooflet. The corners of the house are adorned with fluted lesenes. The façades, partitioned with profiled cornices, feature rectangular windows topped with segmental arches. Inside, the staircase located in the south-eastern part of the house facilitates access to the habitable attic.

The utility building (granary) was most likely erected during the same period as the manor house; originally conceived as a pigsty, the structure currently serves as a storage building. It is located in the northern part of the complex. It is a single-storey building, erected on a rectangular floor plan and covered with a gable roof.

The mill is a three-storey structure designed on an elongated rectangular floor plan, on the east-west axis; it is topped with a gable roof. Inside, the structure features large rooms with beamed ceilings supported by rows of sturdy wooden posts. The building still features the original chutes and slides for flour sacks, clad with sheet metal.

The manor house is surrounded by a park and garden. A sundial is positioned on the middle axis of the garden façade. The park, following a terraced layout, is populated mostly by deciduous trees and shrubs, with the dominant species being maple, alder, birch, hornbeam, ash, poplar, oak, larch as well as lime, elm, spruce, pine and viburnum. The presence of trenches and ravines overgrown with thick vegetation adds to the picturesque nature of the park, although more formal arrangements are also present in the form of regular lines of trees flanking the old walking paths which are being gradually recreated by the owners of the manor.

The complex is private property and can be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Agnieszka Wysocka, Historical Monument and National Heritage Documentation and Popularisation Department of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Cultural Centre in Bydgoszcz, 26-11-2014 - 8-12-2014.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. XI: Województwo bydgoskie, issue 14: Szubin i okolice, Chrzanowski T. and Kornecki M. (eds.), Warsaw 1977, p. 2
• Łaniecki S., Nadnoteckie pałace, dwory, folwarki Krajny i Pałuk, Sępólno Krajeńskie-Nakło nad Notecią 2010, pp. 34-48.