The complex was originally established by the Starzeński family, who have made a name for themselves in the annals of the Podlasie region. Apart from its historical and architectural value, the complex is also a picturesque addition to the local landscape. Its overall design is supplemented by the presence of various structures relocated from the surrounding area with the intention of creating an open-air museum, their silhouettes rising among the lush greenery.

History

The Nowy Dwór grange (known as Nowodwory grange from the mid-19th century) has originally been established in the mid-15th century, if not earlier. During that period, it served as the centre of the part of the domain owned by the Ciechanowiecki family of the Dąbrowa coat of arms located on the right-hand side of the river. In the first half of the 16th century, Nowy Dwór was inherited by the Ciciborski and Świejk families; during the 17th century, it remained in the hands first the Kiszka family and then the Jabłonowski family. References to a wooden manor house were first made in 1703, while a masonry manor house is known to have stood on the site of the existing palace in 1815. From 1806 onwards, Nowy Dwór remained the property of Antoni Szczuka, who later sold it to the Starzeński family in 1854. In the 3rd quarter of the 19th century, a landscape park was established, while in 1860 an outbuilding was erected, followed by the stable and carriage house in 1866. The existing palace was erected somewhere around the year 1875, based on the design produced by Julian Ankiewicz; the palace was either completed or extended in 1879 or thereabouts. In 1941 the palace was lost to the blaze. Reconstructed in 1966-69, it served as the Krzysztof Kluk Museum of Agriculture. The park now accommodates the wooden vernacular architecture open-air museum.

Description

The complex is situated in the north-western part of the town, on the western side of the Nurzec river, near the Ralka river mouth. The palace and the outbuilding were designed in the Renaissance Revival style, surrounded by a landscape park.

The surface area of the complex is about 25 hectares in total.

At the centre of the complex lies the palace - a masonry structure surrounded by a park, positioned on the north-west - south-east axis on a hill which rises above the Ralka river valley. Designed on a floor plan the shape of which resembles that of the letter E, it has an irregular silhouette, with a terrace projecting out of the rear façade and a semi-circular orangery adjoining the southern façade. In front of the palace lies a circular, ornamental lawn, accessible from an alley which leads away from Czyżewska street. The second alley, positioned in parallel to the fence, forms the north-western boundary of the park. A pond on the Ralka river is located behind the palace, in the south-eastern part of the complex. A wooden watermill from ca. 1850 stands on the southern shore of the lake. South-west of the palace lies a masonry outbuilding, its design reminiscent of an Italian villa designed in the Renaissance Revival style; it is accompanied by a courtyard surrounded by a perimeter wall with corner towers as well as a brick stable designed on a U-shaped plan. On the opposite side of the ornamental lawn lies the stable - a single-storey brick building with a converted attic. Wooden buildings forming part of the open-air museum, relocated here from the surrounding villages, can be found in the northern and southern parts of the complex; these include a manor house, a church, a vicarage, a number of cottages and utility buildings as well as a windmill. Of the original plantings made in the park, only a few dozen trees have survived after 1939, including 19 having the status of natural monuments.

The site is open to visitors during the museum opening hours.

compiled by Aneta Kułak, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Białystok, 03-11-2014.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. IX: Województwo łomżyńskie, issue 2: Ciechanowiec, Zambrów, Wysokie Mazowieckie i okolice, compiled by Kałamajska-Saeed Maria, Warsaw 1986, pp. 24-26, fig. 74-76, 83, 84.
• Tomaszewski N., Historia Ciechanowca do 1947 r., Ciechanowiec 2008.
• Uszyński K., Muzeum Rolnictwa w Ciechanowcu, Warsaw 1998.
• Uszyński K., Spacerkiem po Muzeum im. Ks. Krzysztofa Kluka, Ciechanowiec 2002.
• http://www.muzeumrolnictwa.pl/