History

The current palace was erected on the site of the former fortified manor built by Paweł Orzechowski and mentioned back in 1576 under the Latin term “fortalitium”. It was on the site of this manor house that towards the end of the 17th century, Dominik Kazimierz Gołuchowski erected a new, brick mansion, the fragments of which were in turn incorporated into the new building, constructed somewhere around the mid- 18th century by Michał Maurycy Suchodolski, the cup-bearer (podczaszy) of Krasnystaw and Chełm and the standard-bearer (chorąży) of Chełm, whose wife was Barbara Mężyńska. The new palace was accompanied by a pair of outbuildings positioned on both sides of a courtyard which was closed off by a fence with a gate. During the 19th century, the manor was passed on to the consecutive members of the Suchodolski family; from the 1880s onwards, the palace changed hands on a number of occasions, having been sold at auction; its owners during this period included the Drucki-Lubecki and Żurowski families. The manor has fallen on evil days, the time slowly taking its toll on the venerable buildings; having suffered further damage during World War I and in 1920, when the eastern part of the palace was lost to the blaze, its ruins finally demolished in 1936, the manor was split into smaller parts; in 1934, the palace itself was acquired by the authorities of the Turka commune which intended to use of as a school. In 1943, the palace was used as a German infirmary; once the war was over, the palace regained its educational function. From 1968 onwards, the building became abandoned and was slowly beginning to crumble; it was only in years 1981-1984 that a comprehensive renovation was performed, with the eastern section of the palace being reconstructed.

Description

The palace is a Late Baroque edifice located at the edge of the Bug river valley, its main façade facing south. It was designed on an elongated rectangular floor plan, with avant-corps on the middle axis and the outermost axes. It is a single-storey structure with a basement and a two-storey middle section. The corps de logis of the palace features a two-bay layout with a vestibule and an octagonal drawing room positioned on the axis of the building; the outermost sections of the palace, on the other hand, follow a three-bay layout. The walls are built of ceramic bricks and covered with plaster. Inside, the palace features wooden ceilings and - in the outermost western section - barrel and double barrel vaults. The corps de logis of the palace is covered with a mansard roof of the so-called Polish type, its surfaces pierced by eyelid dormer windows. The gable roofs of the side avant-corps replace the original barrel roofs. The surfaces of all roofs are clad with wood shingles. The front façade follows a thirteen-axis design with a three-axial, two-storey avant-corps in the centre, topped with a triangular pediment; two single-axis, single-storey avant-corps crowned with semi-circular gables flank the façade on both sides. The façade overlooking the garden follows a similar design, featuring a pronounced, three-sided avant-corps in the centre; this avant-corps was originally preceded by an observation deck which provided an excellent view of the Bug river valley. All façades are partitioned with pilasters and lesenes and crowned with a profiled cornice. The windows are rectangular in shape; those in the ground floor section of the avant-corps overlooking the garden are topped with semicircular arches; French windows grace the first-floor level of the front avant-corps, while the gables of the side avant-corps are pierced with oculi. The interior is devoid of the original decor and fittings. Very little remains of the park that had once surrounded the palace, the surviving elements including the alley leading towards the building, the impressive ornamental lawn up front as well as two headstones originating from the former family cemetery of the Suchodolski family, designed in the Classicist style, and a Baroque sculpture of St Barbara.

The historic monument is open to visitors. At the present stage, it serves as a Commune Culture and Tourism Centre as well as a Public Library.

compiled by Bożena Stanek-Lebioda, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Lublin, 20-01-2015.

Bibliography

• Stefański J., Dorohusk. Studium historyczno-ruralistyczne, Lublin 1990, typescript available at the archive of the National Heritage Board of Poland - Regional Office in Lublin
• Aftanazy R., Dzieje rezydencji na dawnych kresach Rzeczypospolitej, vol. 6: Województwo bełskie, ziemia chełmska województwa ruskiego, Wrocław 1995, pp. 289-292.
• Gołub I., Gołub S., Badania archeologiczne zespołów pałacowo- i dworsko-parkowych na terenie wschodniej Lubelszczyzny, [in:] Banasiewicz-Szykuła E. (ed.), Dwory i pałace Lubelszczyzny w badaniach archeologicznych, Lublin 2011, pp. 84-88.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, Vol. VIII: Województwo lubelskie, issue 5 Powiat chełmski, Warsaw 1968, p. 30
• Rolska-Boruch I., „Domy pańskie” na Lubelszczyźnie od późnego gotyku do wczesnego baroku, Lublin 2003, passim.