It was built for Hugo Seydel, who had considerable influence on the development of the newly established resort and later of the Skolimów spa. Architectural references of the residence to spa houses of contemporary resorts represented a unique solution in the vicinity of Warsaw. A park and villa complex constituted a cultural and entertainment centre of the housing estate.

History

“Zagłobin” was one of the most impressive residences in Skolimów summer resort established in 1897 upon the parcellation of Wacław Preker’s land. It was erected on a vast, irregular plot situated at Parkowa Street, along the Jeziorka river and crossing its distributary Młynówka. In 1903 the parcel was bought by Hugo Seydel, a honorary consul of the Kingdom of Serbia, a judge of the Commercial Tribunal of Warsaw and a co-owner of a family-run winemaking company. He was also a benefactor of the first Natural Healing Institute within Konstancin and Skolimów - “Hugonówka”. In 1909 an eclectic villa combining the Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau motifs was erected on the plot. It is said to have been designed by Józef Czajkowski, a versatile painter and architect. The construction of the villa was carried out by the Design Office of Hugon Kuder. The literary character Zagłoba from Henryk Sienkiewicz’ “Trilogy” served as an inspiration for the residence name, as Hugo Seydel identified with him. Apart from the residential function, it was supposed to serve as a centre of resort life, modelled after renowned spa towns, which is also reflected in the building’s design. A villa owned by Antoni Jaroszewicz in Druskienniki had an analogical form of a tall tower functioning as a vantage point. A long terrace above the basements, covered with a glass roof resting on reinforced cast iron pillars and terminating in a concert shell, was added to the villa in Skolimów. It was a place of numerous concerts and plays organised in warm summer months for the inhabitants of the resort. In 1911 the gardening company “C. Urlich” established a picturesque English park, drawing inspiration from the existing pine forest and a distributary of Jeziorka flowing across the property. It was available for the public and served as a spa park. On the west side, an artificial pond with an irregular, winding shape was dug, with cascades and a closed water system in the form of the so-called English river. Artificial viewing hills were also heaped up on the east side of the pond, plus a stone one on the west side of the villa, topped with a decorative fountain. Irregular park paths were illuminated by gas lamps. A small guest house with a frame structure, stylistically akin to Polish manors, was erected on the islet. Three small bridges led to the other bank of Młynówka. Domesticated roe deer and pheasants lived in the park, while the pond was home to swans. During World War I, when Hugo Seydel was evacuated to Russia as a diplomat, his family established a “Casino” company organising cultural events within the estate. After the death of the founder in the 1930s, the residence was inherited by his nephew, Edmund Seydel. At that time the terrace was already clad in sheet metal. During the occupation, plenty of nearby villages were taken over by the German troops. Reportedly, a labour office was located in the “Zagłobin” villa and a preventive prison in its basements. After the war the villa was leased by the local gymnasium, which installed a dormitory, a library and a gym inside. In 1968 Wanda Seydel sold the family residence to the Supreme Court, which handed it over to the General Prosecutor’s Office. The park was fenced and private tenants moved in. The house and its surroundings gradually fell into disrepair. The terrace part of the feature was severely damaged. The fence on the side of the river was demolished and it was decided to separate a 25-metres wide strip of riverside land, with numerous old trees and bushes, for the purpose of creating a fitness trail. In the 1970s and 1980s the dilapidated, albeit still picturesque, residence was used as set decoration in movies, such as “The Spa under the Hourglass” and “Only Kate” series. The complex was taken over by “Uzdrowisko Konstancin” [Konstancin Spa]. In the 1990s the new lessee renovated and extended the villa and re-arranged the park.

Description

The historic complex is located in Konstancin-Jeziorna on a vast plot at the intersection of Chylicka Street and Sułkowskiego Street. On the north side, it borders on the distributary of the Jeziorka river, previously feeding the nearby mill. The villa stands in the south-west part of the property, surrounded by a composed forest park. Its front façade faces Sułkowskiego Street, at which a gate with a wicket with brick pillars topped with spheres is found in the property fencing. The building is made of brick and plastered, has an irregular floor plan and a diversified body shape. A contemporary wing with a winter garden was added at the east end in place of an old elongated terrace and outbuilding. The historic part of the building has two storeys and tall basements and a residential attic. It is covered with multi-hipped roofs clad with roof tiles, with a dormer window at the front and gables in other façades. A polygonal, four-storey tower adjoins its south-west corner. Asymmetrical façades of the historic villa have a diversified line and boast sumptuous décor. It includes numerous terraces and balconies with balusters and cast balustrades (some of them resting on decorative supports), striped rustication of lower storeys, multi-sectional windows of various sizes, most often arcaded and terminating in profiled surrounds crowned with keystone. The front and west façade, crowned with a large undulating gable, as well as the adjacent tower, display the most lavish decorations. The tower has a rounded outline on the basement and ground floor level and a polygonal outline on its upper storeys. An entrance porch adjoins it at the front, preceded by stairs and terminating at the top in a balcony on the second storey. Above the balcony window, it is adorned with oculi with decorative surrounds. The upper storey of the tower, separated with a broad cornice resting on corbels, has the richest décor. In this part the corner Tuscan columns flank the walls with large arcaded windows and front casement windows with cast balustrades. Above the crowning cornice, it is decorated with a balustraded attic with small pillars terminating in spheres, connected by volutes and metal Art Deco balustrades. The park surrounding the villa, with partially preserved growth of old trees, currently occupies the area of approx. 3.7 ha. Its initial arrangement including a division into the forest part, where pines and spruces prevail together with bushes and small trees, and the English park with dominating deciduous trees and clumps of shrubs, has remained visible. Elements of artificially composed landscape, such as the viewing hills and the pond with a varied level of water and irregular shape resemblant of the so-called English river, have also survived.

The historic monument may be viewed from the outside.

Compiled by Małgorzata Laskowska-Adamowicz, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Regional Branch in Warsaw. 19-03-2018

Bibliography

• Record sheet, Willa „Seidla”, Konstancin-Jeziorna, prepared by 1975, Archive of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Warsaw;
• Inventory - Park at the Seydel villa, Konstancin-Jeziorna Commune, prepared under supervision of Hanna Spychaj, Warsaw, 1977, Archive of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Warsaw;
• Communal Inventory of Monuments sheet, the “Zagłobin” villa in Konstancin-Jeziorna, 2006, collection of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Warsaw;
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