Ruszkowski. It was one of the provincial town centres established in the period of the growing significance of nobility and magnates at the beginning of the 17th century. The palace is the central secular element of this centre as the residence of its owner. It is an example of late Renaissance architecture, transformed at the beginning of the 20th century.

History

The palace was founded by Andrzej Ruszkowski, the owner of the village from 1600. In 1605, he obtained town privileges for Złoczew. Between 1614 and 17, he commissioned the construction of a parish church and a manor house (earlier he provided funds for the construction of the monastery complex of the Bernardine Fathers). In all likelihood, he hired a bricklayer, Jerzy Hoffman, who settled in Złoczew and lived there until his death, running a successful bricklaying business there for many years.

The manor house owes its present-day appearance to the reconstructions and renovations carried out in the 18th and 19th centuries. The researchers speculate that the original size of the residence was similar to the present one. It had a lobby on the axis and two rooms on each of the sides. Historical records from the 17th century describe it as a one-story building. At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, the then owner of the village, Ignacy Błeszyński, commissioned the reconstruction of a palace to Bartłomiej Nobliński. The interiors were reconstructed and quarter-circular arcades were built, which no longer exist today. In addition, outbuildings flanking the palace were erected. The palace gained a Classicist character then. The works were completed in 1806.

Until the outbreak of World War II, it served as a residence for successive owners. During the Nazi occupation, it was turned into a prison by the Germans. After the war, it housed a primary school and then a boarding school.

Between 2004 and 2006 the building was thoroughly renovated. At present, it houses the Municipal Cultural Centre.

Description

The palace complex is situated in the south-eastern part of Złoczew. It consists of a palace, three preserved outbuildings, remnants of the manor park and the preserved fragments of the gate. The façade of the palace faces west.

The building was erected on a rectangular floor plan, with a shallow avant-corps on the axis of the façade. It is a one-storey building with a habitable attic.

The building was built from solid bricks bound with limestone mortar.

The western elevation plays the role of the façade. In its central part, there is a two-storey avant-corps topped with a small triangular gable. The second storey in the form of a small attic is supported by four columns. The window openings in this part have semicircular tops. The other openings are rectangular. The main entrance to the palace is placed in the avant-corps. The building is covered with a jerkin head roof, under which there is a decorative cornice with a dentil frieze (the ornamentation on the eastern elevation is similar).

At present, the façade is coated with smooth plasterwork and the particular storeys differ with their colours. The elevations on the ground floor have rusticated plasterwork. The storeys are divided by cornices. On the axis of the eastern elevation, there is a balcony supported by four columns. All the openings are rectangular.

The interiors were adapted to suit the needs of the Municipal Cultural Centre (organization of meetings, exhibitions, conferences and events, music and art classes, etc., offices).

The vestibule and the corridor on the ground floor have barrel vaults. A three-flight staircase (18th century), separated by arcades, leads to the first floor. During a major renovation of the palace, polychromes were discovered on some of the walls.

The palace is open to the public all year round during the working hours of the Municipal Cultural Centre.

Compiled by Anna Michalska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź 24 March 2017

Bibliography

• Kajzer L, Augustyniak J., Wstęp do studiów nad świeckim budownictwem obronnym sieradzkiego w XIII-XVIII w., Łódź 1986
• Ruszkowski A., Sieradz i okolice, Sieradz 2000
• Bąbka E., Z działalności budowlanej J. Hoffmana na terenie sieradzkiego, wieluńskiego i łęczyckiego, [in:] Między północą a południem, Sieradzkie i wieluńskie w późnym średniowieczu i czasach nowożytnych, Sieradz 1993.
• Miłobędzki A., Architektura XVII w., Warszawa 1980
• Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Warszawa 1895, vol. XIV