It constitutes a characteristic feature in the villagescape.

History

The first mentions of Gołkowice date back to the 12th century. Until the 17th century, the estate in Gołkowice was owned by the following families: von Frankenberg, von Balck, and von Sternfeld. In 1718, the estate was bought by Karl Magnus von Goetz und Schwanenflies. In 1767, the construction of the palace began.

In the first half of the 19th century, the estate was owned by the following families: von Radnow, von Burdzinski, von Mayer, and von Tieschowitz. In 1902, the estate, which was partially devastated at that time, was purchased by the von Lieres family (there is their family tomb in the park).

In the late 19th century, the interiors of the palace were renovated. At that time, e.g. door and window joinery was replaced. In the 1950s, the palace housed a school, and in the 1980s, it was sold to a private person. For some time, a café was operating in the palace. At present, it houses a private rural tourism centre.

Description

The palace in Gołkowice is located in a complex consisting of a palace, a park, and a grange, in the north-eastern part of the village. From the north it neighbours a road, and from the west - a distillery which is one of the remains of the former grange. The area around the palace is circumscribed by a fence, with a gate from the west and wicket gates in the wall separating the palace from the distillery.

The building is made of brick and plastered. It was built on a rectangular floor plan, with the front façade and an arched porte-cochère from the north. It is a two-storey building with basements underneath, with a loft. It is topped with a mansard roof with eyebrow dormers. It was probably built in the place of a former residence, which the presence of fragments of stone walls in the basement seem to confirm.

Its façades are articulated with rectangular window openings in plain surrounds, and subsequent axes are separated by alternating strips of diversified plasterwork: smooth with rusticated strips or thick with a texture. In the spaces between the windows of the ground and the first storey, there are rectangular panels with chamfered corners. Corners of the palace are covered with rusticated strips. The front façade of the palace is nine-axial, with a three-axial and three-storey false avant-corps topped with a triangular pediment. The middle axis of the false avant-corps is flanked with pilasters. On the ground storey level, there is a pointed-arch entrance. It is located in the middle of the façade. Window openings of the first storey are decorated with pediments: the outermost windows with triangular, and the central one with a segmented pediment. The garden façade is articulated in a very similar way, except for the bottom storey of the false avant-corps, which is preceded by a wooden openwork porch. Side façades are four-axial, with central axes covered with rusticated strips.

The interior of the palace has a two-bay layout, with a corridor between the suites of rooms. On the axis, there is a hall with a staircase in the back suite of rooms. On the first floor, there was an imposing drawing room. Some of the palace fittings have survived, including neo-Gothic door joinery coming from the time of the re-designing carried out in the late 19th century.

The building is accessible to visitors. It houses the Jasiński private rural tourism centre.

compiled by Aleksandra Ziółkowska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 04-12-2015.

Bibliography

• Molak E., Racławicki I., Zapomniane zabytki. Dwory i pałace wiejskie południowej Polski. Śląsk Opolski, t. 2 , Opole 2011, s. 72-77.
• Karta ewidencyjna zabytku architektury, Pałac w Gołkowicach, oprac. Małyszko S., 1997, Archiwum Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Ochrony Zabytków w Opolu.
• Karta ewidencyjna zabytku architektury, Założenie pałacowo-parkowo-folwarczne w Gołkowicach, oprac. Małyszko S., 1997, Archiwum Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Ochrony Zabytków w Opolu.