Today, this building remains one of the best preserved of its kind, making it a historical monument of regional importance. Very few similar cowsheds have been preserved intact, without any major alterations.

History

The cowshed was erected in the late 18th/early 19th century, forming part of the Karłowiec manor farm owned by the Larisch-Moennich comital family. A preserved cadastral map dating back to 1836 shows that the entire grange, arranged around a quadrangular utility yard, had already been in existence at the time. The building itself was partially transformed and extended eastwards in 1929, which most likely also entailed a roof truss replacement. After World War II came to an end, the building was converted into a stable.

Description

The former cowshed forms part of the Karłowiec grange, located in the northern part of the Kończyce Wielkie village, on the northern side of the local road connecting the centre of the village with the Cieszyn-Pawłowice road. Standing north of the road, the building itself lies in the southern part of a quadrangular farmyard, accompanied by the granary to the north, the residential and utility building to the west as well as the now-defunct barn to the east.

The cowshed is a brick building designed on an elongated rectangular floor plan. Its cuboid, single-storey silhouette is covered with a half-hip roof with wall dormers illuminating the attic section of the structure. The individual façades of the structure are accentuated with semi-circular window openings, some of which have since been bricked up. The corners of the building are reinforced with buttresses. The eastern part of the building contains a small utility space, while the western section contains the cowshed proper, divided by rows of wooden posts supporting the beamed ceiling above.

Limited access to the historical monument. Currently, the site is a private property.

compiled by Agnieszka Olczyk, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Katowice, 5-11-2014.

Bibliography

• Architectural monument record sheet. Obora (stajnia) [w Kończycach Wielkich] (the cowshed [barn] in Kończyce Wielkie), prepared by T. Śledzikowski, 1998, Archive of the National Heritage Board of Poland.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, Vol. VI, woj. katowickie, issue 3: Miasto Cieszyn i powiat cieszyński, I. Rejduch-Samkowa, J. Samek (eds.), p. 93.