History

From the 13th century until 1810, Łosiów belonged to the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem. The knights, commonly called Johannites, had the headquarters of commanders in Łosiów. Probably already in the Middle Ages, a castle in which commander of the Order resided existed in the village. After the secularisation of orders, the former property of Johannites were received by Field Marshal Hans Ludwig Dawid Yorck von Wartenburg. In 1814, the estate was bought by deputy Heinrich von Kreutz. In the first half of the 19th century, at his initiative, the construction of a palace was commenced. From 1845, the residence was owned by Gottfried Brieger of Lewin. In the years 1886-1945, the structure was belonged to a manufacturer family, the Molls from Brzeg, who in the early 20th ordered re-designing of the palace, as a result of which it was provided with Art Nouveau decoration. In 1945, the residence was plundered and robbed by the Red Army. After the war, the palace housed subsequently: a kindergarten, a Communal Cooperative “Samopomoc Chłopska”, a Regional Laboratory for Agricultural Production, and a Silesian Sugar Company. Currently, the palace houses the seat of the Opole Agricultural Advisory Centre.

Description

The palace is located in the north-western part of the village, in an extensive landscape park.

The two-storey building was erected on a floor plan similar in shape to a steel square, with a wider body and narrower wings: north-western and south-eastern one. On the edges of the wings, there are three-storey false towers. The western wing opens from the west with a single-storey arcaded loggia, preceded by a flight of stairs and a terrace. In the western part of the body, there is a false tower enlivened with a colonnaded portico topped with a pediment. From the south, the upper storey projects forwards. It is topped with a terrace along the entire length. In the middle of the body, on the north-south axis, there are semi-circular avant-corps: the southern one houses an orangery. From the south-west, a six-storey there is a tower, partially incorporated into the building. On the ground floor level, the tower is preceded by a single-storey arcaded porch with a terrace. The porch shelters an entrance. In the north-eastern part of the west wing, there is a similar, but slightly smaller porch.

The body of the palace and its wings are covered with gable roofs, the false towers are topped with hip roofs, and the tower - with a tented roof with a concave-convex profile. The façades of the building are not uniform and they are asymmetrical in many sections. The vertical articulation of the walls is marked with Ionic and Tuscan colonnades and pilasters in the tower section. Horizontal partitions are formed by cornices between the storeys, plaster strips, crowning cornice, and solid balustrades of the terraces. Window openings of the ground floor are situated in shallow, semi-circular niches topped with relief cartouches. The original palace fittings have not survived.

The building is accessible to visitors.

compiled by Aleksandra Ziółkowska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 09-12-2015.

Bibliography

• Gaworski M., Opolskie zamki i pałace, Strzelce Opolskie 2011, s. 94.
• Karta ewidencyjna zabytku architektury, Pałac w Łosiowie, oprac. Stoces D., 2014, Archiwum Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Ochrony Zabytków w Opolu.