History

The manor house in Małków is pre-dated by a wooden keep on a raised area of ground, situated near the crossing over the Warta River. It is thought to have been built in the 14th century. The present-day residence was probably built around 1820-1830 at the behest of Paweł Biernacki, a soldier of the Napoleonic army. He probably stayed with the emperor on the island of Elba, where the appearance of one of the palaces there made a strong impression on him. The design of the manor house is attributed to Fryderyk Lessel, although this is only a hypothesis.

The building is situated on a floor plan of a rectangle. It is one-storey with a high basement, covered with a four-hipped roof. The entrances were located in the side elevations.

In 1875, the property came into the ownership of the Pstrokoński family. Around 1905, the first alteration works were carried out in the palace. At that time, two side Doric porticoes were added. Around 1920, a central portico and a pseudo portico were added on the garden-facing side. The interior layout was left unchanged.

The next owners of the palace were Maria and Walentyna Pstrokoński, who loved to invite painters, sculptors and writers to Małków. The palace thus became the centre of artistic life. The painter Zygmunt Andrychiewicz stayed here for several years. Other guests included Mela Muttermilch, Józef Rapacki, Stanisław Jagmin and the Nobel Prize winner W. S. Reymont. A monument dedicated to the latter was erected in the garden.

The heiresses supported artists both by inviting them to stay at the palace and by buying their works. In this way, they accumulated a rich collection of paintings, pottery and sculptures.

During the Second World War, they were removed from the palace by the Germans, who probably seized the works of art collected by them for many years. After the end of the war, the property was nationalized. Initially, there was an agricultural school at the palace, then a branch of the mental hospital in Warta. In the 1980s, it was owned by the Lodz University of Technology. Today, it belongs to private owners, who run a hotel and a restaurant there.

Description

The palace and the eight-hectare park surrounding it are situated in the centre of the town, near the route from Sieradz to Warta. The palace was erected on a raised area of ground in the valley of the Warta River. From the east, access to the building is provided via a road leading through a brick gate.

The Classicist palace was designed by Fryderyk Lessel, who modelled his design on a palace in San Martino on the island of Elba.

The building was erected on a floor plan of a rectangle. The principal block is adjoined by three porticoes from the east, a rectangular avant-corps from the west and small annexes from the north and south. It has one storey, a high basement and a habitable attic. It is covered with a flat, four-hipped roof, whereas the outbuildings have gable or flat roofs.

​​​​​​​The palace was built from solid ceramic bricks bound with lime mortar. Over the south-eastern part of the cellars, ceramic brick arches have survived. The roof truss is wooden, assembled using queen posts. The roof is clad with sheet metal.

​​​​​​​All elevations are set on a high plinth with quoined corners. It is pierced with cellar windows, placed on the axes of the elevations. The eastern elevation serves as the façade, accessed via a driveway. It is symmetrical and seven-axial. The first, fourth and the seventh axes are accented by the column porticos, each with four Doric columns. The main entrance to the building leads through the central portico, preceded by a landing with stairs. The window and entrance openings on the axes of the porticoes are embellished with profiled surrounds. The elevation is topped with a triglyph frieze and a dentil cornice. The porticoes are topped with triangular gables. The western, garden-facing elevation is nine-axial. Its central, three-axial part is a shallow avant-corps with two Doric columns supporting the entablature and a triangular gable. Between them, there is a door leading to the terrace, with stairs descending into the garden. The other axes are accented by the rectangular window openings.

The northern elevation has a columned porch with stairs. In the plinth of the porch, there is a door flanked by two pilasters. The southern, three-axial elevation has a terrace with stairs too. In the plinth part of the terrace, there is a door leading to the cellars.

​​​​​​​The interior is two-bay from the south and three-bay from the north. On the axis, there is an entrance hall. Some of the rooms in the western part of the building have an enfilade layout.

Most of the interior furnishings have not survived to this day. The preserved items include a corner fireplace in one of the rooms in the western part of the building, as well as some vaults in the cellars. The current owner has adapted the building for use as a hotel and a restaurant, at the same time trying to preserve the specific atmosphere of this place. To recreate the décor of most of the rooms, the owners have furnished them with historicizing furniture and other elements of equipment relevant to the rich history of the palace.

The palace is open to the public all year round.

Compiled by Anna Michalska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź. 29 January 2019

Bibliography

• Kajzer L., Augustyniak J., Wstęp do studiów nad budownictwem obronnym sieradzkiego w XIII – XVII/XVIII w., Łódź 1986
• Ruszkowski A., Sieradz i okolice, Sieradz 2000
• Paszyn I., Zespół pałacowo- parkowy w Małkowie, dokumentacja historyczno- architektoniczna, Łódź 1980, typescript in the collection of the Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, woj. łódzkie, vol. II, Warszawa 1954.
• Spotkania z zabytkami, 2007 no. 11