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Manor house and park complex - Zabytek.pl

Manor house and park complex


palace Niedźwiedź

Address
Niedźwiedź, 56

Location
woj. kujawsko-pomorskie, pow. wąbrzeski, gm. Dębowa Łąka

The manor house and park complex in Niedźwiedź is best known today for its museum heritage, with the mansion itself being home to the largest art collection in the eastern part of the Pomeranian province during the interwar period.

The museum consisted of 12 exhibition rooms in total, each devoted to a different type of exhibits. Among the items and artefacts displayed at the museum - famous all across the Pomeranian region - was a collection of armour pieces, kinzhals (ornamental daggers), stilettos, cutlasses, miniatures, snuff-boxes and watches, accompanied by a truly unique assemblage of about a hundred pocket sundials. The famous collection was first created by Jan Kucharski and was then gradually enlarged by Wacław Mieczkowski. The manor house and park complex in Niedźwiedź remains the only one of its kind in the entire Kuyavian-Pomeranian (Kujawsko-Pomorskie) province.

History

The first written mention of the village of Niedźwiedź (known as Berenwalde back then) comes form 1312, when the village was the property of the bishop of Płock, who received it from the Teutonic Order. In 1384, the village was put up for sale and subsequently acquired by the Teutonic Order once again. After 1410, the village was mentioned among the other settlements which remained under the administration of the head of the Lipińskie commune. After 1570, the village of Niedźwiedź became the seat of the Miedźwiedzki noble family, in whose possession it would remain until 1772. In 1784, the village was acquired by Sebastian Złotnicki, who later on gave it to his son Ignacy in 1786. In 1790, the village remained in the hands of Jan Jerzy Blumberg, with Karol Friese later acquiring it in 1804. In the middle of 1822, Niedźwiedź came into possession of Jan Kucharski, who acquired the full legal title to the land in 1840. In the mid-19th century, J. Kucharski erected the existing manor house. In 1869, Jan Kucharski’s son, Kazimierz, inherited the manor; later on, in 1882 the manor house complex was inherited by his sister, Zofia, who had married Józef Mieczkowski back in 1861. From 1882 onwards, manor served as the residence of the Mieczkowski family. In the year 1900, J. Mieczkowski bequeathed the manor to his son, Wacław, who in turn handed it down to his son, Leszek, who would be the final private owner of the manor before World War II broke out in 1939. In the 1920s, the manor house had 17 rooms in total, accompanied by a pantry, kitchen, bathroom as well as servants’ quarters, hallways and cellars. Most of the manor house interiors were designed as exhibition space for the vast collection of art and artefacts. In years 1939-1944, the most valuable items were confiscated by the Nazis and taken away to Germany.

In 1946, the former manor became an Agricultural Production Plant forming part of the State Agricultural Holding (PGR) in Wałycz. The first-floor rooms of the manor house now served as accommodation for the farm workers, with the remaining interiors being adapted to serve as office space occupied by the PGR administration, the Farmer’s Club and the Rural Youth Union. Following the abolition of the PGR in 1991, the former manor house complex was acquired by the Agriculture Property Agency of the State Treasury. In the 1990s, only some of the manor house interiors remained inhabited. In 1992, the very last tenants have left the manor house, the condition of which has rapidly began to deteriorate. In 1995, the tower has collapsed. After that, the manor house was put up for sale. From 2012 onwards, the manor remains in private hands.

Description

The manor house and park complex is situated in the eastern part of the village of Niedźwiedź, about 140 metres south of the road no. 548 leading from Wałycz to Dębowa Łąka. The manor house, designed in the Late Classicist style, is situated in the northern part of the complex; envisaged as a single-storey building on an elongated rectangular floor plan and featuring a converted attic and a basement underneath parts of its structure, the manor house is made entirely of brick, its walls covered with plaster. The main body of the manor house is covered with a gable roof transected by the traverse roof ridge of the southern and northern avant-corps. The southern façade is flanked by a pair of single-storey pavilions positioned on the eastern and western sides thereof, designed on a rectangular floor plan and topped with mono-pitched roofs.

The entire manor house stands on a tall socle and features rectangular windows in both the northern and southern façades (with the exception of the avant-corps, were arched windows are present), framed with moulded surrounds with decorative window headers. The broad cornice running beneath the eaves incorporates a pair of miniature, square window openings above each of the ground floor windows. The main body of the manor house remains its oldest part, having been erected as a single-storey structure in the mid-19th century. The silhouette of the manor house is complex, with the individual sections erected during the successive stages of its construction being easily discernible. Towards the end of the 19th century, the manor house was extend through the addition of a western wing.

The front (northern) façade follows a nine-axial layout and consists of the main body of the mansion with a two-storey, three-axial central avant-corps preceded by a low terrace with a flight of steps; the entrance is positioned on the fifth axis of the building. The avant-corps doors and windows at both levels are topped with round arches. A pair of round medallions with projecting, sculpted bear heads occupy the space between the entrance and the windows, immediately above the window line. The avant-corps is topped with a triangular gable with a pair of small windows, flanked with rectangular finials, with similar finials also present at the corners of the manor house. On the western side there is a single-storey, brick connecting section with a five-axial façade, featuring an entrance on the middle axis. A sculpted head of a bear projects from the façade directly above the entrance. Both the entrance doorway and the windows are topped with round arches; a profiled cornice runs above the window line, right below the eaves of the mono-pitched roof.

The western part of the outbuilding is accentuated by a single-storey, five-axial façade of the manorial kitchen with an entrance in the middle, with the design of both the door and the windows being identical to those of the connecting section. A profiled cornice separates the ground-floor level from the triangular gable above. The gable itself incorporates a single rectangular window in the centre, flanked by a pair of smaller ones. A single, small oculus can be seen directly above the central window. The façade is flanked with three-sided lesenes supporting orthogonal pinnacles topped with low, pyramid-shaped rooflets. The entire structure is topped with a gable roof clad with roof tiles, its roof ridge positioned along the north-south axis. A smaller, three-axial outbuilding adjoins the western side of the kitchen edifice, featuring a rectangular entrance in the middle, flanked by a pair of windows, likewise rectangular in shape. The tall section of the wall reaching up to the eaves is separated from the ground-floor level by a profiled cornice. The western corner features an orthogonal lesene topped with a round pinnacle surmounted by a conical rooflet. The western and southern façades of the outbuilding are in a state of ruin, their design no longer clearly apparent.

The eastern side of the main body of the manor house is adjoined by a single-storey, single-axial brick pavilion. The eastern façade of this pavilion is partitioned with fluted pilasters with Ionic capitals, flanking three rectangular blind windows adorned with profiled surrounds and window headers, with a broad cornice above the window line providing the finishing touch. Above the cornice runs a stone balustrade surmounted by ornamental urns. A two-axial eastern gable of the main body of the mansion rises above the roof of the pavilion. The southern façade follows a fifteen-axial layout, with a three-axial avant-corps positioned in the middle of the nine-axial main body and featuring a central entrance preceded by a terrace accessible by means of a centrally positioned flight of steps and surrounded with a stone balustrade. A pair of plinths surmounted by ornamental urns can be seen on both sides of the terrace. The entrance is flanked by lesenes supporting the triangular pediment above, with the second-storey level of the avant-corps featuring a central blind window flanked by a pair of window openings. The design of the gable is similar to that of its northern counterpart. The façade main body of the building is flanked by a pair of single-storey brick pavilions, their disposition and decorations similar to those of the eastern façade of the manor house. The eastern façade follows a four-axial layout, with a doorway topped with a round arch positioned on easternmost axis. Above the doorway there is a relief depicting the family crests of the house of Mieczkowski (the Zagłoba coat of arms) and the house of Działowski (the Prawdzie coat of arms). The southern façade of the western pavilion follows a three-axial layout. The western pavilion was originally adjoined by the western outbuilding, containing the kitchen and other facilities; an octagonal, Gothic Revival turret positioned on the northern side of the building had once towered above the entire ensemble, until its collapse in 1995.

The interiors

The main entrance to the manor house is positioned in the northern façade; the southern façade also incorporates a doorway which had once led into the gardens. Separate entrances are also present in the eastern pavilion and in the three separate outbuilding sections on the northern side of the manor house. The original interior layout has been substantially distorted during the period when the manor house served as a PGR administrative building, with numerous interior partitions being added during that period. At the present stage, the manor house features a two-bay layout, with a vestibule positioned on the middle axis. On the ground-floor level, the main body of the manor house still retains its original dining room as well as the ballroom, featuring preserved plasterwork wall and ceiling decorations such as columns and niches framed with ornate surrounds. In the eastern pavilion, a stucco frieze incorporating various foliate motifs can likewise still be admired.

Manor house complex

The manor house complex consists of the mid-19th century manor house located in the northern part of the extensive park, the brick gardener’s house situated by the cobbled road located south-west of the manor house as well as the former manor farm buildings, including the brick pigsty and the cowshed dating back to 1913, positioned around a rectangular yard located on the western side of the access road.

A pair of ponds can be found on the western side of the outbuilding adjoining the manor house. The area between the manor house and the ponds is occupied by a pair of single-storey brick utility buildings positioned on the east-west axis. The southern building, designed on a rectangular floor plan, features a smaller, southern annex. The northern building likewise consists of two sections, with the eastern section being taller and covered with a gable roof, while the lower western section features a mono-pitched roof. The eastern façade of the structure is partitioned with lesenes topped with pinnacles. On the northern side there is a brick cowshed designed on an elongated rectangular floor plan, its walls covered with plaster. The cowshed is positioned along the north-south axis and features a gable roof with dormer windows. The northern pond is located west of the building. A modern utility building is located north of the cowshed, in the vicinity of the northern gable-end façade thereof, at a distance of approximately 40 metres away from road no. 548. The side façade of the modern building is positioned in parallel to the road.

The park

The total surface of the park is approximately 8.4 hectares, making it one of the largest sites of its kind in this part of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie province. The park occupies a piece of level terrain, rising slightly towards the south and south-west. Originally established towards the end of the 19th century, after the manor house was completed, the park started its life as a French-style formal, parterre garden. Later on, the park was extended to accommodate a new section, designed as an English-style landscape park accompanied by a natural woodlot. The road leading towards the manor house and park from the north is lined with old chestnut trees, believed to be more than 150 years old. A brick wall stands in front of the manor house, on its eastern side.

South of the manor house lies the oldest part of the park - the French-style formal garden, established towards the end of the 19th century by Józef Mieczkowski. It was designed on a rectangular plan, its measurements being 85 x 40 metres, its narrower side facing the southern façade of the mansion. The southern edge of the garden is lined with spruces, while the eastern and western sides feature lines of old lime trees.

In addition to the French-style geometric garden, the complex also includes a rose garden, a driveway leading into the complex as well as an English-style park with an informal arrangement of trees, a number of orchards, an orangery with the adjoining vegetable garden and the area located on the western side of the road, featuring a natural woodlot encompassing various species of trees and shrubs. This part of the park originally featured a system of water bodies consisting of a pair of ponds and a connecting canal; the layout of the walking paths was also different than it is today, consisting of two paths leading alongside the woodlot and near the ponds.

The more densely wooded area surrounds the manor house from the east, with further areas of woodland occupying elongated, roughly rectangular pieces of land stretching towards the south. The parkland occupies a semi-circular area stretching towards the south-west. The park attained its final form during the period when the manor remained in the hands of the Mieczkowski family. Today, nothing remains of the once-famous rose garden with 300 different varieties of roses or of the orangery which had once stood near the gardener’s house. The English-style park has fared better in this regard, since both the layout of the walking paths and most of the old trees have survived. Fragments of the stairs leading up a low earth bank towards a road which leads along the circumference of the park, along its eastern boundary, have likewise been preserved. The former orchards are currently overgrown with common walnut as well as a number of old trees surrounded by self-sown vegetation. The best-preserved part of the original park is the alley leading towards the manor house, lined with old chestnut trees.

No visitor access to the building.

compiled by Mirella Korzus, Historical Monument and National Heritage Documentation and Popularisation Department of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Cultural Centre in Bydgoszcz, 10-12-2014 - 19-12-2014.

Bibliography

  • Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol. 11, issue 19, Warsaw 1967, pp. 12-13.
  • Zabytki architektury województwa bydgoskiego, Bydgoszcz 1974, p. 287.
  • Buze E., Rejmanowski M., NIEDŹWIEDŹ gmina Dębowa Łąka, Zespół dworsko-parkowy, Toruń 1995, pp. 10, 54-60
  • http://www.nasze.kujawsko-pomorskie.pl/ciekawostki/miejscowosci/n/357-niedzwiedz-gm-debowa-laka-pow-wabrzeski.html
  • http://eksploratorzy.com.pl/viewtopic.php?f=210&t=9753
  • http://historykon.pl/waclaw-mieczkowski-muzealia/#

Category: palace

Architecture: nieznana

Building material:  brick

Protection: Register of monuments, Monuments records

Inspire id: PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_N_04_BK.126802, PL.1.9.ZIPOZ.NID_E_04_BK.244888