Impressive surrounding of a classical palace.

History

In 1802 - following the order of the then owner of the property - August Heinrich Borgstede - a landscape park in an English style with an area of 248 morgs was established. As it is stated on the inscription on the preserved statue, the design of the park was created by A.W. Hildebrand and it was performed by a gardener C.T. Fuerstenau together with a helper - C. Schrader. J.F. Jentsch and C.L. Weiss cooperated with them. The complex after 1821 - under duke August Pruski and his mistress - Maria Augusta Arndt (later von Prillwitz) - it was transformed in geometrical forms, with straight alleys radiating to a round square at the axis of the palace. In the second half of the 19th century the park was reconstructed in a landscape-romantic style, changing the course of the alleys, which were routed as free-running meanders. In the years 1933-1938 following the order of Conrad von Borsig the park was reconstructed in a naturalistic style, giving it the character of an arboretum. The design was made by the experts from the tree nursery of Ludwig Spaeth from Berlin - Helmuth Spaeth and dr Karl Kempkes, and it was performed by a landscape architect - Karl Heydenreich from Wrocław. As a result of the works the main scenic axis was exposed, establishing the meadow running to the North from the palace. More than 500 species of trees and shrubs from different regions of Asia, North America and Europe were planted.

After 1945 the area of the park was reduced by a south-eastern part, from the side of the road. In 1960s and 1970s a domestic and decorative fowl garm was conducted in the park, as well as of the fish, for which the pond was built by the eastern border of the complex. After 1975 the restoration of the park begun. Many new plants were planted and self-seeding plants were removed, water supply network was re-established and the alleys’ layout was restored. In 1993 the garden, together with the palace and farm, was taken over by the Przelewice commune. In 2000 Natural Education Centre was founded, in 2006 in the reconstructed palace the Botanical Centre for Research and Implementation was opened. The number

of species and varieties of trees and shrubs in the garden increased from 418 in 1975 to approx. 1.2 thousand after 2000. With respect to the species composition the collection of plants of the times of dr Conrad von Borsig was restored to a large extent. Park complex was extended to the East with new lands in the creek valley.

Description

The park (currently the arboretum) is located to the North from the palace, at a bifurcation of two water courses. There is a free alleys and greenery layout, with a meadow running along the whole park to the north-east from the palace. Greenery composition is composed of various florist groups. To the East from the palace there is a Japanese Garden with boulders, pavilion and a pond with wooden bridge, planted with species from eastern Asia and North America. To the East from the Japanese Garden there is a so called a mid-forest glade, surrounded by old-growth trees of the mixed forest, currently overgrown with shrubs, among which the monumental trees are notable: sycamore, elm tree and two Weymouth pines. At the intersection of the roads there is a ruin of the mausoleum of the von Prillwitz family - founded in 1835 by the duke August Pruski and erected according to the design of Karl Friedrich Schinkel in a so called arcaded style, from 1958 it is in ruin. It was set on the circle-shaped plan (from the inside - of an octagon), with facades clad with yellow brick with the strips of dark blue glazed brick and semi-circularly closed openings. There is a so called heath located further to the North in the central part of the park, which was transformed to a large extent after the war. The collection of old heathers, ericas and rhododendrons was preserved by the wooden shepherd’s hut, reconstructed in 2005. Opposite the hut under the larch there is a grave of dr Conrad von Borsig. In the vicinity, by the Rose alley and paths of Maria Augusta and Conrad von Borsig, there are different plants - starting with perennial plants and ferns, and magnolias and spruce trees. A so called ravine of coniferous trees by the Spruce alley was created of the species of spruce trees, and it constitutes a background for rhododendrons and azaleas. Nearby, at the border of the central meadow, there is a monument of the creators of the garden from the beginning of the 19th century.

The valley by the eastern border of the park is diversified landscape- and nature-wise. Fish pond of 1960s currently transformed into a decorative pond with an island. On the southern side of the pond there are willows, perennial plants and decorative grass, from the East there is a stone garden, from the North a shaded area with stream source, called Źródlisko, formed and planted already under Conrad von Borsig. Wetland stream valley is overgrown with tall trees. On the northern verge there are three ponds - originally fish ponds, currently with an display of water and swamp plants. Along the western border of the park there is an alley overgrown with indigenous species, currently called the Polish Trees alley.

Limited access to the historic building.

Prepared by Maciej Słomiński, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Szczecin, 2014.

Bibliography

• Arboretum Przelewickie narzędziem edukacji i ochrony przyrody 80 lat historii. Ogród Dendrologiczny Przelewice 1933-2013, z. 5, Przelewice 2013.
• Borsig C., Meine Parkerfahrungen, „Mitteilungen der Deutschen Dendrologischen Gesellschaft” 1938, an. 51, vol. 2, pp. 147-154.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce. Seria nowa, vol. 13: Województwo zachodniopomorskie, z. 1: Powiat pyrzycki, Warsaw 2013, pp. 140-146.
• Kownas S., Arboretum w Przelewicach, „Zeszyty Pyrzyckie” 1972-1973, no 5, pp. 85-102.
• Słomiński M. (ed.),
• Przelewice - Prillwitz. Zamki i ogrody w woj. zachodniopomorskim, no 5, Kulice-Berlin-Szczecin 2013.
• Syczewska M.J., Botaniczne Centrum Badawczo-Wdrożeniowe - historia powstania, „Biuletyn Ogrodów Botanicznych, Muzeów i Zbiorów” 2006, vol. 15, pp. 21-32.
• Syczewska M.J., Pałac w Przelewicach - euroregionalne centrum kulturalno-naukowe, [in:] Wśród zabytków, wśród zieleni, Szczecin 2006, pp. 7-14.