History

The village of Pstrowice was first mentioned in written sources in 1311; in 1337, the village remained in the hands of the margraves of Brandenburg, forming part of the Lipiany district of New March (Neumark). During the years that followed, the village, owned by the successive electors of Brandenburg, was held in fealty by different knightly families, including the von Grapow, von Liebenthal, von Dossow, von Hagen, von der Goltz, von Finck, von Scheel and von Schätzel families. From the first half of the 19th century onwards, the land was the property of various bourgeoisie families. From 1845 (or from 1847), the village of Pstrowice remained the property of Wilhelm Heldt from Mecklenburg, with his son, Otto, taking over the land before the year 1861. In 1914, the land was acquired by Ludwig Aulig, a judicial counsellor, who secured its possession through an advantageous marriage to Frida Heldt. In 1929, Pstrowice remained in the hands of Ernst Aulig; in 1945, the land was nationalised and then split into smaller pieces in 1948.

The palace was erected on the site of a Late Classicist manor house, erected for Wilhelm Heldt or for his son Otto. The manor house was a single-storey masonry building with rusticated façades, covered with a tall hip roof. It is believed that the manor house was extended towards the south-west in the fourth quarter of the 19th century, receiving a new, side section with rusticated façades, adjoining the former dairy and granary building believed to originate from the third quarter of the 19th century (although this remains uncertain). This building was left intact as the main section of the manor house was demolished to make space for the current palace, erected in the years 1900-1903. The palace is adjoined with the remnants of the old manor house to the south-west, its north-eastern side having originally been abutted by a now-defunct utility building. Following the completion of extension works, an inscription which says “BETE UND ARBEITE” (pray and work) was incorporated into the top section of the front avant-corps. Somewhere around the year 1920, an avant-corps projecting only slightly beyond the outline of the building was added to the front façade of the old section of the manor house, designed to contain the owner’s living quarters. Before 1945, the palace was accompanied by a park which stretched alongside the lake behind the building, with utility buildings clustered around two yards of the nearby manor farm. The structures which stood around the main yard, on the north-western side of the palace, included a barn from 1847, a cowshed dating back to 1861, a building with a clock (second half of the 19th century) and a stable. The second yard, located west of the palace itself, was surrounded by a sheepcote, a barn and a storage facility for animal feed. After World War II came to an end, the palace was converted to serve as living quarters for farm workers and was then taken over by the Municipality and Commune Office in Pyrzyce. During the 1970s, the palace began gradually descending into a state of decay. During the years that followed, most of the utility buildings were demolished and the park was likewise destroyed. After 1991, the palace was sold to a private individual who later conducted a comprehensive restoration thereof. Today, the palace remains a private residence.

Description

The palace is situated in the south-eastern part of the village, by the lake. It is adjoined by the former dairy and granary building. The front façade of the palace faces the north-west. Apart from the forge near the entrance to the main courtyard and the ruins of two utility buildings near the palace itself, none of the original utility buildings have survived to the present day. The palace is predominantly a Baroque Revival edifice designed on an elongated rectangular floor plan, with paired avant-corps positioned in an asymmetrical arrangement. The front avant-corps project only slightly beyond the building’s outline, whereas the rear ones are decidedly more pronounced. The avant-corps of the middle section of the manor house are rectangular in shape, while those projecting from the side sections adjoining the former dairy and granary building are designed on a semi-hexagonal floor plan. The palace consists of several distinct sections; the two-storey corps de logis and the single-storey north-eastern section are both designed in the Baroque Revival style and covered with mansard roofs, while the older, south-western section features a low gable roof and adjoins the former dairy. The palace also has a basement level. The building is a masonry structure, its walls covered with plaster; the roofs of the Baroque Revival section of the palace are clad with beaver-tail roof tiles, while those of its older section are clad with roofing felt. The façades feature a pronounced socle and are topped with crowning cornices. The windows are mostly rectangular in shape, with the exception of avant-corps windows which are topped with segmental arches; the windows of the Baroque Revival-era part of the palace are framed with decorative window surrounds with pronounced keystones. The corners of the two-storey part of the edifice are accentuated with rustication in the form of faux quoins. The middle section of the symmetrical, five-axial front façade of the building’s corps de logis is accentuated by a single-axial avant-corps with main entrance, preceded by a tall flight of steps with a decorative balustrade. The front avant-corps reaches above the crowning cornice of the façade; the ground-floor section of the avant-corps is adorned with rustication. Above the main portal, topped with a semi-circular arch and flanked by two narrow windows, there is a wide balcony supported by corbels and featuring the original, decorative balustrade. The avant-corps gable, crowned with a convexo-concave coping, incorporates an elliptical window. The rear façade of the corps de logis of the palace is asymmetrical, with a single-storey avant-corps positioned on its side; the avant-corps features a roof terrace with a parapet supported by a row of balusters. The ground-floor section of the avant-corps features a pair of glazed doors topped with segmental arches, leading out into the terrace with its decorative balustrade and into the gardens beyond. The three-axial rear façade of the single-storey part of the building incorporates the second entrance, leading directly into the staircase, illuminated by a window which extends all the way into the gable above, crowned with a convexo-concave fractable. Both façades of the older part of the palace feature semi-hexagonal avant-corps positioned in an asymmetrical arrangement, with a row of small, paired square windows running directly above. The windows, which used to provide illumination to the attic level, have been bricked up at a later date.

Private property. Viewing of the structure is only possible by arrangement with the owner.

compiled by Maciej Słomiński, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Szczecin, 11-19-2014.

Bibliography

• “Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce”, new series, vol. XIII, woj. zachodniopomorskie issue 1, pow. pyrzycki. D. Bartosz, M. Słomiński (eds.), Warsaw 2013, pp. 157-159
• Słomiński M., Budownictwo rezydencjonalne powiatu pyrzyckiego [in:] Zamki i rezydencje na Pomorzu - polsko-niemiecka konferencja, Szczecin 29-30. VI.2006, p. 127
• Architectural monument record sheet. Prepared by W. Witek, Szczecin 2000