It has exceptionally high landscape values due to its location by the sea, high-class architecture, and its extensive and old park. The palace is an example of a neo-Gothic gentry residence, designed by Friedrich August Stueler, one of the most prominent German architects of the 19th century.

History

From the first half of the 15th century, Rzucewo was a knight village. From the late 16th century, it was owned by the Wejher family: first by Ernest, the Starost of Puck, and later by his son Jan and grandson Jakub. Jakub Wejher, a senator of the Republic of Poland, the founder of the town of Wejherowo, extended the property significantly and created one of the largest magnate estates in Pomerania. In 1676, due to family connections, the estate was taken over by Michał Kazimierz Radziwiłł, and then by his widow, Katarzyna nee Sobieska, a sister of the king of Poland. In 1676-1677, the king visited Rzucewo several times and participated in hunting. In 1685, Jan III Sobieski became the owner of the estate. After his death, his wife, and then his sons, took it over. According to tradition, the Baroque French garden and the lime alley leading to Osłonino, preserved to this day, were developed in Rzucewo when the estate was owned by the Sobieski family. Since 1720, the estate belonged to the Przebendowski family, since 1782 to Aleksander von Gibsone, and since 1796 - to count Keyserlingk. In 1827, Rzucewo was taken over by the von Below family and belonged to them until 1945. In 1845, Gustaw von Below and his wife Emma (nee Keyserlingk) erected the present palace, according to a design by Friedrich August Stueler, a Prussian royal architect. In 1859, the king of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm IV visited Rzucewo. After World War II, the palace was adapted to serve as an agricultural school. The complex has been renovated and houses currently the “Zamek Jan III Sobieski” hotel.

Description

The complex is located on the Pucka Bay, on the edge of a sea cliff. In the middle of the complex, there is a palace from the north-east, east, and south surrounded by a park. From the south, there is an access alley leading towards the palace and ended with a porte-cochère with a lawn. From the north, there is a hunting house, connected with the palace by a connecting building. The park stretches along the edge of the cliff and descends towards the shore of the Bay. On the north-western side, the complex neighbours a former manor farm, and on the western side, it neighbours village buildings.

The palace features neo-Gothic style and is made of brick. Its body is composed of two wings, a tower, and a corner fortified tower. Both wings were built on a rectangular floor plan. The eastern wing has three storeys. It features a slender square tower and a polygonal avant-corps. In the corners, there are octagonal pinnacle turrets. On the tower, there is a terrace with a view over the sea. The western wing has two storeys and features a massive octagonal fortified tower in the south-western corner. At the eastern façade, there is a small round turret, and at the northern one, two pinnacle turrets. The front façade features a portico with three pointed-arch arcades, supported by slender, octagonal piers. Over the portico, there is a balcony with a balustrade featuring a motif of quatrefoil. The entrance has the form of a pointed-arch portal, with the date 1845 and the coat of arms of the founders of the palace. All façades are topped with a roof parapet with crenellation. Façades of the eastern wing, the tower, and the fortified tower are partitioned by segmental panels. Window and door openings are pointed-arch and segmental. The woodwork is in the neo-Gothic style, with stained glass in the ground floor. In the interior, there is a vestibule with pointed-arch arcades and a winder staircase, covered with a lierne vault sloping down onto wall columns and supports with decorative capitals. The keystones features heraldic cartouches of families related to the Below family. Similar vaults are present in the fortified tower (library) and in other rooms on the ground floor. In the vestibule, there are two neo-Gothic fireplaces and a wardrobe.

The complex features a landscape park. According to tradition, it was developed in the times of Jan III Sobieski, and its present state dates back to the 1st half of the 19th century. There are many old trees, including the four-row lime alley leading to Osłonino, called the “Sobieski Alley”.

The complex is open to visitors.

compiled by Beata Dygulska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Gdańsk, 16-06-2015.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. V: Województwo gdańskie, z. 2: Puck, Żarnowiec i okolice, oprac. T. Chrzanowski, M. Kornecki, B. Rol, I. Strzelecka, Warszawa1989, str. 50-52;
• Katalog parków woj. gdańskiego, gmina Puck, ogród zamkowy w Rzucewie, oprac. K. Jarosz i K. Rozmarynowska, Gdańsk 1984, archiwum NID, OT Gdańsk;
• Schultz F., Dzieje powiatu wejherowskiego i puckiego, Gdańsk-Puck-Wejherowo 2011, str. 710-713;
• Sieber H., Schlosser und Herrensitze in Ost- und Westpreussen, Frankfurt n/Main, 1962;
• Zespół rezydencjonalny w Rzucewie, studium historyczno-architektoniczne, oprac. H. Domańska, Gdańsk 1978, Archiwum NID, OT Gdańsk;