History

The village was first mentioned in historical records around mid-15th century, when the estate was owned by the Smoków family of the Ślepowron coat of arms. In the second half of the 16th century and at the beginning of the 17th century, the village was owned by Uhrowiecki family, who built a bastion-type castle here after 1588. The castle was destroyed in 1678. In the fourth quarter of the 17th century, the village was owned by the Daniłłowicz family and then by the Cetner family. At the end of the 17th century, Dorota Cetnerówna brought Sielec as dowry to her husband - Stanisław Mateusz Rzewuski, Grand Hetman of the Crown, the Voivode of Bełz. Then, the property was inherited by their son Seweryn Józef Rzewuski, the Voivode of Volhynia. In 1787, Antonina née Potocki, the widow of Seweryn, served coffee and fruit preserves to King Stanislaus II Augustus, who paid her a visit during his trip to Kaniów. As can be concluded from Naruszewicz's accounts, the then existing residential building was not magnificent at all (contrary to what some researchers suggest). It was probably quite modest. Fragments of its walls may still be preserved somewhere in the manor house.

In the 19th century, the property was owned by some non-straight-line members of the Rzewuski family. From 1838, it was owned by Dominik (the son of Michał). Before 1876, Dominik enlarged the existing manor house by adding a flanking wing to the single-storey main body (at the front), following the then popularized model of a residence for a “middle-class landowner”. In 1903, the property was inherited by Dominik Rzewuski (son of Dominik), who held the office of a Judge of Peace. In 1915, the manor house was burnt down and rebuilt in 1918, without the orangery which had adjoined the manor house from the south. The interiors were remodelled slightly, too. After the land reform in 1944, the property was transferred to the State Treasury. The area of the residential complex was taken over by the National Machinery Centre (Państwowy Ośrodek Maszynowy, POM), which had its offices in the manor. The building was subsequently used as the seat of the Communal National Council. Since the 1970s to this day, it has housed a primary school. 

Description

The manor complex is situated in the north-eastern part of the village, on the edge of the valley of the Krzywulki River. The manor house was built in a late Classicist style. Its front elevation faces west. It was constructed in two phases – originally, the whole building had only one floor and followed a rectangular floor plan. Then it was slightly extended northward and a two-storey avant-corps was added at the edge of the front elevation. The interior has a two-bay layout, originally with a hall and a spacious dining room (with an entrance from the garden) on the axis, adjoined from the south by a library (at the front) and a lounge. From the north, it was adjoined by two suites of residential quarters separated by a corridor. The manor house is made of bricks and its individual parts are covered with separate gable roofs with sheet metal cladding (initially, there was a shingle roof later replaced with an eternit roof). The asymmetrical front elevation consists of a single-storey, five-axial main body. From the north, it is adjoined by a two-storey flanking wing.

On the axis of the main body, there is a strongly protruding portico (originally with a driveway) with two pairs of Tuscan columns supporting a triangular gable. The elevation of the flanking wing is terminated with a gable arch. It is two-axial on the ground floor and three-axial (with a balcony) on the first floor. It is surmounted by pilasters in the corners and divided by a cordon cornice. The entire rear elevation is one-storey and eight-axial, with the entrance moved to the south (the original entrance was preceded by a large terrace). Next to the northern elevation, there is a small semi-circular vestibule. The longitudinal elevations are topped with a lavishly profiled cornice. The window openings are rectangular, topped with keystones and embellished with separate parapet cornices with decorative panels underneath. The original décor and furnishings have long disappeared from the interiors.

The landscape park has a partially axial and symmetrical arrangement of avenues and lanes. It was set up in the late 18th century and in the 19th century, with a lawn in front of the façade of the manor house. The avenue leading to the manor house is lined with chestnut trees, ash trees and maples. At the entrance, there is a stone statue of Saint Mary of the Assumption from the second half of the 17th century (previously it stood in the courtyard of the castle). In the park, there are some remnants of the bastion-type castle. To the east of the manor house, there are sections of the former utility gardens, with remnants of the old water system along the northern boundary of the park (which initially had a defensive function).

The heritage site can be visited upon prior arrangement, school.

compiled by Bożena Stanek-Lebioda, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 12 May 2016

Bibliography

• Aftanazy R., Dzieje rezydencji na dawnych kresach Rzeczypospolitej, vol. 6: Województwo bełskie, ziemia chełmska województwa ruskiego, Wrocław 1995, pp. 348-351.
• Gołub I., Gołub S., Badania archeologiczne zespołów pałacowo- i dworsko-parkowych na terenie wschodniej Lubelszczyzny, [in:] Banasiewicz-Szykuła E. (ed.), Dwory i pałace Lubelszczyzny w badaniach archeologicznych, Lublin 2011, pp. 98-100.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. VIII: Województwo lubelskie, issue 5: Powiat chełmski, Warsaw 1968, pp. 55-57.
• Naruszewicz A., Dziennik podróży Króla Jegomości Stanisława Augusta na Ukrainę i do innych Ziem Koronnych roku 1787 (…), Warsaw 1788, pp. 65-66.
• Wawryniuk A., Leksykon miejscowości powiatu chełmskiego, Chełm 2002, pp. 281-285.