History

The palace complex dates back to the first half of the 19th century. The palace itself was most likely constructed in the years 1845-50. In 1914, a devastating fire destroyed the palace interiors. Three years later, the new owners restored the building to its former glory. The damage done to the palace during the war was remedied in the 1950s, when the building was adapted to serve as a primary school. From 2004 onwards, the palace has been in private hands.

Description

The palace and park complex is situated in the western part of the village of Smólsk. The park, designed on a square plan, features a longitudinal pond in its centre. The Classicist palace is situated in the northern part of the park. Designed on a square floor plan, it features a polygonal avant-corps on its southern side. It is a two-storey masonry structure with a basement, its walls covered with plaster, its tented roof clad with sheet metal. All façades are topped with a crowning cornice and divided by a string course. The three-axial front façade features a colonnaded portico in the centre. The portico it made up of a pair of rectangular pillars and a pair of Tuscan columns, supporting a tall, simplified entablature. The entrance door and a first-floor window, topped with a semi-circular arch, occupy the space between the columns. The front façade is preceded by a semi-circular, elevated driveway, framed by stepped retaining walls. The northern façade follows a symmetrical layout and features a three-axial central avant-corps designed on a trapezium floor plan. The avant-corps is flanked by a pair of rectangular blind windows on each level, with the lower ones being topped with semi-circular arches, while those on the first floor are roughly square-shaped. The corners of the ground-floor level of the avant-corps are adorned with Tuscan engaged columns supporting a string course which intersects all façades of the palace. The spaces between the columns are occupied by rectangular windows, with a single French window positioned on the middle axis. The upper storey of the avant-corps features semi-circular windows. The façade is preceded by a broad flight of steps, fanning out towards the garden. The western façade follows a four-axial layout and features a pseudo-avant-corps in the middle. The outermost axes of the western façade are disposed similarly to the front façade. The two remaining axes of the western façade feature narrow windows on both levels, incorporated into a recess inside the pseudo-avant-corps. The doorway positioned between these windows is accentuated by an arched cornice. The entrance is accessible by means of two flights of steps running in parallel to the façade from the north and the south and concealed behind a solid parapet wall. The southern façade follows a five-axial layout and features a recessed central pseudo-avant-corps, flanked by two tall engaged pillars. Rectangular blind windows on both levels grace the outermost axes of the façade. The spaces between the ground-floor windows are occupied by pilasters supporting the string course above.

Private property. Limited access.

compiled by Sara Szerszunowicz, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Trouń, 12-11-2014.