Stanisław Kostka Potocki, who was an amateur architect, was also involved in designing the palace. The grange together with accompanying buildings was designed by the architect Henryk Marconi. The last owner of the Sobieszyn estate was Kajetan Kicki, who turned his estate into a centre of social and philanthropic activity.

History

Sobieszyn is first mentioned in historical records in the first half of the 14th century. In the 16th century, it was owned by the Sobieski family. From the 17th century, successive owners of the estate included: Zbąski family, Bieniewski family, Twardowski family, Wagner family and Tarnowski family. At the end of the 18th century, the estate was acquired through marriage by the Kicki family. At the beginning of the 19th century, the estate was owned by August Kicki - the royal chamberlain, and then by his descendants. The last of them was Kajetan Kicki, a successful farmer and a philanthropist. In 1878, he bequeathed all his property to the Society of Farming Villages and Craftsmen's Shelters (also compare Orłów Murowany). This bequest provided funds for the establishment of an agronomic plant in Brzozowa Góra near Sobieszyn and then (in 1896) for the construction of the first agricultural school in the Kingdom of Poland. The present-day palace complex was erected between 1790 and 1825, probably on the site of a pre-existing residence.

The palace is thought to have been designed by the famous architect of the Classicist era - CH. P. Aigner, with support of the amateur architect S. K. Potocki. At the end of the 19th century, the palace was enlarged by the addition of a flanking wing with ancillary rooms for the agricultural school. To the north-east of the residence, there is a grange with a large number of farm buildings from the 1860s (designed by H. Marconi), late 19th century and early 20th century. After the Second World War, the palace was used as a health centre, nursery school and a residential building. Currently, the palace is disused and requires immediate renovation.

Description

A residential complex situated at the eastern edge of the village, on the slope of the Wieprz River valley, separated from the river by a system of ponds. Palace. Classicist. The front elevation faces north. Built on a rectangular floor plan, partly cellared, two-storey. On the longer axes of the elevations, there are false avant-corpses heightened by a mezzanine floor. The flanking wing was added from the east, probably at the end of the 19th century. It is slightly narrower and has two storeys and a small, one-storey annex on its western side. In the main body of the building, the interiors are two-bay and symmetrical. On the axis, there is a hall with a staircase adjoining it from the west. Behind the hall, there is a lounge with an exit leading to the garden Originally, there was a ballroom on the first floor occupying the entire width of the avant-corps.

The brick walls of the palace are covered with plaster. The main body and the transverse avant-corps are covered with separate hipped roofs. The flanking wing, on the other hand, is topped with a gable roof. The roofs have sheet metal cladding. The front elevation of the main body has seven axes, with a three-axial avant-corps in the middle. On the ground floor, there is a semi-circular vestibule with an entrance surmounted by two Tuscan columns. On the first floor, there is a balcony and a porte-fenêtre window styled as a Palladian window surmounted by pillars and divided by Tuscan columns, which carry the weight of a section of the entablature. Over the entablature, there is a mezzanine floor, a Diocletian window and small windows on the sides (a similar solution is used in the garden-facing elevation). The upper storeys of the avant-corps are divided by wall Ionic columns in the giant order. The whole is topped with a stepped attic wall. The elevations are divided between the storeys with a cordon cornice and decorated with a box cornice, placed under the eaves. The ground floor is partially covered with horizontal rusticated stonework. The horizontal divisions on the front elevation of the eastern wing resemble those on the main body of the building, with a small vestibule on the axis. The window openings are rectangular and enclosed by surrounds. On the first floor, they are topped with cornices. In front of the palace, on both sides of the courtyard, there are two Classicist outbuildings. They are built on a rectangular floor plan, are single-storied and cellared.

The interiors have a two-bay, multi-section layout. Their brick walls are covered with plaster. Initially, both outbuildings were topped with hipped roofs. The front elevations are seven-axial and decorated with horizontal rusticated stonework. Their window openings are rectangular, enclosed by surrounds and topped with cornices. The entrance gate to the courtyard is flanked by two smaller gates. There is also a fragment of the fence from the end of the 18th century. Not much has been left of the original park. One some remnants of the linden access avenue and a lawn have been preserved. The granary complex with interesting examples of farm buildings, some of which were erected according to a design created by H. Marconi (including a granary, coach house, cowshed, dairy), is made of red bricks and is characterized by rich architectural details (lesenes, cornices, pinnacles, window surrounds), which contrast with the white walls. 

The heritage site can be viewed from outside

compiled by Bożena Stanek-Lebioda, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Branch Office in Lublin, 26 February 2016

Bibliography

• Kseniak M., Parki i ogrody dworskie w województwie lubelskim, part. II Od Kijan do Dęblina wzdłuż Wieprza, Lublin 1983, pp. 104- 106.
• Kseniak M., Dzieje pewnego testamentu, “Kalendarz Lubelski”, 1983, pp. 39-48.
• Kwiatkowski M., Potocki i Aigner w Sobieszynie, “Spotkania z Zabytkami, 1988, no. 3, pp. 8-9.
• Kwiatkowska M. I., Kwiatkowski M., Wesołowski K., Znane i nieznane. Rezydencje, ludzie, wydarzenia, Warsaw 2001, pp. 215-223
• Polanowska J., Stanisław Kostka Potocki (1755-1821). Twórczość architekta amatora przedstawiciela neoklasycyzmu i nurtu picturesque, Warsaw 2009, pp. 240-242 et seq.
• “Tygodnik Ilustrowany”, 1897, no. 5, p. 84 [fig. by W. Brochocki].
• Wróblewski S., Pałace hrabiego Kajetana Kickiego, “Spotkania z Zabytkami”, 2012, no. 7/8, pp. 30-32.