History

The manor house was erected in 1752 by the owners of the village, the Wielogłowski family. At the turn of the 19th century, there were three more smaller manor houses in Świdnik that do not exist today: the “Lower House” belonging to the Walters, the “Upper House” occupied by the Gostkowskis, and “On the Sheep House” owned by the Reklewskis. At the end of the 18th century or the beginning of the 19th century, a columned porch was added in the middle of the front wall. After 1945, as a result of the land reform, after expropriation of the last owner, Marianna Śmiałowska née Walter, the manor house was the seat of local authorities, schools, a holiday centre of the Medical Academy in Kraków, a holiday centre of the Mieleckie Przedsiębiorstwo Budowlane construction company. The renovations in the years 1958-1959 and 1978-1980 literally saved the building. After 1989, the manor house with the park returned to the rightful heir who sold it in 2002. The new owners renovated the complex and turned in to a restaurant and event facility. In 2009 the roof received new shingles.

Description

Although the building comes from the 18th century, it is a model example of a late-Baroque wooden rustic manor house. It is ranked among alcove-type structures characterised by square annexes protruding in front of the façades. The larch manor house front façade faces north. Besides wooden log structure, it has stone sections; it is plastered and whitewashed. The building is a one-level house with an attic room at the back; in its triangular gable there is a blind, semicircular arcade. Tent, shingled roofs with vertical ornamental pins on the edge of the rafters. Originally, the house had a multi-pitched roof also on alcoves. The entrance is preceded by a porch with a triangular gable resting on columns. The main body contains six rooms with a hall and a living room on the axis. In the west part, an additional entrance for room service was added, thus breaking the regularity of the layout. In the east part, one of the ceiling beams has an inscription with the date of construction. Inside, there are two, two-level Rococo fireplaces and partially preserved joinery with profiled panels, door frame veneer, window frames, and decorative hardware. The landscape park is bisected by an alley leading from the road and closing with a round driveway at the entrance porch. At the end of the alley, on the south-east side, there is a manor chapel from the 18th century. It is made of brick, semicircular, and barrel vaulted with a stone portal. Inside, there is a painting of Our Lady of Sorrows from the beginning of the 19th century. In 1620 peasants from Łącko, Ochotnica and Kamienica assaulted the manor residents; according to tradition, the chapel was erected on a mass grave of the murdered Polish Brethren (Arians). In the 16th century, the owners of Świdnik, the Rogowkis, supported Arianism, and the manor was a thriving centre of the Arian movement. The two-section cellar in the park, made in the earth embankment, is considered a remnant of an Arian temple from the years 1560-1580 built by Marcin Rogowski.

The site is accessible from 1 May through 30 September as part of the Wooden Architecture Route.

Author of the note Roman Marcinek, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kraków 20/03/2015

Bibliography

• A. Matuszczyk, Beskid Wyspowy. Pruszków 2008.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. I, Województwo krakowskie, Warszawa 1953
• R. Marcinek, Dwory, zamki, pałace, Kraków 2002