History

The village was first mentioned in 1658. The history of the settlement may be older, as the mention from the 17th century could only be due to the change in the name of the village. The first known owner of Wódka was Krzysztof Bonin Sulicki, who possessed the estate, as well as the estate of Salino, as a pledge. It is probable that a manor house with a small grange already existed there. A deciduous forest grew on the slopes of the valley, and the present area of the park was a marshy meadow with some trees. In 1704, the estate was bought by Janusz Ernest Rexin, and then it was taken over by his son, Michał Ernest Rexin. In order to keep the estate as a whole, in 1756 he created majorat, that is an arrangement giving the right of succession to a single heir. The construction of the present manor house commenced in 1734. At that time, a courtyard intended for the eyes of guests (cour d’honneur) was developed, separated from the grange by a low wall. A line of limes along the driveway also comes from that period. The landscape garden was developed in the mid 19th century. At that time, the buildings of the utility part and the manor house were converted. The manor house was given a Classicist décor of the façade. A porch, a veranda, and a currently non-existent orangery were added. In the early 20th century (about 1910), a fire destroyed part of the manor house. The Rexin family owned the estate until 1911, when it was sold to Ms Krauze who was its owner until 1945. Presumably, she founded the reconstruction of the manor house after the fire, as well as the modernisation of the grange buildings. After the war, the property was nationalised. The name of the village was then changed to Witków. In 1950, a State Agricultural Farm (PGR), and in the 1970s, the Laboratory for Agricultural Production of the Agricultural Company of Agricultural Production “Technirol” were formed there. After liquidation of the latter, the complex was taken over by “Iglopol”, and then by the Commune Office in Łęczyca. In the early 1990s, the manor house, together with the park, became private property.

The landscape park uses the natural landform features perfectly. It was developed in the 1st quarter of the 20th century in the area of former marshy meadows. First, a pond on the west side of the manor house was made. The composition used the oaks growing in the area. After 1829, August Krzysztof von Rexin imported exotic tulip trees and magnolias. At that time, the water system in the park was further developed: a complex of three ponds connected via a canal was created. After 1843, the development of the park continued. Exotic trees, e.g. Japan larches and western thujas, were planted in the park with beeches, oaks, and limes. In the 1920s, when the estate was taken over by the von Krause family, a spectacular driveway with a decorative lawn was developed in front of the manor house. After World War II, the park was falling into ruin. The water system, due to silting of drains, ceased to work and the area turned into marsh again.

Description

The manor house complex in Witków (former Wódka) is situated parallel to the road leading from Mierzyno to Chrzanowo, in a natural basin. The manor house is comprised of the corps de logis and two corner extension wings (two outbuildings). It was erected on a horseshoe-like floor plan, with the arms of the shoe pointing in the direction of the grange. The single-storey body of the house is fragmented. The corps de logis is covered with a half-hip roof, while the outbuildings are covered with mansard roofs. In part of the body, on the axis of both longer façades, there is an attic room, slightly projecting ahead of the face of the building. Under the attic room, in the front façade, there is an entry porch, and from the side of the garden, there is a veranda. Both side-gabled façades have one axis each. The outbuildings were asymmetrically added to the manor house with their gable walls. Their arrangement in the form of arms creates a characteristic cour d’honneur. In the part of the main body, it is a two-bay building, with a hall on the axis, while the outbuildings have one bay each, and have secondary post-war partitions of the interior. The main body with a basement is made of brick and set on stone foundations. The walls of the ground floor are also made of brick, while the first storey is a half-timbered structure. The ceilings in the interior are wooden. The basement features a brick barrel vault. The flooring in the basement is made of brick, while the flooring in the residential parts of the ground floor are wooden. The floors in the rooms on the ground floor, in the hall, and on the first floor feature board cladding. The outbuildings are set on brick foundations. The external walls of the left wing are half-timbered with brick infills, and the external walls of the right wing are made of brick and plastered. The ceilings in the outbuildings are made of wood, floors have board cladding, while the flooring in corridors is made of brick. In the building that has not been used and has been dilapidating since the 1990s, a fireplace, an oven, as well as windows and doors from the 18th and 19th century were preserved.

The historical composition of the park is now blurred. It lacks also many of the exotic trees and bushes planted there in the 19th and 20th century. After the war, neglect and lack of nurturing led to the destruction of the water system. The pond in front of the manor house has survived; in the 1960s, it was converted into a fire pool. As a result of uncontrolled prolific growth of self-sown plant, the former communication layout has also become indistinct. The present owners have tidied up the area only in the part closest to the manor house.

The historical monument may be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Dorota Hryszkiewicz-Kahlau, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Gdańsk, 06-12-2014.

Bibliography

• Schultz F., Dzieje powiatu wejherowskiego i puckiego, Gdańsk-Puck-Wejherowo, 2011;
• Rozmarynowska K. Zespoły dworsko-ogrodowe ziemi lęborskiej. Przyczyny degradacji, warunki i możliwości przetrwania. Rozprawa doktorska, Gdańsk, 1996;
• Karta ewidencyjna Dwór w zespole dworsko-parkowym Witków, autor: K. Rozmarynowska, 1983 r.
• Karta ewidencyjna Założenie dworsko-parkowo-folwarczne, Witków (dawniej Wódka), autor: T. Palacz, 2004;