The Sobański Palace (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Pałac Sobańskich w Guzowie'') is a

Renaissance Revival Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range of ...

palace built in 1880 and located in

Guzów, Żyrardów County Guzów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wiskitki, within Żyrardów County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is approximately north-west of Wiskitki, north-west of Żyrardów, and west of Warsaw. It is the b ...

Mazovian Voivodeship Masovian Voivodeship or Mazowieckie Province (, ) and any variation thereof, is a voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, containing Poland's capital Warsaw. Masovian Voivodeship has an area of and had a 2019 population of 5,411,446, m ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. The palace served as a residence of such prominent Polish noble families as

Potoccy The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Potocki family is one of the wealthiest and ...

, Ogińscy, and Sobańscy.

History

18th century

The ducal domain of Guzów goes back to the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

and its owner,

Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia Siemowit IV (Ziemowit IV), also known as Siemowit IV the Younger (pl: ''Siemowit IV Młodszy''; ca. 1353/1356 – 21 January 1426), was a Polish prince, member of the Dukes of Masovia, Masovian branch of the House of Piast and from 1373 or 137 ...

. In the second half of the 18th-century, a fortuitous marriage to Paula, née Szembek, widow of Jan Prosper

Potocki The House of Potocki (; plural: Potoccy, male: Potocki, feminine: Potocka) was a prominent Polish noble family in the Kingdom of Poland and magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Potocki family is one of the wealthiest and ...

, enabled

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally appointed by and ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. T ...

Andrzej Ogiński to receive the estate in her

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

. They were the parents of a daughter and of noted composer

Michał Kleofas Ogiński Michał Kleofas Ogiński (25 September 1765 – 15 October 1833) was a Polish diplomat and politician, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania, and a senator of Tsar Alexander I. He was also a composer of late Classical and early Romantic music. Early ...

. The palace is the birthplace of the composer. Andrzej Ogiński built a brick manorial complex in Late baroque style on the Guzów site. After the

third partition of Poland The Third Partition of Poland (1795) was the last in a series of the Partitions of Poland–Lithuania and the land of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth among Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and the Russian Empire which effectively ended Polis ...

it became the property of the

Prussian state Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, the House of Hohenzoller ...

, but handed to minister, baron Karl Georg von Hoym for his services. He in turn decided to sell it back to its erstwhile owner, the widow Ogińska, when her first-born son,

Feliks Łubieński Feliks Walezjusz Władysław Łubieński (born 22 November 1758 Minoga near Olkusz, died 2 October 1848 Guzów) was a Polish politician, jurist, Minister of Justice in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, starosta of Nakieł, a member of the Friend ...

stepped in with the offer of his two estates in exchange for Guzów. It was accepted. He and his immediate family owned the estate till the 1840s. In 1842 Henryk Lubienski got into severe financial difficulties that resulted in the estate being auctioned off in 1856 to recover debts.

19th century

It was rescued by a grandson of Feliks Łubieński,

Feliks Sobański Feliks Hilary Ludwik Michał Sobański (born 11 January 1833 nr. Hajsyn Podolia - died 29 November 1913 Paris) was a Polish landowner, social activist, supporter of the arts and philanthropist. He was awarded the hereditary title of 'count' by th ...

from

Podolia Podolia or Podillia is a historic region in Eastern Europe located in the west-central and southwestern parts of Ukraine and northeastern Moldova (i.e. northern Transnistria). Podolia is bordered by the Dniester River and Boh River. It features ...

, who bought the estate for a considerable sum, wiping out the debts. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century, Sobański commissioned architect Władysław Hirszel to rebuild the manor house as a grand palace, modelling it on French

Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...

castles. A landscaped garden was designed by Walerian Kronenberg and Franciszek Szanior. Sobański and his family regularly travelled across Europe visiting such places as

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Karlsbad,

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

and transported to the palace furniture, sculptures and paintings, which were used for decorating the palace rooms. Among the items bought by Sobański were two fireplaces from the

Tuileries Palace The Tuileries Palace (, ) was a palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the Seine, directly in the west-front of the Louvre Palace. It was the Parisian residence of most French monarchs, from Henri IV to Napoleon III, until it was b ...

, which was destroyed during the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

in 1871. In 1886, Sobański passed the property to his youngest son, Kazimierz.

20th century

During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

the palace was used as a front line hospital, and was virtually destroyed, along with its garden. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, it was rebuilt, but after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the palace was looted for its decorations and furnishings by the Germans and later by the Russians. Later, the palace was used as accommodation for the local sugar factory's employees. Since 1948, the palace chapel has served as a local parish church. In 1962, the palace complex was officially inscribed onto the register of historical monuments becoming a protected historical landmark. The park was inscribed in 1981. In 1996, the

Sobański family The Sobański, plural: Sobańscy, feminine form: Sobańska is a Polish noble family. The family originated from Masovia, taking their name from the village Sobania and Sobanice in the land of Wyszogród and Ciechanów. Connected with the families ...

regained possession of the palace complex. In 2009, Michał Sobański and his sister Izabela Ponińska established the Count Feliks Sobański Foundation (Polish: ''Fundacja im. Feliksa hr. Sobańskiego'') whose main purpose is to raise funds for the renovation of the palace. After many years of dereliction, the house is now being restored from its poor condition, along with the garden. The old palace chapel (now the Church of St Felix de Valois), together with a section of the garden, is the only part of the property that has been fully restored.

Gallery

File:Sobanski Palace in Guzow in the 1930s.jpg, The palace in the 1930s File:Pałac i Park w Guzowie.jpg, Aerial view File:2013 Park of Sobański Palace in Guzów - 05.jpg, The park surrounding the palace File:Guzow palace north cm02.jpg, Palace before renovation File:Zespół pałacowy Guzów, mchytrowski 06.JPG, Palace before renovation File:Zespół pałacowy w Guzowie, park, in. inw. 42 oraz A-742..jpg, View of the park File:2013 Monument to Michael Cleophas Oginski in Guzów - 01.jpg, Monument to Michał Kleofas Ogiński in Guzów File:2013 Interior of Church of St. Felix in roman - catholic parish in Guzów - 01.jpg, Interior of Church of Saint Felix of Valois

References

Bibliography

# Sylwester Rudnik, Historia guzowskiej rezydencji, w: Spotkania z zabytkami 6/2004 # Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce. Tom X. Powiat grodzisko-mazowiecki, ISPAN, Warszawa 1967

External links

* http://palacwguzowie.pl Pałac Sobańskich w Guzowie - official palace website * http://podrozniccy.com/en/poland/palace-guzow {{DEFAULTSORT:Sobanski Palace Sobański family Palaces in Masovian Voivodeship