History
Today’s Baranowice Palace is a historic, vibrant building located on the edge of an atmospheric park. In its surroundings are well-kept alleys, illuminated benches, monuments of nature. It is the centuries-old oak trees that are silent witnesses of events concerning this place, changing human destinies, unusual stories, mysteries and even legends. Over the centuries, numerous residents have witnessed incredible events, and their accounts include the mysterious figures of the White and Black Lady who haunted the palace interiors. And although today the place looks phenomenal, it was not always so… Unused for many years, the Palace fell into disrepair, fortunately, thanks to the tireless efforts of the city authorities and residents, it was possible to save the object from total destruction. But let’s start from the beginning.
Castle
Before the Palace was built in Baranowice, the area of Zory’s largest district belonged to many owners. The earliest, as early as the 15th century, their owner was Helena Korybutna, wife of Prince John II. The duchess donated the land to the knight Mikundey. In 1436 it was bought out by Mikolaj Szoszowski, who then sold it to Jerzy Osinski. The next owner was Johann von Trach of Brzezie na Starych Gliwice, who in 1556 bought the Baranowice estate and the then deserted Szoszowy for 4650 thalers. The Trachs were an old noble family, and it was thanks to them that the first brick manor house (called a castle) was built here in the 17th century. Remnants of the first building can be found in three rooms on the first floor with cross vaults, which are the oldest part of the palace.
The Trach family owned the estate until the second half of the 17th century. During the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) the estate was severely ruined. In later years, the property changed hands, and its owners included the barons of the Bohemian Kingdom, the imperial administrator of tobacco cultivation and the royal administrator of the Brunn salt mines. In 1803-1811 the palace belonged to Anna Helena von Czarnetzka, after whose death the property passed to her daughter Joanna, widow of Henry Baron von Durant de Sénégas, captain of the Prussian army. This period begins the history of the Baranovichi line of Durants. At that time, 209 people lived in the village.
THE DURANT FAMILY
The Durants’ reign in Baranowice lasted continuously for more than a century, and during this long period they influenced not only the area around their estate, but also the life of the entire town. One of the more influential members of the family was the son of the heiress, Baron Emil Henry Erdmann Konrad von Durant de Sénégas, who was appointed landrat (starosta) of the Rybnik district by the king. During his reign, the Baranovichi estate flourished. His estate put him in sixth place among landowners in the district at the time. It was he who expanded and transformed the family’s former seat into a classicist palace.
As part of the work carried out, two one-story side sections were added. It is likely that stucco decoration in a style reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance was also carried out, and an extensive English-style park was created in the immediate vicinity of the palace. The second of the “lords of Baranowice” who deserves special attention is Baron Hans von Durant. He was an officer in the 3rd Guards lancers’ regiment in Potsdam and in 1869 became a rotormaster and commander of the squadron he commanded in the war with France. Baron Hans “for extraordinary valor in the storming of Sedan,” received the Iron Cross First Class.
It was his first-born daughter Elsa who is often referred to as the “last Baroness.” She went down in history as an art collector who had oil paintings by Vincent van Gogh (“L’Arlesienne, Madame Ginoux”), Paul Cézanne (“Landscape”) and Paul Gauguin (“Invocation”) in her private collection. Elsa was not only an art connoisseur, but also a prolific artist; her currently known body of work includes some 130 paintings, drawings and prints. Elsa von Durant’s life did not have a happy ending. The tragedy of two World Wars, divorce, and the death of her daughter. Until the end of her days she lived alone in a primitive wooden cottage with a small garden. In a letter to a painter friend, she wrote in 1954: “I have become so poor that I never thought it possible.”
After the War...
As of 18.06.1914, the Durant estate in Baranowice was already owned by the Bergwerksgesellschaft Georg von Giesche’s Erben AG. Under the company’s management, the manor area in 1920 covered 1091 hectares. After adaptation works were carried out, the palace housed a holiday center for employees of the “Giesche” mine in Nikiszowiec. In 1926, the shareholders of the Giesche joint-stock company in Katowice, claiming that the Polish authorities were hindering its operations, sold the shares to the Silesian-American Corporation – SACo. After the Third Reich’s aggression against Poland in
1940, the company’s management was removed by the occupying German authorities, and the parent company Giesches Erben bought back the American shares. During the war, high-ranking Nazis, including possibly officers from the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp, entertained at the Baranovichi palace. After World War II, the Giesche company, being German, was nationalized, and the land belonging to the Baranowice estate was parceled out. The palace had been used since 1945 to organize summer camps for children of employees of Silesian steel mills.
Palace School
Since September 1951, an elementary school operated in the palace. The small teaching staff together with the students organized the new life of the place in the form of numerous community deeds. They independently leveled the paths in the park, spread red cinders on them, which were also used to create a playground. Damaged old trees were cut down, and ornamental trees and shrubs were planted around the school. In the 1980s, the school building, despite ad hoc repairs and the supervision of a preservationist, slowly began to fall apart. In the 1984/1985 school year, the ceiling collapsed during the renovation of the gymnasium.
The appointed experts stated in unison: “The building under consideration, after renovation work, should be transferred to another user. Even in the case of significant modernization changes in the interior of the building – at the expense of large financial outlays – the building will not satisfactorily fulfill the functions of a school facility.” Meanwhile, the technical condition of the historic building that housed the school did not allow school to begin in the following school year, 1986/1987, and resulted in the closure of the facility.
New Life
When the school ceased to be a user of the palace as of 1990, the Zory authorities applied to the Governor of Katowice for communalization of the property, as a result of which it became the legal disposer of the entire complex. Taking into account the poor technical condition of the Palace and out of concern for its further fate, the city decided to put the building including the beautiful surrounding park up for sale. The new owner has not indicated what he intends to do with the building. He also didn’t start any renovations, so the building continued to deteriorate. The trees, which were not cared for and were several hundred years old, began to get sick and dry.
The palace roof was getting more and more holes, threatening to collapse, and the walls were getting more damp. Finally, in 2007, Zory authorities decided to reclaim the Baranowice Palace and the surrounding park, so that this 17th-century monument would become a landmark of the city. Talks with the owner were successfully concluded and the object was taken over by the city. Thanks to funding from the European Union, the residents of Baranowice lived to see the return of the ruined Palace to its former glory after thirty years. During the renovation, the building underwent a real revolution, and its interiors are very impressive. The former seat of the von Durant family has been saved! Currently, life in the historic space is organized by the Municipal Cultural Center in Zory, creating a friendly place for the development of culture and creative activation of the region’s residents. The facility houses as many as a dozen different studios, where numerous workshops, classes and meetings are held.
In addition to the permanent exhibition, which presents the history of the building, the site hosts various temporary exhibitions. The first floor has been designated as a catering area, so after a walk in the historic park and a tour of the Palace itself, all visitors can enjoy a delicious coffee and a meal in a pleasant atmosphere. One thing is certain, the next stage in the history of the Palace has begun, and each of us can become a part of it. Based on materials by Jan Delovich
Exhibitions
The Durants’ reign in Baranowice lasted continuously for more than a century, and during this long period they influenced not only the area around their estate, but also the life of the entire town. One of the more influential members of the family was the son of the heiress, Baron Emil Henry Erdmann Konrad von Durant de Sénégas, who was appointed landrat (starosta) of the Rybnik district by the king.
