Architektura pałacowo-ogrodowa w Kozienicach na przełomie XIX i XX wieku

Abstract

The palace-garden architecture in Kozienice at the turn of the 19th and the 20th century

Kozienice is an average little town with an interesting history. It is situated on the route from Kraków to Warsaw and Wilno and from Gdańsk to Lwów in a forest famous for hunts. There was always a royal manor, where Zygmunt Stary was bom. In the time of Stanisław August rule, a brick residence was built. It was designed by a well-known baroque architect Franciszek Placidi. The last king of Poland cared of Kozienice and wanted to turn it into an industrial town based on the most modem town planning projects. After the Partition, the town became a place of great turmoil. Finally, after the November Uprising it was taken over by a Russian General Iwan Dehn. The last period of the palace splendor was the end of the 19th century when Kozienice witnessed the pursuit of the latest fashion in architecture. The grand-grand-daughter of Iwan Dehn - Olga Wonlarska wanted to make her residence more prestigious again and had it rebuilt. A French architect in Warsaw, Francis Arveuf was employed to complete the task according to the latest trends. The palace was rebuilt into an early French Renaissance residence from the time of Francis I and Henry II, i.e. the first part of the 16th century. It resembled Azay-le-Rideau castle and Maintenon castle in the windows and attic windows framing and chimney trimming. The surrounding grounds were made into a landscapegarden. After WW I the palace became the site of local administrative authorities and the garden was open for public use. The palace was burnt by the Germans during WW II. What remained is the kitchen annex, carriage house, tower and entrance gate. In 1950s, the main part of the palace was rebuilt. Recently, reconstruction of the western kitchen annex (earlier a guest house) has been undertaken. The park is completely wild and littered and so is the Dehn’s family cemetery. Translated by Katarzyna Mrozowska-Linda