Sławików Palace - stories happened
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| Sławików Palace before II World War |
Sławików (Slawikau), a quiet and quaint village within westernmost part of Silesian Voivodeship, southern Poland, with an extraordinary palace.
Stories happened here...
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| Sławików Palace Present |
Situated on an a prominent hill, at the nearby Odra River, the place has been inhabited since 13th century. Quite something for a village.
In 1241, the lands in Sławików were invaded by the Mongols. The entire village was set on fire along with the church of St. George. The church bell rang until collapse of the church tower. Upon hitting the ground, the bell broke in half. The ringing of the bell warned the inhabitants of Racibórz against the Mongol attack.
The thing you notice first, approaching the upward land, is the white tower of a very modest church.
Neo-Romanesque, of St. George built between 1842-46.
It is seen from miles away.
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| St George Church - Sławików |
Now, in the years 1795–1831, Sławików was owned by the Eichendorff family, and it was in the Prussia Kingdom, back then.
You may not know them, but you will - at least one of them. They were all aristocrats, a noblemen. Such people happen everywhere.
Legend has it that one Eichendorff had financial problems. He lost the place, that was not yet the palace seen above and below - in a card game to another nobleman, called von Eickstedt. So it went to this family.
Joseph von Eichendorff (1788 – 1857) was brought up and lived in the neighbouring estate, called Łubowice. He is one of the most notable German Romantic poets, a novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator and anthologist. Very popular in Germany to the present day.
The combination of dream world and realism, is something that many writers would pick up on later. It would be known as magical realism.
Love of nature, the purity and innocence, and the fairy tale-like atmosphere is what distinguishes such writers.
He did not live here, however, the palace was built much later. The place was close to him, however, and he had cherished it in his poems regarding the Heimat (Little Fatherland).
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| Ruins of the palace in Sławików - Front |
In the years 1856-1865 Slawikow was rebuilt by Ernest von Eikstedt in the spirit of 19th-century eclecticism with additional neoclassical accents.
The palace belonged to the descendants of Ernest von Eikstedt until 1945.
Partially destroyed at the end of World War II. To this day, traces of bullets can be seen in its walls.
After the war the equipment was stolen and the palace fell into ruin, but finally it was ruined by the State Agricultural Farm operating in People's Poland in a former manor farm.
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| Sławików Palace - Back |
The palace complex in Sławików: the palace and the park, was entered into the register of monuments of art on March 24, 1964.
In the 1970s, the residents cut out bars from the windows of the palace and sold them for scrap, thanks to which their children could go on a trip to Warsaw.
Agricultural Property Agency, which then sold it to private investors in 1999. Unfortunately, they only took away the marble elements and decorations. In 2006, it was sold to local authorities of Rudnik.
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| Ruins inside |
The area is under conservation protection.
Since 2019, members of the Gniazdo foundation, which works to protect, promote and renovate monuments (including, above all, the palace in Sławików), have been clearing the rubble of the palace.
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| There are some armaments still visible |
The palace had 99 chambers.
The folks of Sławików believed that the palace was inhabited by monsters, and seeing them brought bad luck. Hence they did not walk close to the palace.
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| Mausoleum von Eickstedt Family in the park |
Joseph von Eichendorff was friend with the count from Sławików. He wanted to find out if there really were ghosts in the palace. For this purpose, they watched the large iron door on the first floor at night. Mysterious doors sometimes opened on their own to let in a woman's spirit.
At some point, the men heard a servant scream, and his candle went out. They went quickly for the second candlestick and went back upstairs - to their horror, they saw the dead body of the servant, and the mysterious door was locked.
An interesting fact - the area around the palace was located much lower, there was a pond nearby, where meat and sauerkraut were kept due to the lower temperature. There was also a brewery and a distillery in the buildings next door.
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| Stables, additional outbuilding |
Despite poor technical conditions it is worth visiting this eerie place.
Below, you can see for yourself:
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We are not professional historians, so if you find any mistakes in this text, do forgive