Bystrzanowice Manor House

This small manor house with a columned portico, tucked beneath old trees in the hamlet of Bystrzanowice-Dwór, passed through the hands of three well-known families within two centuries: the Bystrzanowskis, the Krasińskis and the Raczyńskis. During the Second World War the legendary paratrooper Jerzy Kurpiński "Ponury" was quartered here, and airdrops of weapons for the Home Army landed in the fields nearby. Bystrzanowice Manor House lies in the Janów municipality on the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (the Polish Jura), about 5 km from Złoty Potok, and is now privately owned.

History: three families and one farm estate

The village appears in records as early as 1385, and until 1833 it belonged to the Bystrzanowski family of the Starykoń coat of arms, who gave it its name. The present brick manor dates from the 18th century. In 1783–1791 Sebastian Bystrzanowski built a larger residence in nearby Cielętniki and moved there, though the family kept Bystrzanowice for some time. From 1833 the estate belonged to Wincenty Komornicki, from 1852 to Wincenty Krasiński, father of the Romantic poet Zygmunt Krasiński, and from 1878 to 1945 to the counts Raczyński, who used the manor as the house of their farm manager.

The surrounding forests sheltered insurgents of the January Uprising of 1863 and, during the German occupation, partisan units. In 1942–1944 drops of weapons and supplies for the Home Army (AK), the main Polish resistance force, were received in the fields east of the hamlet, and in September 1944 a unit led by Mieczysław Filipczak "Mietek" prevented the Germans from carrying out reprisals against the village. After 1945 the manor was taken from its owners and fell into neglect. In the early 21st century private buyers acquired it from the Janów municipality and renovated it as holiday accommodation.

What you will see

The manor has been modernised and rebuilt several times, but it keeps the character of a classicist building. Its best-known feature is the columned portico at the front, beneath a triangular pediment with a round window. The house is surrounded by a garden and old trees. The interiors are not open to visitors – there are no opening hours or tickets, and only overnight guests can go inside.

Tripto tip

View the manor from the road and do not enter the grounds without the owners' permission. A short stop takes 10–15 minutes; park so as not to block any driveways. A car is practically the only option – the hamlet is off the beaten track, and public transport is minimal. The manor combines easily with a trip to Złoty Potok (the Raczyński palace, the Krasiński manor and the Wiercica springs), the Bukowa Kępa and Kaliszak nature reserves 1.5–2.5 km away, and the ruins of the Ostrężnik watchtower and the Warsaw Quarry in Siedlec. If you would like to see inside, check the current accommodation offer.