Historic sites

Donnersmarck Family Mausoleum in Nakło Śląskie

Next to the Sacred Heart of Jesus church in Nakło Śląskie stands the neo-Romanesque mausoleum of the Henckel von Donnersmarck family. The family necropolis of the Nakło line was erected in 1898 to a design by the Viennese architect Hugo Heer, who also designed the neighbouring church.

The family that ruled Nakło

The Nakło estate passed into the hands of the Donnersmarcks at the end of the 17th century and remained in their possession until 1945. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries the local line was represented by Count Lazarus IV Henckel von Donnersmarck, on whose initiative the parish church was built in the 1890s, together with the family mausoleum beside it. The tomb was intended for members of the Nakło branch of the family; among those buried here are Count Lazarus and his wife Maria.

Architecture of the tomb

The building was constructed of brick with stone architectural detail, on a Greek cross plan. Its central part is an octagon covered by a steep tent roof crowned with a small lantern. Above the entrance there is the Donnersmarck coat-of-arms cartouche, and inside hang epitaphs of family members who died in exile after 1945.

The mausoleum stands on parish grounds at Główna Street and is normally closed to visitors – tourists view it from the outside. It is worth combining a visit with Lake Chechło, 3 kilometres away, and the monuments of Tarnowskie Góry, including the underground route of the former silver mine.