Baranowice Palace in Żory

Not so many years ago, rain poured through the holes in the roof of Baranowice Palace and the walls were soaking up damp. Today the restored residence on the edge of a park with ancient oaks is a cultural centre, gallery and workshop venue – and its story runs from the 17th-century "castle" of the Trach family through the Durant dynasty to a school that had to move out after a ceiling collapsed.

History: from the Trachs to the Durants

The oldest part of the palace is three rooms with cross vaults – the remains of a brick manor house built here in the 17th century by the Trach family, owners of the estate from 1556. In the early 19th century the estate passed to the von Durant de Sénégas family, who held Baranowice without a break for more than a century. Emil von Durant, district administrator (Landrat) of Rybnik, enlarged the house into a classicist palace with two single-storey wings and laid out an extensive English-style park. In 1914 the estate was bought by the mining company Georg von Giesche's Erben, and the palace became a holiday centre for workers from the Nikiszowiec mine.

The baroness who collected van Gogh

The most fascinating figure linked to the palace is Elsa von Durant, known as the "last baroness", who spent her childhood and youth here. She collected art – her collection included works by van Gogh, Cézanne and Gauguin – and was an artist herself: about 130 of her paintings, drawings and prints are known. Her life was marked by two world wars, a divorce and the death of her daughter; she spent her final years alone in a primitive wooden cottage, and in a letter of 1954 she wrote of a poverty she had never thought possible.

Decline and revival

From 1951 the palace housed a primary school. In the 1980s the building deteriorated; during renovation of the gym in 1984/85 a ceiling collapsed, and in 1986/87 experts declared the building unfit for a school. A private owner carried out no repairs, so in 2007 the city of Żory decided to reclaim the palace and park. A comprehensive restoration took place in 2019–2023; the EU co-funded project was worth more than PLN 36 million.

Tripto tip

The palace (ul. Zamkowa 97) is run by the Żory Municipal Cultural Centre. Inside you will find a café and restaurant, there is a permanent exhibition on the history of the building as well as temporary shows, and the rooms host concerts, workshops and local-heritage classes. The park, with its protected oaks, lit benches and paths, is open for walks. Allow 1–1.5 hours for the palace and park, and check the current events programme on the palace website.