Goetz Palace in Brzesko

The last owner of this palace died in Kenya, where he and his wife ran a small tea room – and his ashes only came back to Okocim in 2017. The neo-Baroque "New Palace" of the Goetz family, founders of the Okocim brewery, was built in 1898–1900 to designs by the Viennese firm Fellner & Helmer. Today it is a privately run hotel and events venue set in a park of more than a dozen hectares, and visitors can only enter as part of an organised group.

History: from brewery to residence

The story begins in 1845, when Jan Ewangelista Goetz arrived in Okocim from Württemberg and founded a brewery with a Polish partner. His "Old Palace" stood on the brewery grounds. The new residence was built by his son, Jan Albin Goetz Okocimski, known as the "beer king", together with his wife Zofia Jadwiga née Sumińska. The main block and the chapel were designed by the Fellner & Helmer studio, which built theatres and palaces across Central Europe. After the death of Ferdinand Fellner, in 1908–1909, an east wing with an orangery and palm house was added to plans by Leopold Simony of the Vienna University of Technology.

Guests included Archduke Charles Stephen of Austria and President Ignacy Mościcki. In 1931 the estate passed to Antoni Jan Goetz. According to the history compiled by the current owners, he refused to sign the Volksliste, left Okocim when the war broke out and never returned. During the occupation the palace housed German headquarters, an officer school and a military hospital.

A school, an auction and a second life

After nationalisation in 1944 the palace became a school – the first lessons were held as early as 12 April 1945. A grammar school and a school of economics operated here until 2002. In 2007 the county sold the building at auction with a right of first refusal for the Goetz heirs, who regained it by notarial deed on 30 November 2007. Because of its disastrous condition they sold it on to a private investor. The renovation, planned for two years, proved far harder – the main block and west wing reopened four years later than intended.

What to see

• The wooden staircase in the atrium – often compared with the staircase of the Nobles' Casino in Lviv, by the same architects.
• The palace chapel, seating about 100, with a plaque commemorating the construction of the "New Palace" on the west wall in front of it.
• Stucco ceilings, moulded timber ceilings and the hunting hall.
• The English-style park – according to the owner, 14 ha with 11 natural monuments and 43 tree species, including tulip trees and eastern hemlocks.

The pre-war collection – including paintings by Malczewski, Wyspiański and Boznańska – was largely looted during the war or dispersed. In communist times part of what survived went to the Natural History Museum of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Kraków.

Tripto tip

Pałac Goetz operates as a hotel and events venue (43 rooms, wedding and conference halls). Guided tours last about 1 hour and are only available to organised groups by prior arrangement; there are no tours for individual visitors. During private events the entire site, including the park, is closed, so call reception before you come (tel. +48 14 686 56 00). The palace stands at ul. Barona Jana Gotza 6 in the Okocim part of Brzesko, next to the brewery – the town lies on the A4 motorway east of Kraków.