Palaces

Kamieniec Palace

A few kilometres from the spa town of Polanica-Zdroj, tucked away in the Klodzko Valley, stands a palace that was falling into ruin at the beginning of the 21st century and today welcomes guests as a hotel with a restaurant. The village itself, through which a stream of the same name flows, is documented from the 14th century; in the 18th century it was famous for its horse market and merino sheep breeding.

Baroque from 1780

The present residence was built in 1780 by Count von Hartig — the date appears on the cornerstone of the elevation. Later owners included the von Mutius family, pastor Karl Eduard Grandke and the counts von Ohlen und Adlerskron. At the end of the 19th century the palace was bought by Baron Artur von Seherr-Thoss for his wife Clara: a northern wing with a sandstone portal and heraldic cartouche was added, and the Baroque garden was turned into a landscape one with a tea house.

Ruins given a second life

After the war the building housed small flats; in 2004 the last occupants left and pigeons and vandals did their work. The new owners bought it in 2009 and, using historical documentation, recreated the interiors in the restrained Gustavian style: enfilade rooms, a dining room, a library and a broad staircase with reconstructed oak steps weighing 4 tonnes. The palace opened to tourists in 2014.

In practice

Guided tours take place on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 1 p.m. for groups of at most 8 people — booking is recommended; the ticket costs PLN 15. The route includes the map room, the historic garden and an exhibition in the former barn, while the palace kitchen serves dishes of the Klodzko Land based on pickles from its own garden.