Mierzęcin Palace

For half a century the neo-Gothic palace in Mierzęcin served as an orphanage, a state-farm office and a kindergarten, then stood empty and decaying. It was rescued by the Polish company NOVOL, which bought it on 9 July 1998 – today it is a hotel with a vineyard planted in 2004, one of the largest in Poland. Around it stretches a 15.28-hectare park with a Japanese garden, a torii gate and the graves of the last owners, the von Waldow family.

History: from the von Waldows to a state farm

The Mierzęcin estate passed through several families: its first owners held it until 1608, then the von Krammes, and in 1715 it was bought by the von Sydows – the brick church they funded still stands. Next came the von Waldow family, who by 1830 had added nearby estates and a glassworks. The Poznań–Stargard railway of 1850 boosted the village economy. The present palace was built in 1861–1863 for Robert Friedrich von Waldow, together with a distillery and farm buildings.

After the war, when this part of Germany became Polish, the palace passed to the state. In 1945–1952 nuns ran a home for disabled children here, and a state orphanage operated until 1959. Then the state farm (PGR) turned the rooms into offices, a kindergarten, a club room and workers' flats; in 1992 the building was abandoned. After NOVOL's purchase it was restored in 1999–2001 and officially reopened on 13 September 2002.

What to see

• The von Waldow coat of arms in a cartouche between the second-floor windows of the front projection.
• The park – a formal garden with a fountain in front of the palace, a main avenue leading to a junction of twelve paths, a lime arbour and terraces dropping to the pond and river.
• The Japanese garden with a pavilion, bridge, torii gate and an island with a Japanese lantern.
• The family cemetery with the graves of the last owners in the eastern part of the park.
• Old trees – beeches, oaks, plane trees, limes, hornbeams and elms, including more than 20 natural monuments.
• The vineyard – 19 varieties are grown, among them Riesling, Solaris, Seyval Blanc, Rondo, Regent and Zweigelt.

Tripto tip

The palace is a hotel, so the easiest way to see the interiors is as a guest of the restaurant or spa, or on one of the vineyard's wine-tourism offers – check the hotel website. The park is loveliest in spring and autumn, when the colours are reflected in the pond by the Japanese garden. Allow about 1.5 hours for a walk in the park and a look at the palace from outside. Mierzęcin lies in the Dobiegniew municipality, halfway between Poznań and Szczecin.