Schaffgotsch Palace in Cieplice

The Schaffgotsch family moved to Cieplice in 1675, after their former seat, Chojnik Castle, burned down following a lightning strike. A century later fire also destroyed the Cieplice manor — and so the palace with an 81-metre façade came into being. The Baroque and early Neoclassical residence closes Piastowski Square at the heart of the Cieplice spa, now a district of Jelenia Góra, and is the grandest building in this part of town.

A palace from the ashes

After the fire of 1777, Count Johann Nepomuk Schaffgotsch ordered a new family seat on the site of the Renaissance manor and guest house, reusing their surviving remains. The palace was built in 1784–1809 to a design by Johann Georg Rudolf, an architect who worked for the Schaffgotsch family and for the Cistercians of Krzeszów. The façade decoration was made by Augustin Wagner and stonemason Johann Pausenberger, while the Empire-style interiors of 1789–1809 were decorated by painter Anton Paetz and stuccoist Johann Joseph Echtler. In 1865–1866 the interiors were remodelled in a historicist spirit, and after the war, in 1949–1951, the building underwent a general renovation.

Architecture

The three-wing palace faces the square with its long façade, its wings reaching towards the garden and park. A high hipped roof with dormers and chimneys covers the three-storey building. The 21-bay front façade has two three-bay projections with portals, crowned by semicircular cartouches bearing the Schaffgotsch arms, flanked by attics with female statues and urns. The ground floor is vaulted, and several first-floor rooms retain Neoclassical floors, wall hangings, ceiling paintings and panelling.

What to look out for

• The Schaffgotsch heraldic cartouches above the projections — best seen from Piastowski Square.
• The ballroom, two storeys high, designed by master Kurz of Kowary: stucco, inlaid floor, two Neoclassical stoves, a crystal chandelier and medallions with personifications of ancient goddesses.
• The Blue and Mirror Rooms with period stoves, furniture and parquet.
• The former Schaffgotsch study, now an office.
• The rear façade facing the park — quieter but equally monumental.

A palace for a university

From 1975 the palace housed a branch of Wrocław University of Science and Technology, and the former ballroom served as its assembly hall. The building is therefore a working building rather than a museum — its interiors are not a permanent exhibition. The palace is listed as a heritage monument and, together with its surroundings, forms the showpiece of the spa, alongside the Spa House, the pump room and the former Cistercian complex on Piastowski Square.

Tripto tips

You can see the façade at any time from Piastowski Square and the rear elevation from the paths of the Spa Park — 20–30 minutes is enough for a walk around the palace. If you want to see the ballroom, check current events or access before your visit, as the building does not operate as a museum. The palace combines best with a walk around Cieplice: the Church of St John the Baptist with the former Cistercian complex and the Spa Park.