Bobrów Palace (Boberstein)

From a distance it looks like a château on the Loire: a brick mass with one of the tallest towers in the Jelenia Góra Valley rises above a bend of the Bóbr. Up close you see walls that decayed for decades without a roof — its tiles were stolen in 1972, which hastened the decline. Bobrów Palace, in German Schloss Boberstein, is one of the most romantic and most battered residences in the Valley of Palaces and Gardens.

From watchtower to Neo-Renaissance palace

The first masonry structure went up here around 1450 at a crossing of the Bóbr; historians are unsure whether it was a castle or a watchtower. In the 15th century the estate belonged to the Schaffgotsch family, and from 1598 Nickel von Zedlitz is recorded as owner; he built a stone manor here. Badly damaged in the Thirty Years' War, it stayed with the Zedlitz family until 1669 and then changed hands often — owners included the Jesuits of Jelenia Góra. In the late 19th century Boberstein was bought by the Berlin von Decker family, owners of the royal court printing house; in 1894 Hans Rudolf von Decker had it rebuilt in Neo-Renaissance style to a design attributed to the architect Paul Roetger. He died just two years later.

A turbulent 20th century

In 1933 the state took over the palace, and a year later the Nazis set up an SA sports school here. From September 1939 the building held around 300 Polish civilian prisoners, then resettlers from Bukovina, and until the end of the war deported Luxembourgers. After 1945 the Red Army was quartered here, later political refugees from Greece lived in it, and in the following years it housed a reformatory, a children's holiday centre and the seat of a farming cooperative. From 1970 the palace stood empty and fell into ruin.

What to look out for

• The tower with its distinctive tall roof — Bobrów's landmark, visible from the valley.
• The projecting bay with a dome, gables, oriels and turrets with decoration of French and Netherlandish inspiration.
• The entrance gate with two stone pillars on which lions hold the von Decker coats of arms.
• The farm buildings around the courtyard with crenellated towers resembling fortifications.
• The setting on an escarpment above the Bóbr, where the Rudawy Janowickie, the Jelenia Góra Valley and the Kaczawskie Mountains meet.

Tripto tips

The palace is privately owned and not open to visitors; in 1994 a Polish-German association bought the estate and set up a children's holiday centre in the outbuildings, and restoration work on the main building has been carried out in stages since. The palace is best viewed through the lion gate and from the roads along the Bóbr — 15–30 minutes is enough for such a stop. Bobrów lies in the Mysłakowice municipality, so it is easy to combine with other palaces of the Valley of Palaces and Gardens in the Jelenia Góra Valley.