Tiele-Winckler Palace in Bytom-Miechowice

All that remains of the palace locals called a castle is one neo-Gothic annex with battlements and a low mound covering the remains of the main building. While the annex was being rebuilt in 2019–2020, workers came across a crypt and the remains of the palace chapel, which delayed the project by almost a year. Today the restored annex on Dzierżonia Street hosts exhibitions, concerts and meetings, with the Tiele-Winckler Park beside it.

History: a gift for a daughter and Mother Eva's home

Merchant Ignatz Domes, who had bought the village of Miechowice, began building the palace in 1812; the classicist residence was finished in 1817 as a gift for his daughter Maria. In 1819, 16-year-old Franz Winckler arrived in Upper Silesia – he started as a miner and within a few years became the agent of Maria's husband, Franz Aresin. After Aresin's death, Winckler married the palace's owner, 14 years his senior, and began building an industrial fortune.

When a tornado tore off the roof in 1844, Winckler rebuilt the palace in the neo-Gothic style inspired by 16th-century English Gothic (Tudor style). Around 1860 wings were added; by then the owners were Winckler's daughter Valeska and her husband Hubert von Tiele. Their daughter Eva von Tiele-Winckler (1866–1930), known as Mother Eva and famed for her charitable and social work, spent her childhood here.

Fire, demolition and a second life

In 1925 Count Claus-Hubert von Tiele-Winckler sold the palace to Preussengrube AG, which ran the Preussen coal mine. On 27 January 1945 Soviet troops looted and burned the residence, and in 1954 the burnt-out walls were blown up. Only part of the annex and the park survived; they were entered in the heritage register in 1995.

Rebuilding of the annex began in February 2019 and ended in December 2020. The work cost about PLN 11.5 million; the rubble and soil carted away yielded almost 300 artefacts, mostly neo-Gothic. At the heritage conservator's request the crypt was cleared, secured, lit and glazed, and the brick walls of the chapel were preserved as a permanent ruin. The outline of the former palace was marked on the rubble, and a concrete slab was laid for open-air concerts.

What to see

• The annex with its restored shape and battlements – the only surviving part of the palace.
• The crypt and chapel remains discovered during the rebuild.
• The palace outline marked on the rubble, with paths around the ruins.
• Tiele-Winckler Park – a landscape park from the early 19th century, named after the former owners since 26 February 2024.

Tripto tips

The palace's cultural programme is run by the Bytom Culture Centre; you can see the annex interiors during exhibitions, concerts and open days, so check the events calendar first. Allow 45–60 minutes for a walk around the ruins and the park. Combine the visit with other Mother Eva sites in Miechowice, such as the Holy Cross Church with the Domes and Tiele-Winckler crypts, and the Lutheran parish complex with Mother Eva's House.