Dobrzyca Palace

The south-eastern part of Dobrzyca is occupied by a classicist palace set in a landscape park laid out in the English style. The residence was built in 1798–1799 for General Augustyn Gorzeński — adjutant and head of the military chancellery of King Stanisław August Poniatowski. Since 1 January 2019 the palace-and-park complex has held the status of a Monument of History.

Zawadzki and Gorzeński

The design came from Stanisław Zawadzki, a leading architect of the classicist era, author of, among others, the palaces in Śmiełów and Lubostroń. The palace looks best from the south, where a four-column Tuscan portico rises. The history of the place is older than the standing building: the first wooden manor with a brick tower existed here around 1440, and in the mid-17th century the enlarged building took the shape of the letter L. The earlier walls were reused in the construction.

Museum of the Landed Gentry

After 1945 the palace housed warehouses and offices of a shoe factory, then a school; finally it stood empty. The rescue came in 1988, when the National Museum in Poznań took over the complex and renovated it. Since 2005 the independent Museum of the Landed Gentry has operated here, with permanent exhibitions on gentry traditions, temporary shows and living lessons for pupils.

Monopteros, Pantheon and the plane tree

Around the palace spreads a pond, and on its island stands the Monopteros — a relic of a former restaurant, today one of the most photographed elements of the estate. Deeper in the park hide the Pantheon and an outbuilding, and there grows one of the largest plane trees in Poland.

In practice

The museum welcomes visitors at 5a Pleszewska Street: Tuesday to Saturday 10:00–17:00, Sundays 11:00–17:00, closed on Mondays. Krotoszyn and Pleszew are the nearest towns; it is worth combining the visit with the Napoleon Museum in Witaszyce.