Palaces

Drogosze Palace

Drogosze Palace is almost 100 metres long, with 365 windows and 52 rooms — a scale of grandeur that earned it the nickname of the East Prussian Versailles. This baroque residence of the von Dönhoff family was built in 1710–1714 and today, partly restored, it stands among the fields of Warmia, 8 km west of Barciany.

Before the Dönhoffs arrived

The Drogosze estate was founded in 1361 by Konrad von Wolffersdorff, and from 1477 it belonged to the von Rautter family. They built the first residence in 1596–1606, surrounded by a park where fallow deer were kept — a gift from King John II Casimir Vasa. In 1690 the palace burned down after a lightning strike, and the estate passed to the Dönhoffs. The new baroque palace of 1710–1714 was modelled on the family's seat at Friedrichstein near Königsberg; the design is attributed to Johann von Collas.

A hundred metres of baroque

After the expansions of 1766 and 1785, the palace reached nearly a hundred metres in length and became the largest residence in the province, also serving as a royal palace for travelling monarchs. Inside there were a chapel from 1725, an orangery and a theatre; the Dönhoffs collected Flemish tapestries, Chinese vases and a library of several thousand volumes. The estate included a park stretching down to the Guber river, with a pond of over 47 ha.

In practice

The palace is privately owned and being restored in stages, so the condition of individual parts varies — the courtyard with its carriage ramp makes an impression at first sight, though. It is best to combine a visit with the nearby Teutonic castles in Barciany and Kętrzyn. Access runs via voivodeship road no. 590 from Korsze or Barciany.