Kadyny Palace (Kaiser Wilhelm II's estate)

Kadyny Palace (Kadyny is pronounced roughly "ka-DIH-nih"; German: Cadinen) is a Baroque manor house from 1688 on the shore of the Vistula Lagoon in northern Poland, which in 1898 passed to the German Emperor Kaiser Wilhelm II and became his summer estate. Around it grew an "imperial farm" with stables, a barn, a distillery and a majolica workshop. Today the palace and farm buildings are part of a hotel complex, but the village remains one of the most interesting stops on the scenic road from Elbląg to Frombork.

Where it is

Kadyny is a village in the Tolkmicko district, about 23 km north of Elbląg on regional road 503, which follows the lagoon shore to Tolkmicko and Frombork. From Gdańsk, the nearest international airport, it is about 85 km (around 1.5 hours by car). A car or bike is by far the easiest way to explore the area; the Green Velo cycling route crosses the surrounding Elbląg Upland.

From Prussian knights to the Kaiser

Kadyny was first recorded in 1255, near an old Prussian stronghold. From the 15th century it belonged to the Baysen family (Bażyński in Polish), who gave their name to the famous oak by the road, and later to the Counts von Schlieben, General von Schwerin and, from 1817, the Birkner family. The palace was built in 1688: a rectangular building with a mansard roof and dormers, and a central section topped by a pediment bearing the coats of arms of Wilhelm Friedrich Karl von Schwerin and his wife.

Arthur Birkner left the estate to the Kaiser, who first came here on June 2, 1899 and, according to tradition, called Cadinen the most beautiful corner of his realm. The run-down estate was rebuilt to designs by Berlin architects, the forests were protected as hunting grounds, and in the early 20th century Wilhelm II founded a majolica workshop. Its tiles were used in Berlin U-Bahn stations and in Hamburg's Old Elbe Tunnel. He also set up a stud farm for Trakehner and Holstein horses.

The Kaiser's grandson, Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia, lived here until 1944. In February 1945 the Red Army took the village, its German inhabitants were expelled, and Cadinen became the Polish Kadyny.

Things to see

• The palace, with its garden front facing the park and the heraldic pediment.
• Farm buildings: stables, a huge barn (housing a collection of historic carriages, according to the hotel), the former distillery, an orangery from 1817 and a granary from 1801.
• The park, laid out in the 18th and 19th centuries.
• The Bażyński Oak, a natural monument over 700 years old, about 200 m away.
• The Franciscan monastery on a wooded hill, with an 18th-century Baroque church, and the Birkner family chapel.
• "Kadyński Las" nature trail (about 1.5 km) from the oak through a forest reserve to the monastery and a wooden lookout tower over the Vistula Lagoon.

Visiting (as of October 2026)

The palace and farm belong to the Kadyny Folwark Hotel & SPA, so there is no museum with set hours or tickets. We could not confirm whether non-guests can enter the palace, park or stables; plan to see the buildings from outside and ask at the hotel reception (Kadyny 18, phone +48 55 231 61 20) about the carriage collection or horse riding. The oak, the nature trail and the monastery area are free to visit year-round.

Is it worth a stop? Yes, if you are driving between Elbląg and Frombork: allow 1.5–2 hours for the oak, the trail, the monastery and the lagoon view. In winter, the trail can be slippery, with steps in places.

Nearby

• Tolkmicko – a small port town on the lagoon, a few kilometers east.
• Frombork – Cathedral Hill and the tomb of Nicolaus Copernicus, about 15 km east.
• Elbląg Upland Landscape Park – beech forests and deep ravines right behind the village.