Kamieniec Ząbkowicki Palace

A monumental neo-Gothic residence above the Nysa Kłodzka river, built over more than 30 years at the initiative of the Dutch princess Marianne of Orange. The design came from Karl Friedrich Schinkel, Prussia's leading architect, and in 2024 the palace-and-park complex was proclaimed a Historic Monument.

The princess-builder's residence

The foundation stone was laid on 15 October 1838 on the Grodowe Wzgórze hill. Work was halted in 1848 — the princess had divorced Prince Albrecht of Hohenzollern — and only resumed in 1853. The terraces were designed in 1858 by Peter Joseph Lenné. The finale came on 8 May 1872 with the unveiling of a Nike monument on an eleven-metre column. The building bill: 971,692 thalers, eleven times what Marianne's mother had paid for the entire Kamieniec estate in 1812.

Art depot and fire

From 1942 to 1944 the palace served as a transit depot for artworks from across Silesia, including collections from Wrocław. In February 1946 the complex burned down, set on fire by Soviet soldiers. Some of the palace marbles were later used in the Congress Hall at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw.

What you can see today

Restoration has moved forward stage by stage since the 1980s: the ballroom vaults were recreated in 2013, the viewing terrace followed in 2014, and since 2018 the Hohenzollern mausoleum in the park has been open to visitors. In 2023 a reconstructed statue of Perseus in Carrara marble returned to the water terrace, and a Nike figure went back atop the Victory Column. On the last weekend of May the terraces fill up for the Tulip Spring festival.

Practical tips

Allow 1.5–2 hours for the palace and its terraces, plus extra time for a stroll in the park. A curious footnote: in 1865 the palace gardener bred the Prinz Albrecht von Preussen apples here, once popular in Silesia.