Habsburg Palace in Żywiec

Paintings by Wojciech Kossak and Julian Fałat hung on the walls, the fireplaces came from Italy and the bathroom fittings from England. The Habsburg Palace in Żywiec, also known as the New Castle, was for half a century the main residence of the Żywiec branch of the Habsburgs – a family that made these Beskid foothills its home. Today it is above all a reason for a walk through the Castle Park and a story about archdukes who came to see themselves as Poles.

History: from outbuildings to an archducal residence

In 1885 Archduke Albrecht Friedrich commissioned the family architect Karol Pietschka to rebuild and raise the old castle outbuildings put up by the Wielopolski family. Between 1893 and 1895 a new wing with a glass roof was added, housing bedrooms and guest rooms. When Archduke Karl Stephan inherited the Żywiec estate from his uncle, the palace grew again: most likely in 1903 a pavilion was added with a 10.5 × 18 m ballroom, called the "Mirror Hall" because its walls were lined with mirrors.

In 1905–1906 the Kraków architects Tadeusz Stryjeński and Franciszek Mączyński drew up an ambitious plan to join the Old and New Castles into one residence around a grand courtyard. Little of it was built. The final touch came in 1911: a three-bay projecting front with two balconies and a pediment bearing the Habsburg coat of arms, still the most recognisable part of the façade.

The lost chapel and scattered collections

On the north side Stryjeński and Mączyński added an octagonal chapel modelled on Polish Renaissance funerary chapels. Its copper dome was crowned with an openwork lantern shaped like an archducal crown, and inside were stained-glass windows by Karol Maszkowski and murals by Eugeniusz Dąbrowa. The chapel was destroyed by the German occupiers in 1940.

Karl Stephan was a collector and patron of the arts. Painters who worked for him included Wojciech Kossak, Kazimierz Pochwalski, Julian Fałat and Teodor Axentowicz. The famous silver collection – estimated at around 500 kg – was taken away by the Germans during the war and never returned.

Did you know?

• The palace hosted the weddings of Karl Stephan's daughters. In 1913 Archduchess Mechthildis married Prince Olgierd Czartoryski and Eleonora married naval officer Alfons von Kloss; newspapers across Europe reported on the celebrations.
• After the war the estate was nationalised and the palace housed a school of wood technology and forestry, which only moved out in 2013.
• In September 2001 Princess Maria Krystyna Habsburg, daughter of Archduke Karl Albrecht, who had spent her youth here, returned to Żywiec. She lived in one of the wings and died in the palace on 2 October 2012; a plaque in front of her windows marks the spot.
• The palace has been a listed monument since 1987 (register no. A-486).

Tripto tip

The best view of the palace is from the Castle Park, which covers about 26 ha and dates back to the 17th century. Look for the projecting front with the coat of arms and balconies and for the glass-roofed wing from the 1890s. We could not confirm regular opening hours for the interiors, so plan on a walk around the building. Allow about 1–1.5 hours for the palace, the canal and the Chinese House, and if you have more time, add the neighbouring Old Castle with the town museum.