Witaszyce Palace

By the S11 road, a few kilometres east of Jarocin, stands the neo-Baroque palace of 1899. It was designed by the architect Ludwik Otte, born in Gross Lichterfelde near Berlin, and built as a family seat for Willy Dülong, then the owner of the estate.

From bishops to hotel

The history of the village reaches the 14th century, when Witaszyce belonged to the estates of the bishops of Poznań; later the property passed to Greater Polish magnates, and in the period of the partitions to German owners — the last was the von Ohnesorge family, and by marriage Count Konrad Bniński. In the 20th century the palace held a branch of the Institute of Natural Fibres and a branch of the Jarocin library; today it is privately owned and houses a hotel with a restaurant, while the former stately ballrooms serve as conference rooms.

Architecture

The palace was built on a rectangular plan and covered with a hipped roof. From the front extends a portico with four Doric columns carrying a balcony with a balustrade, and above it a risalit crowned by a pediment with the owner's coat of arms — Ohnesorge.

The manor and two museums

In the eastern part of the park stands the late-Baroque manor house of Franciszek Gorzeński. Today it hosts two unusual collections: the Museum of the Napoleonic Wars with more than 10,000 soldiers' figurines, dioramas of the battles of Raszyn (2,000 figurines) and Waterloo (4,000) and Napoleon's death mask, and the Star Wars Museum with around 1,000 exhibits, including life-size figures.