Tworków Palace Ruins

In January 1931, the glow above Tworków could reportedly be seen up to 60 kilometres away – the palace of the von Saurma-Jeltsch family was on fire. Arson for the insurance money was suspected from the start, and the insurer refused to pay. Today the arcaded courtyard and the neo-Gothic tower make up one of the most striking ruins in Upper Silesia, and you can climb the tower for the view.

History: from stronghold to neo-Renaissance residence

A Gothic stronghold is said to have stood here in the Middle Ages. In 1557 the estate was bought by the district judge Kasper Wiskota von Wodnik, who began building his family seat in 1567 – the date appears on a detail of the tower. It may have been a rebuilding of an older structure, since a Gothic brick bond survives in the cellars. The house then changed hands many times: the Lichnowsky family enlarged it in 1621–1637, and during the Thirty Years' War it served as army quarters. In 1772 Tworków was bought by the Eichendorff family, who laid out an English-style park.

From 1841 the palace belonged to the von Saurma-Jeltsch family. In 1872–1874 they had it remodelled in neo-Renaissance style under Carl Heydenreich: a square tower was added to the east wing, the west tower got neo-Gothic decoration and the courtyard was surrounded by arcades.

Two fires and a rescue

After the 1931 fire the palace was never rebuilt, only given a makeshift roof. The court case against the insurer ended with an award of 100,000 marks instead of the half a million claimed. In 1945 the building burned again, and in 1957 permission was even given to demolish it – fortunately it never happened. Since 2004 the ruins have belonged to the municipality of Krzyżanowice. A Polish-Czech project with the neighbouring Czech municipality of Šilheřovice (about EUR 715,000 in 2016) paid for securing the walls, restoring the former carriage house and opening the tower as a viewpoint; visitors have been coming since mid-2020.

What to see

• The tower and its terrace – the wall shows the date 1872 and the von Saurma-Jeltsch coat of arms; from the top you overlook the ruins and the surrounding countryside.
• The arcaded courtyard – three wings in a horseshoe plan, with a round turret in one corner.
• The entrance portal with pilasters and the family crest.
• The palace park – old chestnut trees, beeches and elms, many of them wrapped in ivy.

Did you know?

In 1839 a brewery opened next to the palace, making beer "the Bavarian way" – the first of its kind in Upper Silesia. On weekends from spring to autumn, special trains ran here from Racibórz to bring guests to the beer garden. A few steps from the ruins stands a Baroque church built in 1691–1694 by Jan Zeller of Opava; its crypt displays 11 decorated coffins and sarcophagi of the Reiswitz and Wilczek families, a rare sight in Europe.

Tripto tip

Entry to the ruins and the tower is free, and the tower is part of Silesianka, a cross-border network of observation towers and platforms. Opening times can be seasonal, so check with the Krzyżanowice municipality before you go. Allow about an hour for the ruins, tower and park, plus half an hour for the church and crypt. The walls are floodlit in the evening – on a summer trip it is worth staying until dusk.