Palace in Siemczyno

Siemczyno Palace, built in 1722-1726, is the largest original Baroque palace in West Pomerania according to its present-day hosts. It stands in a village on the Henryków Bay of Lake Drawsko, in Czaplinek municipality, and two museums operate in its cellars and attic.

The Baroque seat of the Goltz family

The palace was built by Henning Berndt von der Goltz in 1722-1726. The building has a horseshoe plan with a terrace in the middle, the central part is covered with a mansard roof, the left wing has two storeys and the right one is low. The interiors had a spacious hall with double oak staircases and a knights' hall; of the former furnishings, fragments of two fireplaces, the remains of a stove of Dutch tiles and plaster stuccoes on the first floor have survived. In 1793 the estate was taken over by the von Arnim family, and in the early 20th century, in 1907-1914, the palace was extended with a north wing.

After 1945

After the war the estate became a state farm, and from 1950 the palace housed a primary school, closed in 1986 after a building collapse. The palace was entered in the heritage register in 1960 and the park in 1980. In 1999 the site was taken over by private owners. Since 2005 it has been looked after by the Henryków Association in Siemczyno, which renovates the roof and secures the building, and organises the annual Henryków Days, an event devoted to the heritage of West Pomerania.

The museums in the palace and the park

In the cellars operates the museum “Siemczyno Palace in the Baroque Era”, and in the attic the “Universalium of Various Crafts”, which shows old tools and crafts. They are visited with a guide. The landscape park, of more than 3 ha, was laid out in the 18th century. Oaks, limes, maples, spruces, beeches and hornbeams grow in it, and clipped hornbeam avenues once led to the palace. Next to the palace stands the Neo-Gothic Church of Our Lady of the Rosary from 1854-1856, whose sacristy is the Baroque Goltz chapel from 1699.

Practical information

• Address: Siemczyno 82, about 6 km west of Czaplinek, on national road no. 20.
• According to the official website, the museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00-17:00, and outside the summer season after prior telephone contact; check the hours before visiting.
• A hotel with a restaurant operates in the farm buildings.
• Nearby: Lake Drawsko and Drahim Castle in Stare Drawsko.