History of the structure

The history of Lubniewice dates back to the Middle Ages. For centuries the village belonged to the von Waldow family - between 1352 and 1945. The palace is referred to as the “New Castle”, as opposed to the older seat of the local estate owners dubbed the “Old Castle”. It was erected in the years 1909-1911 for the then owner of the local land, Carl Friedrich Ernst Edward von Waldow-Reitzenstein. The design was prepared by architects based in Berlin: A. Dinklage, E. Paulus and O. Lilloe. Parallel to the construction of the new residence, a landscape park that surrounds it was created according to the design by Georg Potente. After World War II the palace housed a school with a shelter for orphans and after 1949 it was adapted to serve as a holiday resort. In the 1960s a major refurbishment was carried out after the fire. In the 1990s it was leased by a German entrepreneur and in 1998 it was purchased by the Warta Insurance Company. Currently, it is a private property.  

Site description

The palace is located on the north-east side of the Lubiąż lake bay, circumscribed by a vast park. The front of the palace faces the north and is preceded by the so-called formal courtyard. The Renaissance Revival building is made of brick, designed on an L-shaped floor plan, with a square tower at the meeting point of two wings, has two storeys and includes a residential attic, features a basement underneath the entire structure and is topped with a tall gable roof with numerous wall dormers. The main block is strongly partitioned by projections covered with separate, diverse roofs, loggias and arcades. The tower is topped with a hip roof. The plastered façades are accentuated by architectural detailing in the form of cornices, friezes, pilasters, small columns and corbels.  Particular sections, e.g. the portal and the arcade, are adorned with strapwork ornamentation.  The main entrance is located in the north-east façade, in the avant-corps, and is framed with a cartouche containing the coat of arms of the von Waldow family and a date “1909” on the keystone. The interior was planned in a two-bay layout in the west wing and a two-and-a-half-bay arrangement in the east wing. Large parts of the original décor of the rooms has survived, e.g. stuccos and wood panelling in dining rooms, fireplaces, stoves, antique furniture in the library and the trophies’ room, glazed tiles and terracotta in the Turkish bath as well as marble cladding, frescos and gildings in other rooms and a two-storey staircase and a kitchen lift.

The palace is located on the north-east side of the Lubiąż lake bay, circumscribed by a vast park. The front of the palace faces the north and is preceded by the so-called formal courtyard. The Renaissance Revival building is made of brick, designed on an L-shaped floor plan, with a square tower at the meeting point of two wings, has two storeys and includes a residential attic, features a basement underneath the entire structure and is topped with a tall gable roof with numerous wall dormers. The main block is strongly partitioned by projections covered with separate, diverse roofs, loggias and arcades. The tower is topped with a hip roof. The plastered façades are accentuated by architectural detailing in the form of cornices, friezes, pilasters, small columns and corbels.  Particular sections, e.g. the portal and the arcade, are adorned with strapwork ornamentation.  The main entrance is located in the north-east façade, in the avant-corps, and is framed with a cartouche containing the coat of arms of the von Waldow family and a date “1909” on the keystone. The interior was planned in a two-bay layout in the west wing and a two-and-a-half-bay arrangement in the east wing. Large parts of the original décor of the rooms has survived, e.g. stuccos and wood panelling in dining rooms, fireplaces, stoves, antique furniture in the library and the trophies’ room, glazed tiles and terracotta in the Turkish bath as well as marble cladding, frescos and gildings in other rooms and a two-storey staircase and a kitchen lift.

Visitor access. Limited access to the historic building. Private property – the building can only be viewed from the outside.

Author of the note: compiled by Marta Kłaczkowska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Zielona Góra, 08-12-2017

Bibliography

• Garbacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, vol. 3, Zielona Góra 2013, p. 188;
• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010, p. 202;
• Zabytkowe parki województwa lubuskiego, Bielinis-Kopeć B. (ed.), Zielona Góra 2013, pp. 224-226;
• Zamki, dwory i pałace województwa lubuskiego, Bielinis-Kopeć B. (ed.), Zielona Góra 2007, pp. 167-171.