History

The first mentions of the village in written sources date back to 1341. In 1385, Konrad Zöllner von Rothenstein, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, allocated the village to Tomasz and Jander from Ciecholew.

In 1570, the village remained in the hands of the Malechinski and Kormorski families. In the mid-18th century, it was acquired by Tomasz and Marian Czapski. Later on, its owners became the Janta-Połczyński family, in whose hands it would remain right until 1939. The manor house was erected in the mid-19th century by Nepomucen Janta-Połczyński, who later sold the entire manor to his brother, Adam. Following the subdivision of the manor in 1896, Adam Janta-Połczyński and his wife Helena moved from his former residence in Wysoka to the palace in Mała Komorza. Following his death in 1901, the manor remained the property of his widowed wife, Helena Janta-Połczyńska, until 1929. Later on, her son, Stanisław Janta-Połczyński, took over the administration of the manor. The total surface of the manor at that time was 869 hectares. During the interwar period, i.e. somewhere around 1935, the front façade was redesigned. The earlier front façade portico, consisting of two brick outer columns and two inner metal posts, was replaced by a new structure based exclusively on the use of brick columns; the stairs were widened as well, while additional maintenance works were performed on the balcony above. The last pre-war owners of the village of Mała Komorza were the sons of Stanisław Janta-Połczyński, Aleksander and Tomasz. After Aleksander’s death, Tomasz became the heir to the estate and has made numerous attempts to reclaim his property from the early 1990s onwards.

The palace itself was lost to the blaze during the war, in the early months of 1945. In 1949, the entire manor, including the palace, was taken over by the State Treasury. In 1970, the residential building was destroyed by fire once again due to negligent use by its occupants. In 1972, the palace was taken over by the Tuchola State Agricultural Holding (PGR), leading to the commencement of reconstruction works. Unfortunately, the renovation and alteration works, completed in 1975, led to the loss of many of its period features. The second stage of restoration works took place in the years 1985-1988. In the years that followed, the palace served as an employee training centre and hotel maintained by PGR Tuchola. In 1993, the manor was taken over by the Agricultural Property Agency of the State Treasury. From the late 1990s, the palace stood abandoned, its condition deteriorating gradually until 2005. In 1995, Tomasz Janta-Połczyński filed an application for the restitution of his property, i.e. the palace and the surrounding park. In March 1997, his son, Artur Janta-Połczyński, became the owner of the manor. In 1999, the roof cladding was replaced and the restoration of the palace has begun, its interiors being adapted to serve as a hotel. In the course of the renovation works, the original façade décor was reconstructed on the basis of the available iconographic materials.

Description

The palace and the surrounding park are located south of the road leading from Żalno to Czersk. The road from Tuchola to Nadolna Karczma serves as the western boundary of the manor, while the northern boundary between the complex and the village runs alongside a brick wall with a plaster finish, with a similar structure also being present along the southern boundary. The extensive park stretches east of the palace.

The palace itself was designed in the Late Classicist style; its stands on a small hill, in the middle of the landscape park. The edifice was designed on a rectangular floor plan, positioned on the north-south axis; it is a two-storey brick structure with a tall semi-basement, its walls covered with plaster; the roofs of the palace are clad with roof tiles. The front (western) façade features a projecting avant-corps in the middle, with a colonnaded portico preceded by a broad flight of steps, its monumental columns supporting a large, rectangular balcony. The alley leading to the palace from the west terminates with a circular driveway situated in front of the palace itself.

The façades of the palace are punctuated with windows framed with profiled surrounds, with the ground-floor windows being larger than their first-floor counterparts and featuring decorative window headers. The semi-basement windows are small, taking the form of horizontal rectangles. The façades are partitioned by string courses. The front (western) façade follows a nine-axial layout with a tall wall base and features a three-axial avant-corps in the centre, preceded by a portico with two pairs of columns supporting a balcony with a metal railing. The columns themselves are positioned on quadrangular plinths and are topped with two-tier capitals. The main entrance, positioned on the middle axis of the rusticated ground-floor level, is flanked by a pair of windows and topped with a round arch. The portico is preceded by a broad flight of steps with openwork brick balustrades on the sides. The first-floor level of the central avant-corps features a rectangular balcony door in the middle, flanked by a pair of rectangular windows. The spaces between the openings are occupied by pilasters, their capitals adorned with foliate motifs, while their shafts are enlivened by the presence of recessed, decorative panels. Identical pilasters - albeit in a paired arrangement - are also positioned at the edges of the avant-corps. The pilasters support a simplified entablature consisting of a plain frieze and a corbelled cornice. Above the entablature rises a triangular pediment incorporating the Janta-Połczyński coat of arms in the middle. The windows of the first-floor sections of the façade flanking the avant-corps are smaller than those of the avant-corps itself. The northern façade follows a five-axial layout and features a small, rectangular window in the gable section. The eastern façade follows an eight-axial layout, with an entrance positioned on the fifth-easternmost axis, preceded by a rectangular landing and a flight of steps. The southern façade follows a six-axial layout and is preceded by a small porch, topped with a gable roof and featuring two flight of steps on both sides.

Inside, the ground-floor interior follows a two-bay layout, with the former vestibule and drawing room positioned on the middle axis of the building. The staircase leading up to the first floor is located inside the vestibule. The original interior layout has been partially obscured by numerous alterations which have taken place throughout the years. The basement features vaulted ceilings of the barrel type; the ceilings of the ground-floor level are a modern, reinforced concrete structure.

The palace is surrounded by a landscape park dating back to the second half of the 19th century, its total surface being 5.0 hectares. The park was designed around the natural shape of the underlying terrain and features a great variety of tree species, including white willow, common spruce, sycamore and Siberian pea-shrub (caragana). The road leading up to the palace from the west terminates with a driveway surrounding a large, ornamental lawn. The eastern façade of the palace overlooks the palace grounds, sloping gently towards the three large ponds in the distance. The entire composition of the park is centred around the east-west axis. The park is covered with a network of informally arranged walking paths. The clarity of the original layout of the park, obscured due to years of neglect, was restored in the years 1973-1975. Further revitalisation works were carried out in 1999.

The monument is open to visitors. Viewing of the church is only possible by prior telephone appointment.

compiled by Mirella Korzus, Historical Monument and National Heritage Documentation and Popularisation Department of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Cultural Centre in Bydgoszcz, 08-12-2014 - 19-12-2014.

Bibliography

• Record sheet, Manor house, compiled by Chojnacka B., 1999, Archive of the Regional Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments in Bydgoszcz; Archive of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Warsaw.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. 11, Dawne województwo bydgoskie, issue 17, Tuchola i okolice, Warsaw 1979, p. 16.
• Parucka K., Raczyńska-Mąkowska E., Katalog zabytków województwa bydgoskiego, Bydgoszcz 1997, p. 216.
• Zabytki architektury i budownictwa w Polsce, Województwo bydgoskie 5, part 2, Warsaw 1997, p. 452.