Kościelec Palace Park (Chrzanów)
ul. Parkowa 13, 32-500 Chrzanów
Tourist region: Oświęcim i okolice
Aleja Henryka 20, 32-500 Chrzanów
The history of the Palace Park begins at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries as part of the park and palace complex in Kościelec belonging to the Szembek family. From 1790 onwards, the heir to the estate was also Wincenty Borzęcki, who took over the estate through family ties with the Szembek family. After the fall of the November Uprising in 1831, the estate reverted to the family. In the following years, it was owned by the Wodzicki family and, after World War II, by the Starzeński family.
The palace was converted from a former manor house in the knightly village of Kościelec. The seat was built in the classicist style and rose on the highest point of the hill. The palace burned down in unexplained circumstances in January 1943 and was not rebuilt. Its ruins were demolished in the 1980s.
According to the cadastral map from 1848, the park complex consisted of a residence and an outbuilding section, together with a geometrical utility garden, and a park section, forming a free form. The separation of the park into a farm section with a vegetable garden and an ornamental landscape park was clear.
Today, only the Palace Park remains, with an elevated terrace where the palace once stood. Within the Park are outbuildings to the east, the remains of a utility garden to the northwest and a chestnut alley to the east. The parish Church of St John the Baptist is located in the immediate vicinity of the Park. The revitalisation work of Manor Park took place between 2016 and 2022. At Manor Street, the remaining foundations were strengthened, and the 160-metre stone wall of the park was rebuilt. An essential element is the restored statue of the Merciful Christ located at an opening in the wall near the church.