An eclectic 19th-century palace in Kłobukowice, the former estate of the Reszke singers, now being secured and renovated.
The palace in Kłobukowice stands in Częstochowa County, in the Mstów municipality, on the Warta. It is an eclectic residence from the second half of the 19th century with an impressive octagonal tower. Today it is private property after years of neglect, undergoing securing work, so it is not a place for visiting the interiors. It is best viewed from the outside together with the surrounding park.
The estate and palace were bought from the Skarbek counts by Edward Reszke. He and his brother Jan, world-famous opera singers, also owned estates in Skrzydłów, Garnek and Borowno. They hosted there, among others, Marshal Edward Rydz-Śmigły, the Mayor of Warsaw Stefan Starzyński and General Józef Haller. From 1922 the palace belonged to Edward's daughter Janina, wife of Colonel Adam Nieniewski. In the 1930s the Nieniewskis first leased it and then transferred it to the city of Częstochowa, which set up summer holidays for children there.
It was particularly important during the Second World War: after the Warsaw Uprising about two thousand children fleeing the destroyed capital came here, and professors of Warsaw universities also lived in it.
After the estate was nationalised, first a school and then an orphanage were housed here, and the grounds were taken over by an agricultural production cooperative and a state farm. In 1989 the palace was transferred to municipal ownership and sold to the Rural Youth Union, which began to build a leisure complex, but the work stopped in 1991. Subsequent owners also did not carry out their plans. From the beginning of the 21st century the palace fell into ruin: part of the wooden ceilings collapsed, and the interior furnishings were stolen or destroyed. After a change of owner, work began to secure the buildings and tidy the grounds.
The palace combines elements of Gothic, Classicism and Renaissance. It consists of three parts: a main, two-storey building, to which a wider, single-storey one adjoins. The most impressive feature is the octagonal, four-storey tower on the east side, topped with Neo-Gothic crenellation. The elevations are rusticated, and the usable floor area of the building is about 495 square metres. Next to it stand an 18th-century granary and a two-storey building for servants.
The English-style park, descending towards the bank of the Warta, covers almost ten hectares, and huge lime trees, horse chestnuts and sycamores grow in it. The park is part of the palace complex.
About three kilometres further on lies Mstów with its monastery and market square.
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