Discover the Timeless Elegance of Biechów Palace: A Jewel of Poland’s Cultural Heritage

The photograph of the wedding of Countess Maria Jadwiga (Hedwig) von Matuschka und Toppolczan (daughter of Eloi von Matuschke) with Baron Alexander von Elverfeldt was taken on May 18, 1896 in Biechów. The baron is dressed in the uniform of a major of the guard, just like his father, Alexander, standing right behind the young couple, and next to whom we recognize the groom’s mother, Karolina von Beesten. To the right of the bride and groom stands the bride’s mother, Hedwig von Maubeuge, next to whom stands the bride’s sister, Maria Aloysia von Matuschka, with her husband, Count Hyacinth Strachwitz von Gross-Zauche und Camminetz, in the uniform of a hussar captain. On the left – a tall young man is the owner of the estate in Biechów, Count Manfred von Matuschka, the bride’s brother, accompanied by a young bridesmaid, next to whom stands another brother, Eberhard. Count Hans Ulrich von Schaffgotsch and his wife Johanna Gryzik, Countess von Schaffgotsch, owners of a huge fortune and a palace in Kopice, stopped on the stairs. The wedding was undoubtedly a great social event with the participation of the most distinguished Silesian families, proving the high position of the Matuschkas.

The photo was taken on one of the two stairs in front of the palace chapel in Biechów. The neo-Gothic chapel of Our Lady of Grace, located on the axis of the front of the palace, also served as a family mausoleum. The original furnishings of the chapel and part of the polychrome have been preserved to this day, as well as the wild vine that grows on the slope. The mausoleum was desecrated in the 1970s.
Biechów (German: Bechau), is located in the commune. Pakosławice, is located approximately 10 km north-west of Nysa. The town was mentioned in the 13th century. It had many owners over the centuries. From 1856 to 1945, Biechów together with the adjacent estates: Radowice (Rottwitz), Kłodobok (Clodebach), Gotkowice (Guttwitz), Słupice (Schlaubental), Karłowice (Carlowitz), belonged to the von Matuschka family. An old noble family originating from the inhabitants of Toppolcza and ruling the principalities of Głogów, Legnica, Świdnica and Jawor. From 1715 he had the title of baron, and from 1747 the title of Prussian counts.
The palace complex, surrounded by a landscape park and on the former ancestral estate, is worth attention. The shape of the palace that we can see today was built after a fire that destroyed the earlier, baroque manor house in September 1854. In 1856, the then owner of Biechów, Antonietta von Montbach, inherited the palace and other properties to her nephew, Eloi von Matuschka. In the years 1863-1865, Eloi rebuilt the residence in the style of a neo-Renaissance villa according to the design of the architect Bogislaw Lüdecke. This architect has completed many projects, including palaces in Tułowice (1860) and Kopice (1864). Earlier, after studying in Berlin, he worked in Pomerania and then moved to Wrocław.
Further reconstruction, organized in 1904 by Eloi’s son – Manfred von Matuschke, mainly concerned the organization of the park. It was an idea that included both a space designed in the style of a French park with a rose garden, lawns and exotic shrubs, as well as a landscaped English park with interesting dendrological specimens. Nearby there was a tennis court, a little further, ponds with islands and bridges, a small zoo, and a cemetery for dogs.

On the road leading to the palace there was a palm house (currently a school playground) and a greenhouse with peaches and apricots grown along its walls. Flower and vegetable seedlings were produced in the gardens for decoration and the palace kitchen. Behind the road, vegetables and fruit were grown on a garden farm. Chickens, ducks, turkeys and bees were kept. However, the basis for the functioning of the residence was a farm with the necessary infrastructure, arable fields and meadows.
Manfred von Matuschke (1869-1947) was a worldly man with many interests, he collected works of art, including oriental art. He was married twice. His first wife Ella Holbrook-Walker (1875 – 1959) was the daughter of a Canadian whiskey producer. It was not a successful relationship and after the divorce, Count Manfred married Galla Avniely (1909 – 1977), a much younger Georgian emigrant from Soviet Russia whom he met in Paris.

In February 1945, the last owners left Biechów, fleeing from the approaching front. The following month, as part of the “Opole Opole”, Red Army troops captured Biechów and the surrounding areas – including Nysa – after fierce fighting. Until May 9, the palace remained under the exclusive management of the Red Army command. The residence was plundered and stripped, the equipment: paintings, furniture, carpets, porcelain, etc. was seized and taken away as war loot to the USSR. Some works of art and handicrafts were hidden in the basement of the telecommunications station building before the arrival of the Russians. They were then secured by arriving Polish administration employees and taken away, among others. to Krakow to Wawel Castle. Some of these works of art (Meissen vase, clock, mirror, carpet and paintings) are now the property of the Nysa museum. The abandoned building was taken over by the State Agricultural Farm. In the 1950s, after renovation, the Ministry of Energy organized a summer camp. In January 1963, the Ministry of Energy handed over the facility to the Department of Agriculture and Forestry of the National Council in Opole for educational purposes. An agricultural and breeding school was established, and over time, a Vocational Technical Secondary School was established. In 2013, the palace together with an over 10-hectare park and utility rooms were sold by the District Office in Nysa to a private owner. In 2020, through purchase, the palace became the property of another investor.

Prepared by Edward Hałajko

Source: muzeum.nysa.pl