Palace in Nakło

About

The Palace at Nakło, located in the village of Nakło, administrative district of Lelów; Częstochowa County, province of Silesia, is an example of neoclassical architecture. It was designed by the architect Jan Ferdynand Nax (1736–1810). It is a downsized and simplified reflection of the much larger and grander neoclassical palace at Szczekociny, six kilometers to the east.

Nax, who was also a prominent economist of the time, constructed the two palaces simultaneously between 1770 and 1780. The 8.5-hectare (21 acre) park surrounding the Nakło palace, of a classic Arcadian style, most likely also was designed by Nax. Eighty of the trees in the park have stood for more than 230 years; five of those are designated as Polish national treasures.

For the Nakło palace's foundation, Nax used calcium-based stone, which is natural to the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland of Poland, and situated the building on the highest point of the property, thus creating a natural drainage system. The palace was built as a residence for newlyweds Kajetan Bystrzonowski and Marcyanna Młodzianowska, and was the center of an estate that stretched over a vast swath of land that had been deeded to the groom as a dowry from...