Welcome to the Kurozwęki estate with its palace, outbuildings and English landscape park; to the west of the palace you will see the Orangery, to the east the Oficyna and scattered around the park a few beautiful, plane trees.
The palace in Kurozwęki is unique of its kind as one can see the subsequent changes though the eras in architectural style; from a stone knight's castle to a fortified manor house to a baroque-classical mansion. The castle was built by the Kurozwęcki family, and subsequently passed down to the Lanckoronski family, Sołtyk family and Popiel family.
During the interwar period, the estate covered 6000 ha of fields, forests and fish ponds. In September 1944, the currentowners, the Popiels, were forced to leave the property and all the buildings and land were taken over by the state.
In 1989, efforts to recover the estate were made by the pre-war owner, still living in Poland, Father Martin Popiel, longtime parish priest of Szewna near Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. Shortly after his death, in 1991, the ruins of the palace and part of the park were bought by the current owners. The estate became the property of Jean - Martin Popiel and his Norwegian wife, Karen - Sveny Jacobsen. Before settling in Poland, Martin and Karen had lived in a few places, namely Scotland, the Congo, Canada, the US and Belgium. They have eight children - three daughters and five sons. Since their taking over of the estate, they decided to move to Poland. Renovation works kick-started in 1992 with the goal of restoring the estate to its previous splendour. In order to efficiently manage the estate, two companies were founded: “The Palace Team”, which run the the hotel, conference centre, restaurants, and offer numerous tourist attractions and the “Kurozwęki Stud Farm” dedicated to the breeding of Arabian horses, bisons, and dairy cows. The owner, Martin, strives to honour his initial founding motto “using history's rich experience and the opportunities the present offers us, we try to satify our every customer's needs, while preserving the objects entrusted to us for the future generations”.
Today, the Kurozwęki estate is known in Poland as a historical site and tourist attraction, as well as for its only in Poland herd of American bisons. The many successes of its ownersinclude: the renovationand conservation of thepalace's basements and cellars, the renovation of the Baroque façade of the palace, the total reconstruction of the interior of the ballroom and salons and the renovation of the two pavilions on either side of the palace. The restored baroque chapel as well as the “Popiel Family Mementos” Museum along with its Joseph Czapski Collection, inaugurated in 2011, especially deserve a visit. The Popiel Family cordially welcomes you and hopes you enjoy your stay here at the Kurozwęki Estate as well as the numerous activities we have on offer.
