Soaring towers, an arcaded courtyard and opulent interiors. Is this a castle from the Loire Valley? No, not at all. It’s our castle in Gołuchów in Greater Poland. The association is not coincidental, though. The castle was built as a romantic residence in imitation of French Renaissance buildings. Today, it houses a branch of the National Museum in Poznań. However, you can visit more than just the castle courtyards or richly adorned chambers, and admire the collections. The castle is surrounded by a vast park, with many charming corners and a demonstrational bison enclosure.
French Chic in Greater Poland
The first owners of Gołuchów was the Leszczyński family, one of the most powerful families in Greater Poland. Initially, a defensive fortified tower stood here, but in the early 17th century it was modified and converted into a magnate residence. The year 1856 marks a turning point in the castle’s history. That is when Tytus Działyński acquired the domain as a wedding gift for his son Jan Kanty and his wife Izabella Elżbieta Czartoryska. They didn’t constitute a happy marriage. They lived the entire time separately. Gołuchów became Izabella’s residence. She brought in the finest architects and commissioned a remodeling of her mansion in the spirit of Romanticism. Interestingly, Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, known primarily for his reconstruction of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris and the fortifications at Carcassonne, went out of his way to help her.
Museum
The castle interior is first and foremost a museum. Today’s exhibition is a mix of Izabella Czartoryska’s collection and other items from the National Museum in Poznań. Izabella’s collection includes most of all the largest hoard of ancient Greek vases in Poland. Paintings, furniture, and interior design elements are also featured there.
There is also a very valuable tapestry made in Brussels presenting scenes from court’s life. Among the oldest artifacts you can find a mosaic depicting the goddess Athena, brought from Italy and dating back to the 4th century. The castle offers more delights, and fans of Polish cinema will surely notice that scenes from several famous productions were filmed here.
Park
The Gołuchów Park covers over 160 hectares, which makes it the largest palace park in Greater Poland. It contains approximately 600 different species of trees and shrubs. You can also find there ponds, wooden bridges spanning the river and picturesque rock gardens. The castle owners actively participated in designing the park and imported seedlings, often exotic ones, themselves.
The park also features a demonstrational animal enclosure. The European bison, rarely seen in the wild in Greater Poland, acts as a great attraction for tourists. Admission to the park is free.
