Goluchow

Located in a picturesque park on the River Trzemna, the Gołuchów Castle attracts visitors by its exquisite Renaissance architecture and charming interiors.

The building was erected in the 2nd half of the 16th c. as a property of the Leszczyński family. In the mid-19th c. it became a property of Izabela (daughter of Prince Adam Czartoryski) and Jan Działyński.

The sculpture-studded yard offers a spectacular view of the park. It is good to have a short rest here to enjoy this landscape before visiting the Castle and take a stroll in the park after completing the tour of the building.

The character of the venue owes much to Izabela, who set up an exquisite collection of art works and converted her residence into a museum.

The objects presented in the Gołuchów branch of the National Museum: sculptures, artefacts of ancient cultures, and original red-figure Greek vases are but a fragment of Izabela Czartoryski’s extensive collection, regrettably dispersed today.

Goluchow Castle

The history of the Goluchow Castle on the Trzemna river dates back to over 400 years ago. Initially it was the seat of the Leszczynski family, whose heyday as an imposing residence of magnates came to an end at the close of the 17th c.

In 1853 the Goluchow estate was purchased by Tytus Dzialynski, the owner of the Kórnik estate, for his only son Jan. After the marriage of Jan Dzialynski and Duchess Izabella Czartoryska, daughter of Duke Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, Goluchow was to become the residence of the newlyweds. Unfortunately, the property was sequestered in retribution for Jan Dzialynski's participation in the January Uprising.

In the early 1870s it became the sole property of Jan's wife Izabella. It was thanks to her that the building was restored by architects, sculptors and painters from France, among others by Charles Biberon, Louis Breugnot and a young architect Maurice August Ouradou, Eugene Viollet-le-Duc's son-in-law. While numerous details characteristic of the Polish Renaissance castle were preserved, the entire property was rebuilt in the style of French Renaissance, patterned on the famous Loire valley castles.

Most of the sculptures decorating the yard were 16th and 17th-century French and Italian originals purchased by Izabella Dzialynska in antique shops. She intended to make Goluchow not only a residence but also a museum.

 The castle is picturesquely surrounded by a landscape park, the biggest in Wielkopolska, covering an area of ca.160 hectares, with a collection of a few hundred species of trees and shrubs. Originally, next to the castle there was a small Italian-style garden. A little farther away were peasants' quarters and a forest. As soon as Jan Dzialynski became the owner of the estate, he started to create a park with collections of trees and bushes shipped from every corner of the world. The unique features of the landscape made Jan Dzialynski establish an English-style park. Since ca. 1876 landscaping work on site was supervised by the gardener Adam Kubaszewski.

In the park, next to the castle, there is the so-called Annex, a residence of the Dukes Czartoryski until World War II, currently the Museum of Forestry, and a chapel where Izabella Dzialynska was buried in 1899. Care of the park and the remaining buildings is provided by the Centre for Forestry Culture in Goluchow.

http://www.euromuse.net/en/museums/museum/view-m/zamek-w-goluchowie/