Schoen Palace

Schoen Palace
In 1875 heirs of Christian Gottlieb Schoen, owner of textile factories in Werdau in Saxony, arrived in Sosnowiec. In 1879 they built Vicuña wool mill in Sielec and seven years later a combed wool mill in Środulka. In the proximity of the above-mentioned factories, the Schoen brothers: Ernst, Frantz, Roman and Brunon started to built their first mansion. The construction works conducted under the design of an unknown architect, were finished around 1885. An axial garden layout constituting extension of the main palace axis, underlines the Baroque character of the mansion. English-style garden is kept in line with the course of the Czarna Przemsza River. In 1900 a bowling alley was placed in the end section of the palace axis, a little earlier in the neighbourhood of the park Neo-Romantic garden forms, such as walls, caves or servant houses were built near the factory. The gardener house and greenhouses, built in 1901, have survived till today.

The palace has been reconstructed for several times and its original furnishing has not been preserved till our times. There is an impressive entrance hall and a staircase leading to the first floor of the palace, where you can find magnificent stained-glass windows. Currently the Schoen Palace functions as a museum.

Wilhelm's Palace
The complex also included a second smaller palace built in 1900 in the Neo-Baroque style, according to the design of Józef Pomian- Pomianowski. The palace functioned as an additional residential and guest building. The residence has also been reconstructed for several times, however the major renovations were made after the Second World War. Although the building is less picturesque than the Schoen Palace and lacks representation rooms, it is an equally valuable part of the Schoen palace and the park layout. During the years when it was in private hands, its technical condition deteriorated. In 2004 the Sosnowiec commune bought the palce with a view of restoring it to its former magnificence.