Smolice brings together a Neo-Baroque palace, an extensive landscape park and a distinctive church. Those who take culture and architectural history into account when choosing a destination will find different perspectives on the town: the history of a palace renovation, the design of the park and a church planned as a distinctive building in its own right. A cycle route connection adds another specific point of interest to this cultural and historical focus.
Palace and Park: Two Different Periods
The palace was renovated in the Neo-Baroque style after 1910 and is surrounded by the park. When comparing the two periods, the palace and park should be considered separately: the palace’s renovation after 1910 is the key date, while the park dates from the 19th century. The terms used to describe their styles also differ: Neo-Baroque refers to the palace’s style, while English landscape style describes the park’s design. The park has been preserved in this form to this day. Those interested in architectural history can therefore distinguish the later palace renovation from the older park.
The park covers 18.15 hectares. Its features include a fountain, water channels and three ponds. The area gives an idea of its scale, while the named features make its design more tangible. Together with its English landscape style, these offer different points of interest for exploring the park: its size, its historical context and its individual water features.
The palace also includes a palm house filled with exotic plants. It adds another cultural and historical detail to the picture of the ensemble.
Church and Architecture
In the southeast of Smolice, at the northern corner of the palace park, stands the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus (pw. Najświętszego Serca Pana Jezusa). It was built in the early 20th century by Countess von Ziethen to plans by the Wrocław architects Gaze and Bottcher. Its location clearly connects the church with the park; as a building, it brings its own history and form to the town’s cultural attractions.
The plastered Neo-Baroque church is a masonry, three-aisled building with the ground plan of a Latin cross. The transept projects only slightly, and the apse ends in a semicircle. These terms describe different aspects of the structure: its division into three aisles, its overall ground plan and its termination. This makes it possible to understand the church not only by its style, but also by its spatial layout.
The main entrance is on the west side, in a 46-metre-high tower. It is set within an elaborately designed columned portal, which is topped by a standing figure of Christ. The tower, portal and figure are specific elements of the church’s architecture, complementing the information about its ground plan and building history with details of the entrance’s design.
A Cycle Route as Another Point of Interest
A cycle route connects Smolice with Raszewy and Pasierby. This offers a different perspective on choosing Smolice as a destination than the palace, park and church: here, the focus is on a connection between three named places rather than architectural history and landscape design. Those who also consider cycling routes when planning a trip can take this into account alongside the cultural attractions. Smolice can thus be assessed from different perspectives, without reducing its features to a single attraction.
Discover more destinations: Zduny, Krotoszyn, Kobylin, Perzyce, Sulmierzyce, Brzoza
Return to the main travel overview: Krotoschin.
