Palace and park in Pszczyna

It was the spring of 1892. Elegant carriages entering through the gates, leaving the guests in the vaulted hall of the palace. Elegant ladies in magnificent dresses, with precious jewelry and men in tails or military uniforms filled the lobby and among dialectal talks, slowly climb the ceremonial staircase, heading for the magnificent ballroom, called the mirror hall. On the walls there are two great mirrors of the area of 14 square meters each hanging opposite to each other. An orchestra sat on the small balconies just below the ceiling.

On the sofas along the walls sat venerable matrons, observing carefully everything with their binoculars , so that they will not to miss something important, that can be gossiped later.  

Buzz of conversation fades, because here comes a wide gallery of Prince Hans Heinrich XV Hochberg, he married in December the year before with the British aristocrat Mary Theresa Olivia Cornwallis-West, now the Duchess of Pszczyna (In German: Fürstin von Pless), Countess von Hochberg. The Duchess called Daisy, was considered to be one of the most beautiful women of the era. Accustomed to the cheerful and relaxed atmosphere for social meetings on the islands, she is a little bit disappointed with the rigid and cool (so Prussian) behavior of the guests.

She is, however, optimistic. And she can handle everything trying to develop the prettiest rooms of the palace, in which she was about to live. The green living room, her boudoir, double bedroom, cabinets for work or a library and other rooms are beginning to show some traces of her presence. She is young and in love.

Unfortunately, life carries only disappointments. Her spouse shows no feelings, his frequent long trips and the news that he cheats on her, it all makes her feel bad in the grand, elegant but metaphorically cold palace. She starts to leave the palace more and more often. She seeks solace in the beautiful English park. Walking alone and pondering among the rhododendron bushes, she gets to the charming arched bridges on the canals connecting joints in a single unit. Looking for peace and tranquility in secluded places of the park, she sits on a knoll at the tombs of the Anhalt family - the previous owners of this huge area. Great trees, well-kept shrubs give her specific asylum. She passes the park buildings. She sits in the so-called teahouse or seeks shade under an icehouse wall.  

Dear Visitors. All the things I wrote about is true. Moreover, you can see all of this up to this day! You can swim in boats at the park ponds. 80% of the equipment of the palace is the authentic equipment! Finally the palace remained the same, it was rebuilt last time in the years 1870 - 1876. Its Baroque form towers are located above the park. The next generation of parents takes pictures of their children sitting on massive cast-iron lions, which are situated at the entrance of the palace.  

In the ground-floor rooms of the palace the time has stopped. In the years 1915 - 1916 Emperor Wilhelm II lived in, because here the United Headquarters (Grossen Hauptquartier) of German army was located.To hence came out orders issued by Marshal Paul von Hindenburg and General. Erich Ludendorff. Faithfully reproduced apartments of the emperor are available for visitors.  

I can write more and more about the nature park and the elegance of the palace halls. But the best thing is to see it by yourself. It simply cannot be described in words.  

And what happened next, with less and less happy Daisy? Her marriage ended in divorce in 1922 with the fault of the prince, and she lives Pszczyna forever. She moved to Walbrzych and specifically the castle in Książ. I will not say any further details of her life. You have to come to Pszczyna and get to know everything to on the spot.

We invite you on behalf of the hosts of the Palace.  

Opening hours of the Castle Museum in Pszczyna

The last visitors enter for an hour before closing the museum for exploring the interior or 2 hours for exploring the interior and other exhibitions.  

Free entrance day is Monday from April 1 to October 31, and Tuesday from 1 November to 31 March.  

Pszczyna Castle - tickets  

The interiors of the nineteenth and twentieth century

Normal ticket 14,50 PLN

Discounts 8,50 PLN

Family ticket (parents and children from 7 to 16 years) 32,00 PLN

Family ticket (parents and children) Card holders Large Family 27,00 PLN  

The interiors of the nineteenth and twentieth-century + Ducal Stables

Family ticket (parents and children from 7 to 16 years) 36,00 PLN

Family ticket (parents and children) Card holders Large Family 30,00 PLN  

Armory

Normal ticket 5,00 PLN

Discounts 3,00 PLN  

Family ticket (Interiors + Armory)

Family ticket (parents and children from 7 to 16 years) 42,00 PLN

Family ticket (parents and children) Large Family Card holders 37,00 PLN

Family ticket (Interiors + + Armory Stables Princes)

Family ticket (parents and children from 7 to 16 years) 46,00 PLN

Family ticket (parents and children) Large Family Card holders 40,00 PLN  

Cabinet Miniatures

Normal ticket 3,00 PLN

Discounts 2,00 PLN  

Known and Unknown

Normal ticket 4,00 PLN

Discounts 2,50 PLN  

Gallery portraits. In the circle of free lords, counts and dukes of Pszczyna

Normal ticket 4,00 PLN

Discounts 5,00 PLN  

Cool breeze of fans. European range from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.

Normal ticket 5,00 PLN

Discounts 3,00 PLN  

Ticket for the exhibition 'The Cabinet of Miniatures', 'Known and Unknown,' 'cool breeze of fans. European range from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.'

Normal ticket 12,00 PLN

Discounts 7,50 PLN  

Ducal stables of Pless

Normal ticket 5,00 PLN Discounts 3,00 PLN