Modła Palace

Modła Palace stands in the centre of the village of Modła in Bolesławiec County, on the site of a former state farm (PGR). It is a Renaissance building from 1564-1567, erected on the initiative of Mikołaus von Bibran, whose family held the estate from 1475 to 1828. Today the building is a ruin, listed on the heritage register, but not open to visitors.

History of the von Bibran family

The palace was built on a rectangular plan as a three- and four-storey residence with round towers at the corners. The von Bibran family held Modła for over three and a half centuries. After David von Bibran (1758-1828), who married Maria Ottilie von Schönberg in 1782, the estate passed to successive families through marriage: his daughter Friederike Henriette Wilhelmina married General Johann Benedict von Block in 1811, and their granddaughter Wilhelmina married Aurel Hugo von Rittberg in 1858.

Renovations

The building was renovated twice: in 1767 and in 1869, the latter carried out by the von Rittberg family. Above the entrance gate, coats of arms of the von Bibran-Modlau family and related noble families survive, with inscriptions dated 1861.

Today

The palace survived the Second World War in good condition but deteriorated under the management of the state farm. It is now an abandoned ruin, overgrown with self-seeded trees. Entering the building is dangerous and not advisable, and it serves no public function.

Practical information

• Address: centre of the village of Modła, Bolesławiec County
• Getting there: local road through Modła, near the Borówki Bog Nature Reserve
• What to expect: an exterior view of a ruined, overgrown building, with no access inside