Schaffgotsch Palace in Cieplice

Schaffgotsch Palace stands in the centre of the Cieplice-Zdrój spa district in Jelenia Góra, between Piastowski Square and the Spa Park. It is a monumental residence of the Schaffgotsch family, today occupied by a satellite teaching centre of a university and not open for regular visiting.

Building the residence

The present palace was erected on the orders of Count Johann Nepomucen Schaffgotsch on the site of a Renaissance manor house and guest house, which burned down in a fire in 1777. Construction ran from 1784 to 1809, making use of the remains of both burnt-down buildings. The design was prepared by Johann Georg Rudolf, employed on the Schaffgotsch estate, who combined forms of mature Baroque with early Classicism. The exterior decorations were made by Augustin Wagner and stonemason Johann Pausenberger, and between 1789 and 1809 the Empire-style interiors were decorated by painter Anton Paetz and stucco artist Johann Joseph Echtler.

Architecture of the building

The palace has three wings and three storeys. The front facade is 81 metres long and has 21 bays, with two three-bay avant-corps housing the portals. Semicircular cartouches with the Schaffgotsch coat of arms are placed above the entrances, framed by attics with female statues. Inside, the two-storey ballroom, today serving as an assembly hall and designed by master Kurz of Kowary, is particularly notable. It retains stuccowork, parquet floors, period stoves and a crystal chandelier, while the Blue Room and the Mirror Room still have furniture and decorations from earlier years. Between 1865 and 1866 the interiors were modernised in the spirit of historicism.

The palace's fate after the Second World War

After a renovation carried out between 1949 and 1951, the building began to be used by a university. Since 1975 it has housed a satellite teaching centre of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, and the first classes for students of mechanical and electrical engineering were held in 1976. The palace's finest historic interiors today serve as conference rooms and venues for university ceremonies. They are not open for everyday visiting, but can be seen during conferences and ceremonies organised at the palace.

Former palace collections

The collections of the former Schaffgotsch Palace, gathered since the 16th century and comprising books, works of art, militaria and numismatics, became the basis of today's Natural History Museum in Jelenia Góra. However, this museum is not housed in the palace itself, but in a building of the former post-Cistercian complex on Cieplicka Street.

Practical information

• Address: Plac Piastowski 27, Cieplice-Zdrój, Jelenia Góra
• The palace stands between Piastowski Square and the Spa Park, close to the Church of the Saviour and the St John the Baptist's Church in Jelenia Góra-Cieplice
• The building is occupied by a university, so the interiors are seen from the outside or during open events held at the palace, which is worth asking about in advance