Stay in guest rooms in the Palace Forge
FOUNDATION
The Korczew Palace Foundation was established by the Ostrowski-Harris family in order to manage the palace and park complex, and support culture and tourism in the region. We restore Korczew's monuments and take care of the heritage of our area.
OUR GOALS AND ACTIVITIES
The statutory objectives of the Foundation are:
- renovating and maintaining the palace and park complex in Korczew;
- supporting efforts to save architectural monuments;
- museum and publishing activities;
- supporting various forms of social activity in the field of education, social assistance, culture, tourism, and environmental protection.
THE COMPLEX
The complex includes the palace building with two galleries and side wings, 14 hectares of parkland, the Siberia summer villa, the Guard Tower (Baszta), and the ruins of the former stable and coach house. All renovated facilities are at least partially made available to visitors and guests. We try our best to preserve the atmosphere of the place in all restoration work, which is often missed during renovations. That is why we use original materials and the services of local craftsmen. Although it is important to us that our buildings have a social function, we see the restoration of historic buildings as an objective in itself.
The Foundation organizes permanent and temporary exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events. Information about all events organized in the complex can be found in the Exhibitions and Events tab. You can find out about our publishing activities in the Publications tab (korczew.com/palac/publikacje). We cooperate with many organizations that work for the development of our region. These are primarily the Korczew Local Council (gmina), the Local Tourist Organization 'LOT nad Bugiem' and 'Lokalna Grupa Działania - Tygiel Doliny Bugu Association'.
DISCOVERING THE PAST
In our opinion, the renovation of monuments should also go hand in hand with understanding their history. That is why we have established cooperation with the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, which in 2019 conducted research aimed at exploring the past of the park and Siberia.
OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The renovation of the complex has been underway since 1989, when it was bought back by the daughters of the pre-war owner of the palace, Beata Ostrowska-Harris and Renata Ostrowska. The Foundation was established in 2004 with funds coming primarily from family donations.
During this period, the palace has changed dramatically. From a decaying ruin, it has become one of the most important tourist attractions in the region. Without public support, restoration was possible of the entire ground floor of the palace, including the ballroom and hall, one room on the first floor, both side wings, the Guard Tower and the wall surrounding the complex. Every year there are temporary exhibitions and events, such as the popular Green Korczew village fete and Magic of the Twenties. For many years dog sled races were also held.
We take care of the historical value of the park in close cooperation with the conservator and our landscape architect. The overgrown park has again become an integral part of the complex. It houses a collection of historical roses and an orchard with traditional apple, pear, plum and peach varieties. We are planting plants that used to grow in the park such as Siberian caragana, weeping ash and plane trees. We do not use chemical sprays.
A big breakthrough came in 2018 when thanks to EU funds, the renovation of the entire palace was completed (https://mapadotacji.gov.pl/projekty/760166/). The total value of the project was approx. 4.44 million PLN, including approx. 2,59 public funding and the Foundation's own contribution of approx. 1,85 million PLN (https://www.funduszedlamazowsza.eu/aktualnosci/zabytkowy-palac-w-korczewie-odzyskuje-dawny-blask/). Thanks to the grant, the renovation of the palace was completed - the terrace, western gallery and orangery were rebuilt, and the entire first floor with the theatre room and two permanent exhibitions was opened to the public.
We have noticed a large increase in the number of visitors in recent years. The palace was visited by over 6,000 visitors in 2019; it was only 2500 people in total in 2015 and 2016.
FIRE IN THE PALACE
On 10th November 2021, a fire broke out on the first floor of the palace, which caused enormous damage to the first floor and burned the entire roof. Thanks to the efforts of more than 200 firefighters from 21 units, the fire did not spread to the ground floor, although water from the efforts to stop the fire and low temperatures also caused damage on the lower floor. Valuable English antiques and family portraits were burned in the fire. However, most of Wanda Ostrowska's paintings and the hall with its wooden panelling survived intact.
Restoring the palace to the state before the fire, and in particular saving all original elements that may still be under threat, is the most important priority of the Foundation. The palace is now secured and renovation work is underway, which the Foundation is funding with donations and insurance money. According to current estimates, the palace will again be open to visitors at least in part from 2023 or 2024.
RENOVATION OF SIBERIA
The nineteenth-century villa Siberia is the second largest building of the palace and park complex and the main compositional element of its eastern part. It was erected in 1834 at the request of Aleksander Kuczyński as a summer villa designed by Franciszek Jaszczołd. Although the building survived the post-war period without much damage, in the early 90s a significant part of it was consumed by fire. Although the building was secured from further deterioration, it remained in tragic condition for a long time, as the Foundation's activities focused on the renovation of the palace.
The Foundation carried out repairs to urgent structural problems in Siberia in 2016-2018. This was followed by work in 2019 to prevent the building from deteriorating and prepare for further renovations. In 2021, thanks to the support of European funds, the Foundation gained the mains for the general renovation of Siberia (https://mazovia.pl/pl/nieruchomosci/aktualnosci/palac-w-korczewie-w-nowej-odslonie.html). According to the plans, the ground floor will be used as a space for courses, workshops, open-air painting and other events. There will also be a permanent exhibition that will show the history of the development of the complex.
SUPPORT THE RECONSTRUCTION OF KORCZEW MONUMENTS
The Korczew Palace Foundation finances its activities primarily from donations and ticket sales. Most of the funds come from donations from the Ostrowski-Harris family, the owners of the complex.
After the fire in the palace in November 2021, the Foundation received a great deal of support and kindness from friends, neighbours and strangers alike. We would like to thank in particular the donors who supported the reconstruction of the palace through crowdfunding (https://zrzutka.pl/vshxhn) and many others who donated directly.
If you would like to support our activities, please get in touch. We are grateful for your help in any form, including financial support. Funds can be transferred directly to the Foundation to the following account number:
69 1240 1037 1111 0010 6774 2364
Fundacja „Pałac w Korczewie”
ul. ks. Stanisława Brzóski 3a
08-108, Korczew
If you would like to transfer funds for a specific purpose, please make a note in the title of the transfer or contact us by e-mail.
More information about the Foundation: https://rejestr.io/krs/215966/fundacja-palac-w-korczewie/
