The ruins of the palace stand in the village of Zawieprzyce in the Spiczyn commune of Łęczna County, on a high slope above the Vepr, about 10 km northwest of Łęczna. From the former residence, the walls on the hill, retaining walls, gate, Baroque chapel, granary, wing, and ruins of the orangery remain. All this is located within the old park in the Nadwieprzański Landscape Park.
From Castle to Palace
In the 16th century, Zawieprzyce belonged to the noble family of Zawieprzski of the Janina coat of arms, who had a defensive castle here. The estate reached its greatest flourishing under Atanazy Walenty Monczyński — Crown Court Treasurer and Voivode of Volhynia, participant in Jan III Sobieski’s Vienna campaign. He created the Zawieprzyce estate and rebuilt the old castle into a Baroque palace. Monczyński died here in March 1723.
In front of the hill on a mound stands a Tuscan column, probably from the late 17th century — according to legend, Monczyński’s votive offering for his safe return from Vienna. And in the park once grew a linden tree planted to commemorate Sobieski’s visit.
The Chapel and Legends
The best preserved is the palace chapel of Saint Anthony of Padua from the late 17th century. Its construction is attributed to Tylman van Gameren — an architect who worked for the richest magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Inside there are frescoes, and in the dome — the Last Judgment. One of the scenes shows a rich man in a carriage being dragged to hell by devils.
Several legends are associated with the ruins. The most famous tells of castellan Jan Granowski, who fell in love with the captive princess Theophania. She rejected him and wanted to escape with the captive Laskaris. The castellan ordered both to be bricked up in the castle’s cellars, and since then their ghosts supposedly wander the ruins. According to another version, Theophania’s brother came here disguised as a painter and painted in the chapel that very carriage with devils — as revenge.
Maria Skłodowska’s Summer
In the 19th century, the estate was leased by the Skłodowski family: from 1862 to 1884 by Ksawery Skłodowski, then by his son Bolesław. In 1883, after finishing gymnasium, the sixteen-year-old Maria Skłodowska — future two-time Nobel Prize laureate — stayed here. She rode horses, borrowing trousers from her cousins. Her grandfather Józef is buried in the cemetery in the nearby Kiany.
The palace complex with the ruins of the palace, granary, chapel, wing, stables, gate, orangery, and park is listed in the register of monuments of Lublin Voivodeship.
How to Get There
Zawieprzyce lies between Lublin and Łęczna, about one or two kilometers from Kiany. The ruins can be viewed from outside; be careful on the slopes. Nearby are the palace in Kiany, the Vepr valley, and Łęczna with the Church of Mary Magdalene and the Great Synagogue. For Ukrainian citizens, this is Poland: a foreign passport is required.
