Maria Konopnicka Museum
Żarnowiec owes its fame to the Maria Konopnicka Museum in the local manor house, where the poet spent the last years of her life, and which she received as “a gift from the nation”.
This modest but comfortable residence, built probably towards the end of the 18th century, in the 19th century belonged, among others, to the Rogoyski family – or, to be more precise, the passionate memoir writer Jędrzej Rogoyski – who started the literary tradition of Żarnowiec.
In the 1860s the house was bought by Stanisław Biechoński, a veteran of the January Uprising and great patriot, who settled there with his wife Jadwiga. The couple renovated the park and the residence, adding the characteristic first floor. Żarnowiec became then a centre of society and cultural life. It was visited, among others, by Adam Asnyk and Ignacy Sewer, and it was perhaps those literary traditions of the place that inspired the originators of the idea of the “gift from the nation” to choose Żarnowiec from among the 36 other proposed places and to buy the manor house from Jadwiga Biechoński.
Maria Konopnicka arrived in Żarnowiec on 8 September 1903 and was given an enthusiastic welcome by the local community. She settled in the house with her close friend Maria Dulębianka, a painter, making Żarnowiec a centre of cultural life again. During the time she spent there, she was visited by, among others, Lucjan Rydel, Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer and Henryk Sienkiewicz – the only other person to receive “a gift from the nation”.
The charming, typical Polish landowner family residence in Żarnowiec was where Konopnicka’s most famous poem “Rota” (“The Oath”) was composed, which was even considered as possible national anthem.
In the autumn of 1910, the poet’s health declined and she had to go to Lviv for treatment. Unfortunately, she was never to see again her beloved Żarnowiec, where she spent the springs and summers of the last years of her life. She died on 8 October 1910 in Lviv and was buried at the Lychakiv Cemetery.
After her death, the poet’s two daughters lived in the manor – Laura Pytlińska (1872-1935) and Zofia Mickiewiczowa (1866-1956). They secured the memorabilia connected with their mother and donated all the heritage to a museum. In 1957, the Ministry of Art and Culture established the Maria Konopnicka Museum in Żarnowiec, which is still open.
The manor house in Żarnowiec is a typical country residence of landed gentry – a one-storey building with a two-storey annexe added around 1880. A wooden, glazed porch leads to the house and the roof is shingled. On the north side, the house overlooks a steep escarpment, over which a picturesque wooden gallery was built. It is also worth taking a stroll through the historic park to admire the numerous ancient trees. Another attraction of the park is the nature trail, one kilometre long, which runs through the entire 3.5 ha of the park.
Inside the house, where the Art Nouveau interior from the beginning of the 20th century was carefully restored, the visitors can see, among others, the permanent exhibition with manuscripts, first editions of the poets’ work, her correspondence with her mother, and the sizeable library with nearly fifteen thousand tomes. The stylish interiors reflect the atmosphere of the period. You can see here the old study of the poet, the dining room, and the bedroom and studio of Maria Dulębianka upstairs. Some of the Museum’s collections are displayed also in the restored and adapted building of the old granary, situated opposite the house.
In the 1860s the house was bought by Stanisław Biechoński, a veteran of the January Uprising and great patriot, who settled there with his wife Jadwiga. The couple renovated the park and the residence, adding the characteristic first floor. Żarnowiec became then a centre of society and cultural life. It was visited, among others, by Adam Asnyk and Ignacy Sewer, and it was perhaps those literary traditions of the place that inspired the originators of the idea of the “gift from the nation” to choose Żarnowiec from among the 36 other proposed places and to buy the manor house from Jadwiga Biechoński.
Maria Konopnicka arrived in Żarnowiec on 8 September 1903 and was given an enthusiastic welcome by the local community. She settled in the house with her close friend Maria Dulębianka, a painter, making Żarnowiec a centre of cultural life again. During the time she spent there, she was visited by, among others, Lucjan Rydel, Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer and Henryk Sienkiewicz – the only other person to receive “a gift from the nation”.
The charming, typical Polish landowner family residence in Żarnowiec was where Konopnicka’s most famous poem “Rota” (“The Oath”) was composed, which was even considered as possible national anthem.
In the autumn of 1910, the poet’s health declined and she had to go to Lviv for treatment. Unfortunately, she was never to see again her beloved Żarnowiec, where she spent the springs and summers of the last years of her life. She died on 8 October 1910 in Lviv and was buried at the Lychakiv Cemetery.
After her death, the poet’s two daughters lived in the manor – Laura Pytlińska (1872-1935) and Zofia Mickiewiczowa (1866-1956). They secured the memorabilia connected with their mother and donated all the heritage to a museum. In 1957, the Ministry of Art and Culture established the Maria Konopnicka Museum in Żarnowiec, which is still open.
The manor house in Żarnowiec is a typical country residence of landed gentry – a one-storey building with a two-storey annexe added around 1880. A wooden, glazed porch leads to the house and the roof is shingled. On the north side, the house overlooks a steep escarpment, over which a picturesque wooden gallery was built. It is also worth taking a stroll through the historic park to admire the numerous ancient trees. Another attraction of the park is the nature trail, one kilometre long, which runs through the entire 3.5 ha of the park.
Inside the house, where the Art Nouveau interior from the beginning of the 20th century was carefully restored, the visitors can see, among others, the permanent exhibition with manuscripts, first editions of the poets’ work, her correspondence with her mother, and the sizeable library with nearly fifteen thousand tomes. The stylish interiors reflect the atmosphere of the period. You can see here the old study of the poet, the dining room, and the bedroom and studio of Maria Dulębianka upstairs. Some of the Museum’s collections are displayed also in the restored and adapted building of the old granary, situated opposite the house.
