Szlaki województw śląskiego i opolskiego

The Palace in Kopiceis a 19th-century building forming part of a historic palace and park complex with a landscape park, the Schaffgotsch family burial chapel, and a grange. The classicist building was purchased in the second half of the 19th century by Count Hans Ulrich von Schaffgotsch for his wife, Joanna Gryzik von Schomberg-Godulla. In the second half of the 19th century, the new owners commissioned the famous architect Karl Lüdecke to rebuild the palace. Flower and vegetable gardens, an orchard, and an orangery were established nearby. In front of the facility, widely known as the "palace on the water" due to its location adjacent to ponds, flower carpets were spread out. Next to the palace, covering an area of over 60 hectares, stretched the famous landscape park, supervised by Wilhelm Hampel, the royal director of gardens. The park's ornaments included centennial oaks, stylized castle ruins, the Schaffgotsch family burial chapel, the Temple of Diana's Contemplation, a victory column surmounted by a statue of the goddess Nike, and a Chinese pavilion. The palace complex belonged to the Schaffgotschs until 1945, when the family was forced to flee before the advancing Red Army. In the 1950s, it served as a cultural center – dance parties and New Year's Eve balls were organized there, and in the summer, camps for youth; in subsequent years it was also an agricultural warehouse. In 1956, the palace suffered a fire and has not been renovated since then. Currently, efforts are being made by private investors and social associations to rebuild the facility. Associated with the palace is the figure of Joanna, wife of Count Hans Ulrich von Schaffgotsch. Coming from a poor family, Joanna came under the care of Emilia Lukas, the housekeeper of Karol Godula, as a child. The wealthy entrepreneur became attached to the girl and bequeathed a massive fortune to her, which led to her being described as the "Silesian Cinderella." At the age of 16, she fell in love with Count Hans Schaffgotsch and, for an appropriate sum, managed to obtain a noble title from King Frederick William IV. Shortly thereafter, the young couple married and settled in Kopice. Practical information: Parking spaces directly by the facility. No possibility to enter the palace grounds.