Sucha Beskidzka - Small Wawel

State of preservation:		The building has remained as the whole
Admission:		There is a museum in the palace therefore the entrance is paid
Parking:		Next to the palace there is a large free parking lot
Searching difficulty:		The palace stands in the town center but by the side road
Access difficulty:		The access from the parking lot should not tire out anybody
Subjective rating:		A nice palace and the park

Driving directions:

Driving down the road no 946 from Żywiec you reach Sucha Beskidzka. In the town you should drive down the main road all the way long to the center. There, at the first crossroads with the traffic lights, you have to turn left and cross the grade crossing, the bridge and the second grade crossing at a stretch. When you overcome these obstacles, after covering next 200 m you will spot the castle on the left side of the road.


Historical outline:

Primarily at the place of the present-day palace stood the wooden-stony defensive mansion built in the years of 1554-1580 by Kasper Castiglione-Suski of the Saszor coat of arms. In the years of 1608-1614 the manor was converted by Piotr Komorowski into an imposing renaissance mansion. The subsequent extension of the building took place in the years of 1702-1708, and its initiator was Anna Wielopolska of the Starykoń coat of arms. In 1843 Aleksander Branicki of the Korczak coat of arms sold his palace in Paris and for an obtained money he bought the palace of Sucha Beskidzka from Jan Kanty Wielopolski. Under the rule of the Branicki family the palace was undergoing the further transformations. In 1922 the town altogether with the palace became the property of the Tarnowski family of the Leliwa coat of arms, as the dowry of Władysław Branicki’s daughter. During the World War II the building was looted and devastated, and after the war it housed a High School. In the years of 1974-1986 the palace was refurbished by The National Art Collection at Wawel as to transform it into a museum. That intension however did not succeed and in 1996 was passed to hands of Municipality of Sucha Beskidzka. At present it houses a museum and a restaurant.


Pictures:




Nearest castles:

Lanckorona

Barwałd Górny

Myślenice

Wysoka