Wersja Anglojęzyczna

About

The historic palace and park complex from second half of the 18th century which holds the museum is the most impressive architectural feature of Dukla. Over the centuries this building went through three phases of thorough reconstruction. Around the middle of the 16th century a Renaissance castle was built, probably initiated by the heir of Dukla Jan Jordan under the crest of Trąby. In the next century the castle was left to run to ruin. It was only from 1636-38 with the efforts of the new owner, Franciszek Bernard Mniszech (the brother of Tsarina Marina), that the castle was restored within the limits of the bastion fortifications in the Italian style “palazzo in fortezza”. The works were completed by his grandson Józef Wandalin Mniszech, between 1696 and 1709. The next rebuilding period is connected with the last successor from the line of Dukla of the family Mniszech – Cracovian castellan Jerzy August Wandalin and his wife Maria Amalia from the Brühl family (the daughter of the minister of the treasury of the Saxon court). The Mniszech family moved in 1764 from Warsaw to Dukla after a quarrel with the king Stanisław August Poniatowski. Inspired by French fashion they reshaped the fortress into a palatial – park complex. The castle was enlarged, the main façade was turned from the south to the west and its sides, partly on old bastions, two annexes were built. In front of the front elevation there was a semicircular courtyard built and opposite the complex garden inspired by the symmetrical French garden style was created. This way a late Baroque residence of the “entre cour et jardin” type was built. From 1764-1778, the palace was one the important cultural an political centers of Poland. After the death of Jerzy and Amalia Mniszech the residence passed in the hands of the Ossoliński family, and later on the Stadnicki family. Wojciech Męciński came to possess the property after it was given to him as part of the wedding dowry upon his marriage to Helena Stadnicka. After the destruction of the palace because of the fire in 1821 and the occupation of the building by Russian army in 1849, Cezar Męciński, son of Wojciech, and his son Adam, started building and reconstruction work in 1875. The changes made led to the loss of many of the original features of the building. The Męciński family, taking inspiration from the English Garden style, also transformed the park, giving it a more naturalistic look. In 1925, the palace was taken over by the Tarnowski family.

The museum was founded after the organization of an exhibition in 1964 in one of the side annexes, showing the Carpathian – Dukla operation of 1944, one the biggest mountain battle of the Second World War. The initiative of organizing this exhibition, as well as organizing the museum in the palace belonged to members of the Polish Tourism and Sightseeing Society (PTTK) from Krosno, Rzeszów and Dukla. The opening of the museum was connected with the reconstruction of the parts of the palatial- park complex destroyed during wartime fighting. In 1968 the exhibition was subordinated to museum in Krosno, as a military department in Dukla. Organizational independence was gained by the museum in 1972 and it was renamed the Comradeship Museum. Between 1979-1982 the museum took over the 11 hectare park and in 1984 the museum’s exhibitions were moved to the main palace building. In 1991 it was transformed into a Historical Palace Museum in Dukla which from 1999 has been an organizational unit of Starostwo Powiatowe in Krosno. In the museum are presented exhibitions on the history of Dukla, the palatial- park complex in Dukla and battles in Carpathian during the First and the Second World Wars. Every year there are also exhibitions organized on different topics. There is also a heritage park situated in the courtyard.