Palace in Kopice. Sightseeing and story about arson and Silesian Cinderella

The palace in Kopice, or rather the ruins of the Schaffgotsch family palace, is located in the small town of Kopice in the Opole region. It is near the historic town of Grodków, near Niemodlin, north of Nysa. It is a wonderful, neo-Gothic palace, which unfortunately remains in ruins today and in a rather deplorable condition, without roofs, practically secured only above the chapel. This palace has not been fortunate since the war, but maybe now its fate will be reversed. Currently, the palace is fenced and it is not possible to enter its area. Only from behind the water it can be seen without a fence, because a pond spills over at the palace, and behind it there is a historic park with the remains of various buildings and a gate. In the heart of the park you will also find the ruined mausoleum of the Schaffgotsch family. Once, the park delighted with its beauty. Suffice it to say that it was decorated with 300 sculptures, none of which have survived to this day!

Palace on the Water in Kopice

Due to its picturesque location by the pond, or rather on the pond, the palace in Kopice is also called the Palace on Water. When I stood in front of its walls, this charming picture immediately reminded me of the views, as we saw over the Loire, where some castles also stood on the water, which undoubtedly adds to their charm, because their faces are reflected in the water surface, which significantly increases their visual qualities. If it were as well preserved as the French castles in the Loire Valley, this palace would undoubtedly enchant and captivate spectators, and tourists from all over the world would come here. I believe that this will be the case even after the current troubles and complicated legal situation, the new owner will lead the palace in Kopice to a state that can be boasted and shown to others without embarrassment.

Visiting the palace in Kopice

The palace remains in ruins and quite deplorable, because time and looting have done their job here. In addition, the current owner fenced the palace in every place where it does not have water. For this reason, the palace in Kopice is not accessible to tourists. It can only be admired from the outside, from behind the water or from behind the fence. There have been moments in recent years when it was possible to enter the palace during the festival, but these are only isolated cases. Currently, the palace is in the hands of the new owner and the fate of the palace will depend on it, also in terms of accessibility for tourists. I hope that soon the gate to the palace will open to the public, because the palace is worth it to show it to the world.

Palace in Kopice history

Kopice near Grodków has been known since the Middle Ages. From 1360 they were the seat of the von Borsnitz family, later, in the middle of the fifteenth century, the property was taken over by the von Beess family, and in 1531 these goods were in the possession of the canon of the Wrocław cathedral - Balthasar von Neckern. From 1751, the Silesian family von Sierstorpff resided here, and its representative - Heinrich Kasper initiated the reconstruction of the old residence into a classicist residence in 1783.

The Silesian Cinderella Palace - the glory days of the palace

An important turning point for the palace in Kopice was the year 1859, when these goods were bought by a marriage - Count Hans Ulrich Schaffgotsch and his 17-year-old wife - Joanna Gryzik von Schomberg-Godulla, called Silesian Cinderella. You can read her amazing story below. In 1863, the new owners began the reconstruction of the palace under the leadership of the famous architect Karol Ludecke. Initially, the old body was expanded, in 1873 the northern tower was added, the one at the moat and the entrance bridge. Even later, in the years 1896-97, a chapel with a tower serving as a bell tower was added from the opposite - south side. 

The entire residence was surrounded on three sides by ponds, and in addition, flower and vegetable gardens, a conservatory and a winter garden, i.e. a kind of palm house, were created here. Apparently, tropical trees reached nearly 20 meters in height here. Imagine all this, along with colorful flower rugs in front of the palace on the water. It must have looked phenomenal. And the whole area was surrounded by a historic park with an area of 60 hectares, which was certainly an equally well-kept place, because it was supervised by the royal director of gardens - Wilhelm Hampel himself. At the edge of the park, the Count grew fallow deer. 

Islands were created on the ponds, and a Victory Column was erected on the hill in 1873, topped with a gilded statue of the goddess Victoria. At the same time, an artificial ruin was created, modeled on the ruins of a medieval castle, which was called the Mouse Tower after the war. 53 spiral stone stairs led to it.  Fountains beat here and there in the park, and can you believe that the park was decorated with 300 sculptures of figures and animals in life-size? There is not one left today!

The Last Lady of the Palace in Kopice - Sophie Schaffgotsch

The last Mrs. Kopic was Countess Sophie Josefine Margarete Henckel von Donnersmarck, born on May 30, 1896 in Boehmen. She came from a very rich family, which owned, among others, the well-known palace in Nakło Śląski and the now defunct palace in Świerklaniec, called the Little Versailles. At the age of 22, she married Count Hans Ulrich, Joanna's grandson, in 1918. Hans Ulrich Gotthard Mansaria Eugen Joachim was born on December 9, 1889 in the palace in Sulisław. They had six children and lived together for only 25 years, as Countess Sophie quickly widowed, in 1943, at the age of 47. 

Before his death, Hans Ulrich met one granddaughter -  Franziska Larisch von Moennich. Countess Sophie, who outlived her husband by 29 years, had 11 grandchildren. She and her family had to leave Kopice in 1945, escaping from the Red Army. Her son did not manage to take over the estate, because he did not reach the age of majority before they had to leave not only the palace in Kopice, but also other estates. That's why Sophie was the last Mrs Kopic.

Postwar times - brazen arson of the palace

The palace in Kopice along with the surrounding park remained in the hands of the Schaffgotsch family until 1945 and, interestingly, the war did not cause much damage here. Even in the 1950s, the palace stood whole, beautiful and exquisitely equipped. It was only later that looting began. In the mid-1950s, The ground floor of the palace fulfilled the role of a warehouse of agricultural products and, as it is reported, bags of grain disappeared from the warehouse much faster than it resulted from the papers and when the inspection was ordered in the autumn of 1956, a truly evil plan to set the palace on fire was devised in a panic to cover up the traces. 

On Sunday morning, October 7, 1956, black smoke broke out over the palace in Kopice when the Schaffgotsch palace caught fire. It was set on fire in four places, pouring oil on the wooden roof structure. Does this bother you as much as it does me? After the fire, the roof did not remain, the ceilings collapsed and such a scary stump of the palace was stuck, not paying much attention to the local community, except that they carried away everything that could be used. Over the years, architectural details have even disappeared and been destroyed, so today even the recesses of sculptures are empty in places...

Unsuspecting investors

No luck Kopicki palace to the owners since the war. In 1990, the palace and the park were sold by the then head of the Grodków Commune for an incredibly low amount (equivalent to PLN 5,000) to the Krakow businessman Andrzej Kocot, who promised reconstruction and a hotel. After taking out a big loan, however, he disappeared and did not appear in the area. The thefts continued until 2008, when the Chorzów company Zarmen bought the palace for PLN 2 million with the intention of creating a recreation and recreation center here. For the first time since the time of the Schaffgotschs, it was supposed to be like a fairy tale, the plans were extensive, but the implementation did not take place, because the Hedar Company stood in the way, which wanted to create a gravel pit in the area and has already taken steps towards it. 

The Chorzów company Zarmen gave Opole authorities an ultimatum - either a gravel pit or a palace - and failed to reach a compromise. In 2009, Zarmen officially withdrew from the plans to rebuild the palace and the palace again stood abandoned and waited for its savior. In January 2017, the palace became interested in the Luxembourg investment fund - Globucor, which wanted to create a Museum of Polish-German Reconciliation here. After the first works, however, it turned out that the money was lacking and the investor was unreliable. It was no different in the following years, investors appeared and disappeared, without a word, or because of too much investment.

Recent history of the palace ruins

In 2021, the situation of the palace in Kopice seemed to have high hopes. An investor appeared - Victor Romaniuk, who not only paid an advance for the purchase of the palace, but also carried out the first cleaning and security works. However, he did not reach a full agreement with the seller of the palace, Zarmen, and the case ended in court. It seemed that the end of leaving the palace was near and the renovation work would start right away. 

But January 2022 came and the situation of the palace became more complicated, because the previous owner sold the palace to a new merchant - Opole entrepreneur - Joachim Wiesiollek, despite the fact that the case with the previous one was not completed and the previous investor is still interested in the palace and does not want to let this case go. It will most likely end up in court again. Mr. Wiesiollek - the new owner of the palace in Kopice, also previously bought another building in the Opole region - the palace in Żyrowa near Mount St. Anna, which we admired during the renovation in 2021. Now the works are reportedly being completed there, there will be a hotel, a restaurant and conference rooms. 

Will the palace in Kopice be so lucky? We are waiting for the further development of events, and above all for the beautiful Silesian palace saved and made available to tourists, with which there is such an amazing story!

Silesian Cinderella or Joanna Gryzik

The palace in Kopice has many names, because in addition to being called a palace on the water, it is also called the "Silesian Cinderella Palace". And why? Listen to an interesting and intriguing story about its unique owner. Who was this Cinderella? This is Joanna Gryzik von Schomberg-Godulla, wife of Count Hans Ulrich Schaffgotsch. I found somewhere records that Hans Ulrich Schaffgotsch bought a palace in Kopice for his young wife in 1859. In fact, it was quite the opposite, but let's start from the beginning, because it's an incredible story...

This is a story about a poor Silesian girl who was born into a peasant family and did not promise to become the heiress of the largest estate in Silesia in the future. Joasia was born on April 29, 1842 in Poręba - today's district of Zabrze. Father Johann Gryzik worked in a zinc smelter owned by Karol Godula - called the "king of zinc", mother Antonia (née Hain) worked where she could. They lived in a poor hut, and the misfortune was complemented by the fact that immediately after the birth of Karolina's second daughter, the father died, leaving Antonia with two young children without a source of income. 

She quickly had to remarry, but the new relationship with Stephan Schieron was not successful. The alcoholic abused her and died quickly. When she married Joseph Bonk for the third time, she gave him three children. Apparently, he did not allow two children from the first marriage to enter the marriage, so Antonia kept the younger Karolina with her, and she gave 4-year-old Joasia to the care of a good friend - Emilia Lukas, who was a hostess in the house of the aforementioned Karol Godula - the one from the largest estate in Silesia. He was considered a weirdo, a workaholic, and a sick, disfigured old man who did not like children. He did not know why, but he allowed Emilia to keep little Joasia at home.

And she liked to run around the villa and collect wildflowers. One day, she walked with them to Godula's office, approached him without fear and, handing him the bouquet, said "it's for the wasps, Mr. Godula, because yes, I love the wasps". A few minutes later, Emilia looked into the study in search of the girl and was amazed to see Joasia sitting on the lap of the famous Karol Godula, who told her a fairy tale. Yes, it really resembled a fairy tale and didn't seem real. 

The entrepreneur, impressed by Joasi's openness, decided to take care of her. He took care of the teacher who taught the girl every day, and when in 1848 a severely ill kidney went to Wrocław for treatment, he took the 6-year-old Joasia with him. The day before Godula's death, he made a shocking will in which he bequeathed all his property not to relatives, but to Joasi. He was a visionary, he had great intuition and it turned out to be the right move. His lawyer friend, Maksymilian Scheffler, was to manage the estate until Joanna reached the age of majority. 

Relatives got money, and what did Joanna inherit? 19 galman mines (i.e. zinc ore), 40 hard coal mines, several zinc smelters, 4 land estates: Szombierki-Orzegów, Bobrek, Bujaków and Chudów-Paniówki. The estate was estimated at a total of over 2 million thalers! Rumours quickly arose that Joasia was an illegitimate child and she was hailed as a "Silesian Cinderella". Of course, Godula's family tried to annul the will, but without success, there were even attempts to kill her, which is why Maksymilian Scheffler hid Joasia in the Ursuline convent in Wrocław, where she continued her education until the age of 16. Then she moved into Scheffler's house.

Young, attractive and well-educated, and incredibly rich, she was adored by bachelors. During one of her many visits to the theater, she met Count Hans Ulrich Schaffgotsch, 11 years older, not very rich, but from a well-known and respected family. They fell in love at first sight. However, Joanna's peasant background stood in the way, but this problem was solved with money. Due to the appropriate amount, she received a noble title and the surname of Gryzik von Schomberg-Godulla from the Prussian king Frederick William IV. The noisy wedding took place on November 15, 1858 in the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bytom, but before that, in the palace in Szombierki, 16-year-old countess Joanna and 27-year-old Hans were blessed by Joanna's mother - Antonina Bonk and guardian Emilia Gemander. Several hundred representatives of Silesian aristocratic families participated in the wedding ceremonies.

Count Hans did not inherit the family possessions and really had nothing but the title and rank of lieutenant of the Hussars, so marriage was a chance for prosperity. Countess Joanna remained the owner of all her possessions, her husband lived only on the part that was her dowry. After their marriage, the young people moved to Wrocław, and in 1859 they bought a palace in Kopice near Grodków. The marriage of Joanna and Hans Ulrich initiated the Upper Silesian line of the Schaffgotsch family. Countess Joanna dazzled in salons, gave birth to a son and 3 daughters who married the descendants of Silesian aristocratic families. Joanna's mines brought Schaffgotsch huge profits.

In 1905, the family business was transformed into a joint-stock company "Gräflich Schaffgotsche Werke" with a capital of 50 million marks. Joanna retained the capital in the amount of 49 million 980 thousand marks. Hans Ulrich and CEO Bernard Stephan each received 10,000 marks. A year later, Joanna transferred her shares to children and grandchildren. It is estimated that Joanna multiplied Karol Godula's fortune 7 times, he actually had good intuition. In addition, the owners of Kopice became famous not only for their assets and prosperous industrial enterprises. Thanks to them, many schools, churches (e.g. in Godula or Szombierki), hospitals and orphanages were created.

The Schaffgotsch tombs in Kopice

Joanna Schaffgotsch died on 21 June 1910 in Kopice, probably due to a heart attack. She was buried in the mausoleum by the church. Five years later, on February 18, 1915, her husband rested next to her. Unfortunately, after life as in a fairy tale, they did not find peace after death. After 1945, the family tombs and sarcophagi were plundered, both in the mausoleum near the church and in the mausoleum in the depths of the park, where the other members of the Schaffgotsch family were buried. The corpses were robbed and additionally desecrated, they were pulled out of coffins and literally rolled over the tomb and even beyond. 

It was not until 1977, thanks to the then parish priest of the parish in Kopice, who made contact  with the descendants of Joanna and Ulrich living in Germany, that the remains of their ancestors were collected and buried in a collective grave near the mausoleum of Joanna and Hans Ulrich at the church, where they rest to this day. The costs of the burial and the tombstone were covered by Count Schaffgotsch - a descendant of Joanna and Hans Ulrich. In 2017, the current parish priest removed this tombstone. After restoring the mausoelum and exhuming the bodies, he moved them to a renovated tomb. The mausoleum in the depths of the park is empty, abandoned and for the time being falls into complete ruin. You can look into the underground, empty part through the window.

I recommend our ranking:Opole castles and palaces. See the most beautiful mansions of the Opole region!

Schaffgotsch Palace in Kopice - access

The palace is located in the Opole region, in a small town, but in fact it is quite easy to get here, because the A4 motorway leads to the nearby area. Following from Upper Silesia, it is enough to take the Opole West exit and you will reach the palace first by road No. 46, and later by road No. 385, which will lead us almost to the palace itself. Free parking spaces are waiting on site, without a designated parking lot for the time being. Further down this road you can reach Grodków. Coming from Wrocław, take the Brzeg exit off the motorway and road No. 401 will lead us near Grodków to the already mentioned road No. 385, which leads to Kopice, almost to the palace itself.

The palace in Kopice on our Instagram

The post about the palace in Kopice on our Instagram profile went off very nicely and reached many recipients. The comments prove that the place is very interesting for tourists and everyone is eagerly waiting for the better times of this building. Hopefully this will happen quickly. It is worth writing about it and talking about it so that not only the Coptic palace, but also other monuments from this region are saved from extinction!

Kopice - our video

See our film about the palace in Kopice and about Grodków and two other palaces: Sulisław and Jędrzejów.

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Practical information

The area of the palace is fenced and inaccessible to tourists, it can only be admired from behind the water or from behind the fence.
You can learn more about the palace in Kopice here: https://www.kopice.org/

Ruins of the Schaffgotsch Palace
Kopice 47, Kopice

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What's worth seeing in the area?

If you are looking for more ideas for interesting places to visit, we have it for you some options in the area. There are several attractions within a radius of 100 kilometers, that are worth adding to your travel plan.

• Moszna Castle, distance: 32.2  km
• Wrocław Zoo with Afrkarium, distance: 57.3  km
• Ostrów Tumski in Wrocław, distance: 59.1  km
• Kłodzko Fortress, distance: 60.6  km
• Bear Cave in Kletno, distance: 62.6  km
• Grodno Castle in Zagórze Śląskie, distance: 73.9  km
• Pławniowice Palace, distance: 78.5  km
• Książ Castle, distance: 84.1  km
• Barycz Valley, distance: 99.2  km
• Black Trout Adit in Tarnowskie Góry, distance: 99.2  km