History of Radonie Manor
BEFORE THE WAR, THERE WERE OVER 16,000 MANORS IN POLAND.
NOW THERE ARE A FEW HUNDREDS REMAINING, MOST IN RUINE.
The above directly translates to: Radonski, of his own coat of arms, in 1563 pays a tax for the village of Radonia, Mazowieckie voivodeship, Varsovian land.
We learn about the existence of the manor in the Radonie-Dąbrówka estate for the first time from a deed of sale-purchase of these lands dated June 21, 1796. It was concluded between Antoni Grotuz, the district scribe of the Duchy of Żmudź, and Piotr Czołchański of the Sas coat of arms, a councillor of the Warsaw Department, the heir of the village of Lubiec and the owner of the Łask and Łask estates
The handwritten document from Warsaw Castle mentions that the estate is being sold with:
„…all benefits, incomes, and revenues, fields, arable lands, plots, homesteads, thickets, fruit and vegetable gardens, rivers, ponds, fisheries, and all waterways, the manor, both the courtly and rural buildings, and all other structures, farmers of both genders, such as cottages, cottagers’ farms, obligations, serfdoms, tributes, labour services, and all due obedience, winter and spring sowings, inventories, tools, and everything that is found on the land and all that can serve the estate, and also how the estate has been, is, and should remain within its length, width, and extension from ancient times…”
From the same document, we also learn that Antoni Grotuz purchased Radońska Dąbrówka (the estate was also known by that name) from Antonina z Królikowskich Piotrowska by deed dated July 31, 1793, while simultaneously paying off her successors. Meanwhile, Colonel Piotrowska acquired the Radońska estate on April 12, 1791, from Mateusz Grotch, the steward of Rawa, who thus became the oldest known owner of the Radonie Dąbrówka estate by name.
Piotr Czołchański, a councillor of the Warsaw Department, heir of the village of Lubiec, and proxy of Teofil Załuski, owner of the Łask and Łask estates, was a prominent figure in Polish nobility. Radonie was just one of his numerous properties, most likely utilized as agricultural land. He mentions them in his will, which he wrote in 1833 at the age of 73. In this otherwise fascinating document, he meticulously lists all of his possessions. Thus, there are items such as “a green carriage for 600 zlotys, a yellow old-fashioned carriage for 300 zlotys,” as well as “old boots” worth only one zloty. At the beginning of the will, he briefly describes the history of his life and lists his numerous investments:
The son of a noble family, impoverished by a national resolution, once inheriting vast estates in Volhynia and Ukraine, including Taykurskie and Żytopolskie, with many families… After the death of his parents amidst the Cossack incursions in Ukraine, wandering as a fugitive, eventually brought to Warsaw, he was called upon for service to the Polish Commonwealth as per nominations, which he lost with the country’s partition… Now, weakened by age, at the age of 73, spent amidst industrious pursuits. My estate entirely earned, neither from succession nor from any dowry from two wives, solely from significant credit and modest living… Proceeding from the profitable sale of hereditary villages named Radonia and Dąbrówka, in the Błoński district, and the sale of the Prażmów estates in the Czerski district…”
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Piotr Czołchański died on January 6, 1833, and was buried in the church crypt beneath the Chapel of Our Lady at the Łask collegiate church.
In 1800, the Radonie estate passed into the hands of Karol Bronikowski, who owned it for only 4 years. Unlike many Polish manors, which often remained in the same family for centuries, Radonie changed hands several times over just two hundred years.
The next owner of Radoń, albeit only for 6 years, was Wirydianna Kwilecka-Fiszerowa (née Radolińska) in 1804. She was a fascinating figure, the author of memoirs titled “Dzieje moje własne i osób postronnych” (“My Own History and That of Outsiders”), covering the years of partitions and post-partition periods. Referred to by her contemporaries as the Polish Madame de Staël, in her memoir she describes her own life, her family, and various “outsiders” against the backdrop of turbulent historical events, from the Bar Confederation to the uprising of the Kingdom of Congress.
Connected with the most eminent noble families of Greater Poland, after divorcing her first husband, Antoni Kwilecki, in 1806 she married General Stanisław Fiszer. The course of history and Wirydianna’s life’s journey allowed her to maintain close relationships with the most prominent figures of the era and personally participate in significant events, such as the Four-Year Sejm, the 1794 uprising, and Napoleon’s campaign to Russia.
Wirydianna shared a particularly close friendship with Tadeusz Kościuszko, which, on her part, bore the marks of a romantic infatuation, as she describes in her book: “My first thought was to approach Kościuszko. I was pleased to note that he had grown accustomed to my presence, that he missed me when I did not visit, and that he treated me as a friend. It was for him that I came to Paris, and if he had wanted to possess me completely, I would have left, seeing nothing and no one but him…”. However, Kościuszko was too absorbed in matters of independence and had no time for love affairs. Therefore, he married Wirydianna to his adjutant and close friend, General Fiszer. Wirydianna mentions Radonie twice, although it is only a brief mention regarding the sale of the estate during a period when she and her second husband were facing financial difficulties: “The sale of Radonie filled my purse for the time being, but we were on the best road to ruin.”
In the years 1810-1812, Radoń was owned by Count Stanisław Męciński of Kurozwęki, of the Poraj coat of arms. Another colourful figure, known for his sarcastic humour and a rather unusual lawsuit. Here’s how Paulina Wilkońska describes him in the book ‘From My Memories of Social Life in Warsaw’:
“Count Męciński—nicknamed the Mandarin—was like a Spanish grandee, stripped of his fortune but still cloaked in even greater ancestral arrogance. He was famous for his lawsuit against the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. Apparently, one of his ancestors, going off to war, had deposited in the Częstochowa monastery diamonds of great value and other treasures. He thus filed a lawsuit demanding the return of these riches, arguing that they had only been entrusted to the monastery for safekeeping, whereas the monastery claimed they were a gift. The lawsuit was decided against Count Męciński.
“He was a tall man, fairly well-built but thin, standing straight but with a slight limp. Dark complexion, sharp features, proudly raised chin. He usually held his cane behind his back. You could meet him every day in the Saxon Garden. When my husband and I sat on a bench there, he would often join us. He liked to talk about the glory of his family and vast estates. If he heard someone’s name, he would immediately inquire about their coat of arms – his knowledge of them was quite extensive. He would tell us about his various adventures and jokes that always amused Warsaw. However, they sometimes bordered on cynicism and a certain audacity.”
Here’s one of the better ones: “He was standing in the courtyard of the Saxon Garden when the parade was about to begin. It was supposed to be in front of one of the princes and a foreign guest. A policeman approached him and said: ‘Count, you can’t stand here.’ ‘Well then, you fool, bring me a chair!’ he replied, looking down at him.'”
Męciński was a well-known figure throughout Warsaw, and anecdotes about him abounded. Many of them are recounted by K.W. Wójcicki in the “Memoirs of a Child of Warsaw”:
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“After the uprising in 1831, he permanently settled in Warsaw when he lost everything, becoming a caricature of our capital. Tall in stature, with a drawn, pale face, glasses on a large nose, of good girth, with a prominent belly, he walked the streets of the city usually with his head held high and proudly gazing at passersby. When poverty came after dire straits, he lived off begging, borrowing a couple of zlotys here and there – visiting the first restaurants, where he always found a benefactor who would buy him breakfast or lunch.”
Wójcicki also mentions the lawsuit over the treasures of the Częstochowa monastery referenced by Wilkońska:
“[…] once, on a feast day of the Blessed Virgin Mary, he was seen walking behind the procession, and one of his acquaintances said: ‘How is it, Count, that you’re here while you’re suing the Black Madonna of Częstochowa?’ ‘It doesn’t matter,’ he replied solemnly, ‘friendship is one thing, business is another.'”
Count Męciński tried until his death to sue the Pauline monks of Jasna Góra for treasures given to the monastery during the Swedish war by one of his ancestors. Unsuccessfully. Hence, “to litigate like Męciński with the Black Madonna” proverbially means a hopeless, unwinnable lawsuit.
In 1812, Count Stanisław Męciński sold Radonie to Karol Kahle, a lieutenant of Colonel Sussmilch’s battalion. He was another remarkable figure who proudly inscribed himself in the history of the estate, expanding it in 1820 by adding other properties. He initiated the best period in the history of the estate, its own “Golden Age,” demonstrating great management skills. Later, he transferred the Radon estate with the Dąbrówka farm to the Rydecki family, who acquired ownership rights in 1828.
Around 1842, Piotr Folkierski (1819-1901), of the Radwan coat of arms, erected the still-standing brick, neoclassical manor in Radonie. The manor, built in the shape of a rectangle, has a regular structure and is high-ceiled. It is covered by a gable roof with shingled slopes. The front facade is 9-axis, with a 3-axis Tuscan portico crowned by a neo-Renaissance pediment. The garden facade features a two-axis projection. Probably around the same time, a landscape park was established around the manor.
Barbara Rydecka, the daughter of Adam and Tekla Rydecki, is Piotr Aleksander Folkierski’s first wife, and she brings the Radon estate to him as a dowry. She dies early, leaving her husband with two children: Władysław and Aleksandra. Barbara’s place beside Folkierski is taken by her sister, Julia z Rydeckich. When Adam and Tekla Rydecki pass away, Piotr Folkierski and his second wife settle with Julia’s successor (her brother, Alfons), thus gaining full ownership rights to the entire area in 1840.
Piotr Folkierski’s administration period marks the flourishing of Radonie. The village then consists of 18 houses and has 183 inhabitants, with the estate covering 526 morgs, of which over 70% are arable land. A factory and mill settlement with a windmill and a brewery producing licensed Bavarian beer emerge. In the 1880s, production reaches 17,000 buckets of beer, with turnovers around 20,000 rubles.
The brewery also has a significant market in Warsaw, where E. Kostrzewski’s company on Miodowa Street houses the main and exclusive depot for Radonie beer. Piotr Folkierski goes down in history not only for the reasons mentioned above. Primarily, he was a pioneer in applying steam-powered machinery in agriculture within the Kingdom of Poland territory. The so-called locomobile was already in use in Radonie in 1856, mainly for grain threshing. Folkierski’s son, Władysław, a renowned mathematician and engineer, describes how this came about in an intriguing manner:
“A confectioner who came from French Switzerland, named Bisier, rented splendid ground-floor premises on Krakowskie Przedmieście […] where, in addition to the confectionery, he wanted to set up a chocolate factory and for this purpose imported an elegant, multi-horsepower steam engine from abroad, a Hermann brand, which he placed in a huge window facing the street. This unheard-of thing in Warsaw at the time (1855) caused concern among the tenants, who feared ‘blowing up’ […] Finally, the authorities ordered the infernal machine, which endangered the entire district of the city, one of the most beautiful for blowing up, to be immediately removed. As a result, Bisier went bankrupt and announced in the papers the sale of parts of his equipment. My father, having read this announcement, bought the machine and the boiler very cheaply.”
Opposite the manor in Radonie was a spacious brick building, half of which was occupied by a distillery. In the other half, there were threshers, choppers, saws, and in the distillery, the locomobile was placed. A transmission shaft connected both halves of the building, so, in addition to the mentioned agricultural machinery, the steam engine also powered all the distillery equipment: graters, pumps, mixers, etc. All this worked splendidly, to the general amazement of the neighbours, who could not believe “how a machine intended for making chocolate could be used for threshing grain.”.
The grain-threshing locomobile is immortalized in a photo from 1936, when the estate was owned by Jan Chrzanowski. However, it is difficult to say with certainty whether this is the original device from eighty years ago.
In 1888, Piotr Folkierski sold the Radonie estate to Edmund Sikorski. From that moment on, no new owner would hold on to the property for more than a few years, and until 1932, Radonie was put up for sale several times. Unfortunately, so far, no significant information has been found regarding the subsequent owners.
After Sikorski, the ownership passed into the hands of Ryszard Cegielski, who in 1899 sold the estate to Kazimierz Kiełczewski. The next owner in 1907 was Aniela Chatkiewicz, followed by Celina Raczyńska with Stanisława Mrozowska, and then Eugenia Łępicka. It is known that from the subsequent owner, Konstanty Gordziałkowski, in 1932, the Radonie estate came into the possession of Jan and Maria Chrzanowski, who managed it for 13 years until 1945.
On April 2nd 1932, the Radonie estate was purchased by Jan and Maria Chrzanowski of the Suche Komnaty coat of arms. The Chrzanowskis left Radonie after thirteen years, on September 15th 1945, due to the 1944 agricultural reform. The well-functioning and self-sufficient estate with a fruit and vegetable processing plant, hectares of cultivated fields, as well as the manor and park – all of this was lost by the force of one sentence from the Land Commissioner stating that “…the Radonie agricultural estate covering an area of 151 hectares, owned by Engineer Mr. Jan Chrzanowski, has been taken over by the State and parcelled out.”
The Chrzanowski family settled in Radonie shortly after their wedding, and their daughter Janina was born the same year, with their son Stefan following four years later in 1936. In the manor, Jan’s parents, Damian and Władysława Chrzanowski, called “Dadumkami” by their grandchildren, also lived, as well as Jan’s brother, also named Stefan. With the new landlords, the Radonie estate comprised over 150 hectares, mostly arable land and forests, the remainder being meadows and an old orchard with numerous fruit trees. There were also twenty-two fishponds where carp breeding was carried out. The young owners had just graduated – Jan in horticulture and Maria in animal husbandry. Now, however, they had to apply all that theoretical knowledge in real life for the first time – they became landowners tasked with cultivating the land, and from its produce, they would have to support themselves, their family, and provide employment for the local population, whose livelihoods and well-being largely depended on the functioning of the Radonie estate.
Both spouses work hard, and the farm is run impeccably: a new orchard is established, inspections and a large vegetable garden are created where Maria, besides the usual vegetables, also cultivates asparagus, later sold in Warsaw. The ponds are regularly stocked with fish, the barns are full of cows and pigs, and horse breeding is also carried out. In 1938, Jan and his brother Stefan converted the former guesthouse building into a fruit and vegetable processing plant known by local residents as the ‘Marmalade Factory’. Fruits from both orchards and their own vegetables are used for processing. In the park, the spouses erect two shrines – statues of the Virgin Mary. One is located in the meadow to the right of the manor, and the other on a picturesque islet in the pond behind the house. Under the first one, Maria Chrzanowska holds May devotions every year, attended by all the manor residents, as well as the manor workers living in the quadrangles and the so-called “red house.”
The Chrzanowski couple quickly befriend the owners of neighbouring estates – particularly the Łaźniewski family from Musuł and the Stokowski family from Szczęsne – and often spend time together. During the summer, tennis matches are played on the Radonie court, and in winter, hockey matches on the largest pond in the park. There are also winter hunts, sleigh rides, and the now-forgotten sport of “skiring.” The biggest enthusiasts of this white madness are, of course, the adults, as this form of recreation requires skiing skills and a love for horses. There are two forms of skiring. The first involves skiing behind a horse ridden by another rider, which only requires holding onto a rope and maintaining balance on skis. The horse is directed by the rider. The second form of skiring is more challenging, as it involves simultaneous skiing and horse steering. Here, one must be both an excellent skier and skilled in driving horses, and only Jan Chrzanowski manages to succeed in this.
Before World War II, a frequent guest at the manor is the then-Colonel Stefan Grot-Rowecki, Jan’s cousin. In June 1939, he arrives in Radonie and reports with agitation that he has received an order from Minister Kasprzycki to organize a motorized armoured brigade from… a cavalry brigade within three months! Exactly three months later, war breaks out. During it, the Radonie estate functions relatively normally, although the Germans stationed in Grodzisk often appear here to requisition food. From 1943 onwards, the manor organizes several receptions for parachutists from Great Britain and containers with weapons. “Silent Unseen” operatives land in a clearing where the Dominican Sisters’ convent now stands. Jan listens to the radio, awaiting the codeword “stolnica” (“bureau”), later distorted to “solnica” (“saltshaker”) in historical transmissions. In this first drop, on the night of September 9-10, 1943, along with Lieutenant Bolesław Polończyk, codenamed “Kryształ,” and Lieutenant Fryderyk Serafiński, codenamed “Drabina,” a woman also lands, Captain Elżbieta Zawacka, codenamed “Zo,” a courier of the Home Army’s Headquarters. The parachutists spend the night in friendly houses in the countryside and the next day travel by EKD train to Warsaw.
In 1943, the manor gains a new resident. The Chrzanowski family takes in Krystyna Geisler, a 16-year-old Jewish girl who managed to escape from the Częstochowa ghetto. After many months of wandering and living with various acquaintances and relatives, she arrives in Radonie on recommendation. The parents instruct Janka and Stefan that if anyone asks, they should say she is their governess. Krystyna has her own room in the “attic” and shares meals and spends time with the Chrzanowski family. She stays in Radonie until the end of the war.
The estate’s location near Warsaw makes it a haven for refugees from the devastated capital after the fall of the Warsaw Uprising. The owners of Radonie provide shelter and food at their own expense for up to 80 people. About 30 people, mainly relatives and friends, live in the manor. The rest of the refugees are accommodated in the “Marmalade Factory.” One of the many people who found refuge on the estate is the painter Bernard Tadeusz Frydrysiak. In his memoirs, he vividly describes his months-long stay here:
“After tidying up a bit under the crane by the well, I showed up at the manor for dinner. Although the numerous group of people sitting at the table at the moment were displaced persons or refugees with sad experiences, the atmosphere here was cheerful, as the house was friendly, hospitable, truly Polish. I started eating. They served wonderful, truly rural, unsoured milk with buckwheat groats! Delight! Then – the indispensable marmalade of their own making, cottage cheese, rustic homemade bread. Delightful! After dinner, a short chat, and everyone dispersed wherever they wanted. Mostly for a walk in the magnificent old park […] There was always plenty of work on the estate. Everyone volunteered for various tasks, if only out of moral obligation to the hosts. Me too […] So: in the garden, during haymaking, shooting targets with a slingshot or airgun, picking tomatoes or mushrooms in the forest, sunbathing by the ponds. But the hosts’ wish was for me to work at the easels. The master of the house, a sincere lover of art, was an incredible enthusiast and greatly enjoyed seeing my constantly new works. He became my friend and supporter of my art. I painted various things, starting from self-portraits, beautiful ladies, and landscapes. There were several young, pretty girls in the estate, so it was even nicer. The house owners bustled around a big displaced family, trying to make everyone feel as good as possible and momentarily forget about their experiences and losses. At some point, all the refugees were called ‘cats’ because each of them said that ‘he had, had’ and lost everything. At night, partisans came out of the woods. They received food and left.”
When the war ends, the provisions of the agrarian reform of 1944 begin to be implemented. All landowners whose arable land exceeds 50 hectares must undergo parcelling and leave their estates. Often, they have only a few hours to pack up. The arable land of the Chrzanowski family measures 51 hectares – one hectare too many… In 1945, Jan receives an offer he can’t refuse: he can stay in the manor, where he will be given two rooms (!), if he agrees to become the administrator of Radonie and the future State Agricultural Farm (PGR).
He immediately knows that his answer will be negative, but taking advantage of the time given to him to make a decision, the family packs up and for several nights sends their belongings by car to Sopot, where the Chrzanowski family intends to move. They manage to take almost all their belongings: furniture, paintings, porcelain, books, photo albums, documents, and souvenirs. September 15, 1945, is the last day of Jan and Maria Chrzanowski’s stay in Radonie. When in 1968, passing through the area, they drive up to the manor, they don’t have the strength to get out of the car, seeing the condition of the building where they spent the first thirteen years of their marriage. They only circle around the remnants of the lawn and drive away, never to return again.
In the post-war period, the manor house and the surrounding park undergo various changes in fortune, being under the control of several institutions. Initially, the Radonie estate belongs to the Samopomoc Chłopska (Peasant Self-Help), then it is taken over by the District Board of Agricultural Land and subsequently by the Opypy State Agricultural Farm (PGR). The next owners are the District Branch of the Polish Scouting Association (Hufiec Związku Harcerstwa Polskiego), and after them, the PGR in Książenice. During this time, the manor house is inhabited by employees of the PGR, and the farm buildings are used for breeding cows and fattening cattle. After some time, the employees are allocated accommodation elsewhere and move out. This marks the beginning of a rapid process of deterioration of the manor house and the park.
The manor house in Radonie, referred to by locals as a palace due to its size, was attempted to be rebuilt three times: in 1971, 1981, and 2001. However, it was only the last attempt that succeeded. In 2010, after nine years of intensive renovation, the dilapidated manor house returned to its former glory, and the new owners obtained permission for its use. For the first time in 60 years, the building began to function again as a family home.
In 1998, in a book about manor houses in the Grodzisk County titled “Houses and People,” the author, Marek Cabanowski, noted regarding the Radonie manor: “With each of my subsequent visits, the level of devastation of this residence was increasing. Today, local residents extract bricks from load-bearing walls and dismantle wooden shingles for fuel. I think the current damage is irreversible, and the palace cannot be rebuilt.”
“The thread of tradition continues to spin on the wheel of the present.“