The origins of this castle date back to medieval times when the owners of Kornik were the wealthy Gorka family. In the 14th century they began the construction of their ancestral home. Finished in 1430, the defensive structure was surrounded by a moat. In the 16th century the castle was rebuilt in a Renaissance style and then given the look of a Baroque residence. The last reconstruction of the castle was carried out by Titus Dzialynski. Designed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel with the work carried out by local craftsmen, the neo-Gothic residence has the characteristics of a defensive fortress.

The next castle owner was Wladyslaw Zamoyski. In 1924, just before his death, he left his whole estate including this castle with impressive collections of art works and books and a dendrological garden (Kornik Arboretum) to the Polish nation. The donation was managed by the “Kornik Division” Foundation (revived in 2001). During the war the collections were largely plundered.

Today the castle houses a museum with many unique exhibits which include furniture of many different styles and ages, paintings of Polish and European masters, sculptures, numismatic collections, militaria and the Kornik Library of the Polish Academy of Science.

Castle Museum in Kornik (woj. Wielkopolskie)

www.poznan.pl