Śmiełów became a part of Polish literary history thanks to the stay of Adam Mickiewicz. The great poet came here in August 1831... [A. Plenzler; Castles, palaces and country mansions; Poznań 2007]
Śmiełów became a part of Polish literary history thanks to the stay of Adam Mickiewicz. The great poet came here in August 1831, in order to get across to the part of Poland under November Uprising. However, he did not succeed. He spent three weeks in Śmiełów and remained in Wielkopolska for five months. At the end of the 19th century, thanks to Józef and Maria (nee Donimirska) Chełkowski, Śmiełów became a centre of Mickiewicz worship and remained as such until 1939. The palace in Śmiełów is one of the most interesting Classicist buildings in Wielkopolska. It was erected on a horse-shoe plan in 1797, according to the design by an eminent architect, Stanisław Zawadzki, for Andrzej Gorzeński, Poznań county judge. It consists of a storeyed main body, decorated with a monumental Ionic portico, and two outhouses, connected to the palace by semicircular galleries. The palace was plundered in 1945. After the war, until 1970, it hosted a primary school. In 1975, after comprehensive renovation works, Adam Mickiewicz Museum (a branch of the National museum in Poznań) was opened. The exhibits collected here illustrate the poet’s biography while the period under special emphasis is the time he spent in Wielkopolska, from August 1831 until March 1832. The first floor of the palace hosts an exhibition of palace interiors . [A. Plenzler; Castles, palaces and country mansions; Poznań 2007]