Composers / Fryderyk Chopin / Places catalog

Obrowo

The earliest reference to Obrowo dates from the early fourteenth century. In 1564, most of it belonged to Mikołaj Działyński. The subsequent owners were the Łubieńskis, Tarnowskis and Nałeczes. Sometime around the middle of the eighteenth century, Obrowo passed to the Ramocki family. From 1808 to 1842, the owner was Hieronim Ramocki. His daughter Józefa later married the son of the owner of Szafarnia, Dominik Dziewanowski, a school friend of Chopin’s, whom the composer called ‘Domuś’.
Obrowo is some 32 km from Szafarnia. Chopin stayed there on his 1824 and 1825 summer holidays. He was fascinated with the folklore around Dobrzyń and constantly took in the local folk customs. In his letters, Obrowo is mentioned in connection with the entertainment and refreshments his host laid on for the farm workers at the end of harvest time. This is how he described one of these scenes in the ‘Kuryer Szafarski’ [Szafarnia courier] of 24 August 1824: ‘On the 20th of the current month, the harvest festival took place in Obrowo. The entire village, which was gathered before the manor house, made sincerely merry, particularly after the vodka, and the girls sang out in a squeaky, semitonal off-key voice:

Before the manor, ducks in slop,
But Our Lady is all in gold.
Before the manor hangs a rope,
If Our Lordship should be gloomy.

Before the manor hangs a snake,
Mistress Marianna will marry.
Before the manor lies a cap,
If the maid should be a ninny.’

As a collector of folk songs and customs, Chopin thus anticipated Oskar Kolberg’s monumental work Lud. Jego zwyczaje, sposób życia, mowa, podania, przysłowia, obrzędy, gusła, zabawy, pieśni, muzyka i tańce [The common folk, their customs, way of life, speech, legends, proverbs, rites, pagan ceremonies, games, songs, music and dances] by more than thirty years.
Chopin again took part in the harvest festival while on holiday the following year (1825) – this time in Szafarnia. From the description we have from the composer himself, we can say that he did not merely observe the fun but was actively involved in the dancing and even picked up a cello and accompanied the fiddler. These were invaluable experiences for the young composer. To some extent at least, he thus got to know folklore first hand, as a living tradition.
Fortunately, the neo-classical manor where Chopin stayed in Obrowo is still there. The building, which now serves as the local municipal offices, was erected in the early nineteenth century. A stone plate commemorating Chopin’s stay here was unveiled in 2004.
From one of the surviving letters of Chopin’s sister Ludwika Jędrzejewicz, dated 1842, we know that he kept in touch with the Ramockis and stayed with them in Obrowo on the way home from Ciechocinek, where he had gone for medical treatment.

Place Category
Antoni Brzezina’s bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Antonin Manors / Palaces / Castles
Apartment of Dominik Magnuszewski Flats
Apartment of Stefan Witwicki Flats
Apartment of the family of Alfons Brandt Flats
Augsburg Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity Churches / Places of worship
Belvedere Appearances
Bielany, Camaldolese monastery Churches / Places of worship
Blue Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
‘Botanika’ Other
Brochów Churches / Places of worship
Brühl Palace Appearances
Buchholtz’s instrument store Other
Casimir Palace Flats
Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park Other
Czapski (Krasiński) Palace Appearances, Manors / Palaces / Castles
Dal Trozzo bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Duszniki Zdrój Hotels / Inns
Dziewanowski home Flats
Engraving studio of Fr Izydor Józef Cybulski and Antoni Płachecki Education
Franciszek Klukowski bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Fryderyk Chopin Museum Other
Fryderyk Skarbek’s apartment Flats
Gdańsk Hotels / Inns
Gładkowskis' apartment Flats
Golub Other
Holy Cross Church Churches / Places of worship
Home of Jan Matuszyński Flats
‘Honoratka’ Coffeehouses
Jabłonowski Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Jan Böhm’s townhouse Flats
Kalisz Other
Kikół Manors / Palaces / Castles
Kolbergs' apartment Flats
Kowalewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Kozłowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Krakow Other
Ludwik Dmuszewski’s house Flats
Magnus's bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Marceli Celiński’s apartment Flats
Maurycy Mochnacki’s home Flats
Miss Kicka's Salon in Lubomirski Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
National Theatre Appearances
Obory Churches / Places of worship
Obrowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Ojców Other
‘Old’ Merchants' Hall Appearances
Patisserie Lourse Coffeehouses
Pieskowa Skała Other
Płock Other
‘Pod Kopciuszkiem’ and ‘Dziurka’ Coffeehouses
Poturzyn Manors / Palaces / Castles
Powązki Cemeteries
Poznań Other
Presbytery of St Jadwiga (Hedwig) parish church in Milanówek Other
Pruszak Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Residence of Józef Reinschmidt’s parents Flats
Rościszewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Sanniki Manors / Palaces / Castles
Saxon Palace Flats
Saxon Post Office Other
Skating rink Other
Sochaczew Other
Sokołowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Staszic Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Strzyżew Manors / Palaces / Castles
Szafarnia Manors / Palaces / Castles
Toruń Other
Turzno Manors / Palaces / Castles
‘U Brzezińskiej’ Coffeehouses
Ugoszcz Manors / Palaces / Castles
Viceroy's Palace Appearances
Vilnius (Wileński) Hotel Hotels / Inns
Visitandine Church of St Joseph Churches / Places of worship
Waplewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Warsaw Other
Warsaw Charitable Society Appearances
Warsaw Conservatory Appearances
‘Wiejska Kawa’ Coffeehouses
Wieliczka Other
Wojciech Żywny’s apartment Flats
Wola Tollhouse Other
Wrocław Appearances
Żelazowa Wola Flats
Żychlin Manors / Palaces / Castles