Kozłowo

According to the 1880 edition of Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego [Geographical dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland], ‘In former times, Kozłowo must have been the property of the Teutonic Knights. This is evidenced by the subterranean passageway leading from the castle ruins to the Teutonic Knights' stronghold in Świecie, almost a mile away’.

The area belonged to the Zboiński family from the second half of the eighteenth century. Michał Augustyn Zboiński established an entailed estate (a form of freehold real estate inherited by the nearest male relative). This was a common practice at the time and was primarily intended to keep properties in families and prevent them from being broken up. When Michał died childless in 1788, his brother Antoni inherited the estate, which then passed to his descendants, including Ksawery Zboiński, who was born in Kozłowo in 1795. The estate covered 300 ha and was in West Prussia at the time. In a letter he wrote in Kowalewo in the summer of 1827, Chopin referred to Kozłowo as a staging point on a planned trip to Gdańsk. Although there are no primary sources to confirm that Chopin stayed there, it is extremely unlikely that Count Ksawery Zboiński would have passed up an opportunity to visit his birthplace.

Ksawery’s eldest daughter, Julia Joanna Olimpia, inherited the Kozłowo property from him. The last Zboiński to own it was Józef Turowski, son of the Count’s youngest daughter, Kamila.

Unfortunately, the Zboiński manor where Chopin might have stayed is no longer there. There is a memorial stone with a plaque to commemorate his having stayed in Kozłowo. The plaque reads as follows: ‘To commemorate Fryderyk Chopin’s stay in Kozłowo and Świecie in the summer of 1825 [sic]. PTTK [Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society] Świecie Branch, 1985’.