Composers / Fryderyk Chopin / Places catalog

Waplewo

Waplewo is first mentioned in 1376 as the then new settlement of Wapils. During the fifteenth century, the property was still in the possession of the Teutonic Knights. Waplewo changed hands frequently and was owned in turn by the Rabe family of the Kos coat of arms (1483 to the beginning of the seventeenth century), who built the first manor house, the Niemojewski family (1611–1641) and then the Zawadzki family, who had the brick manor built. The Sierakowski family of the Ogończyk coat of arms came into possession of the estate sometime around 1760 and made it a centre of Polish culture in what was then East Prussia. The Sierakowskis loved art, music and literature. They collected some 400 paintings and had a valuable library of more than 11,000 volumes. The Waplewo manor was visited by some eminent persons, including Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1867), Oskar Kolberg (1875) and Jan Matejko (1877).

In 1815, Antoni Sierakowski, the son of Kajetan and Anna Sierakowski, acquired the estate. He repaired the damage caused by Napoleon’s army and was actively involved in economics and culture, as well as education (he built a school for rural people and set aside funds to pay the teachers). Through his father-in-law, Count Franciszek Ksawery Zboiński, Sierakowski was able to meet Chopin, who was spending his 1827 summer holidays with the Count in Kowalewo. Zboiński is known to have set off for Gdańsk in the company of Sierakowski and Ignacy Dembowski. What is not certain is whether Chopin went with them. He had written a letter from Kowalewo in which he mentioned an impending trip to Pomerania, but there is no first-hand information to confirm that the trip actually took place.

The Pomeranian trip was an opportunity for Sierakowski to invite Chopin to Waplewo. Everyone definitely went to the Sierakowski estate on 14 or 15 August 1827, when they got back from Gdańsk, but there is no documentary evidence to confirm that Chopin was there. All we have is a recollection of Antoni written by his grandson, Adam Sierakowski, in 1899, that reads as follows: ‘he was an art lover body and soul. Above all, he was a musician. He played the violin beautifully and had his many compositions published. The famous composer Chopin was his friend and stayed at Waplewo’. Antoni Sierakowski, being a music lover, might well have made a piano available for Chopin to display his prodigious talent on the instrument. Chopin probably returned to Kowalewo from Waplewo in the company of Count Zboiński. Sierakowski left for Gdańsk with Dembowski once more, as is confirmed by their registration at the ‘Pod Trzema Murzynami’ (Three Negroes) hotel.

The Sierakowskis owned Waplewo until the Second World War. After the war, the manor housed the State Pedigree Breeding Centre, and in the 1970s it was thoroughly renovated. Since 2006, the palace and park complex has been under the care of the Gdańsk National Museum. The Museum set up a branch in Waplewo known as the Museum of Noble Tradition. The Pomeranian Centre for Contacts with Poles Living Abroad. The Waplewo manor is considered one of the most valuable surviving examples of Poland’s rural heritage in the north of the country.

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