Palmiarnia w Wałbrzychu

The palm house at Lubiechów, a district of Wałbrzych in Lower Silesia, belongs to the story of the Hochbergs, a family of magnates who owned the neighbouring Książ estate and had held Lubiechów since the sixteenth century. It was commissioned by John Henry XV von Hochberg, Prince of Pless, and tradition presents it as a gift for his wife, Princess Daisy (Mary Theresa Cornwallis-West), a keen lover of flowers and exotic plants who is credited with the idea of a winter garden in the first place.

The Polish encyclopaedia and several guides date construction to 1911–1913, while Książ Castle, which runs the site today, gives 1908–1911 and notes the alternative dating. The project reportedly cost seven million marks, an enormous sum at the time. When it opened, the glasshouse held around eighty exotic species, and it was complemented by a rose garden, Japanese-inspired gardens and fruit and vegetable plots that supplied the castle kitchens.

The palm house stayed in use after 1945. In 1963 it was modernised with new heating and glazing; in 1978 part of the structure was rebuilt and the visitor route extended to 500 metres. Entered on the regional monuments register on 3 August 1994, it then belonged to the State Agricultural Property Agency until the city of Wałbrzych bought it in September 2012, placing it under the municipal company that manages Książ Castle.

The complex covers roughly 1,900 m². At its heart stands a large metal-and-glass pavilion about fifteen metres high, built to take date palms and other tall species. Around it runs a sequence of lower, single-storey glasshouses that visitors pass through one after another; some descriptions count around fifteen of them.

What sets the building apart is its interior finish. The walls were faced with volcanic rock brought from Mount Etna in Sicily, seven wagonloads of it according to Książ Castle. The porous lava serves both as decoration and as a growing medium, shaped into grottoes, cascades and planting pockets where ferns and climbers take hold. The castle describes it as the only facility of its kind in Poland to retain its historic structure.

From some eighty species at the outset, the collection has grown to more than 250 species drawn from several continents and climate zones. Date palms dominate the central pavilion, alongside cycads, ferns and climbers. The surrounding houses are arranged by region: bamboos and figs from Asia, eucalyptus and conifers from Australia, African perennials, cacti and agaves from Central America, Mediterranean citrus, and a section devoted to succulents.

The palm house is also home to Poland's only permanent bonsai exhibition; according to the castle, its oldest trees, including a juniper, are around two hundred years old. A few animals share the route: lemurs, water turtles, peacocks, parrots, and koi carp in a pool within the main pavilion.

The palm house stands on Wrocławska street in Lubiechów, close to the access road to Książ Castle, which manages it and with which it is naturally paired on a day out. The marked route runs on foot through the chain of glasshouses, from the great pavilion through the themed rooms to the bonsai display, at whatever pace suits. A café set among the plants and a plant shop are on site. In cold weather it makes a tropical counterpoint to a visit to the castle and its terraced gardens.