Picture this. You stand before Schloss Lomnitz a magnificent Baroque structure. Its history whispers secrets of centuries.
Schloss Lomnitz boasts a rich past. A medieval water castle once stood here. It belonged to the von Zedlitz family. They owned it from 1475 to 1654. The Thomagnini family took over. They replaced the old castle with a Baroque masterpiece in the 1720s. The famed Silesian Baroque architect Martin Frantz is thought to have designed it. He also built the Gnadenkirche in Hirschberg.
Christian Mentzel a wealthy linen merchant bought Schloss Lomnitz in 1738. He further expanded the castle. Mentzel was a generous patron of the arts. He contributed financially to the Gnadenkirche. He even donated its Baroque organ. His tomb lies in a chapel at the Gnadenfriedhof in Hirschberg. Around 1800 his son added a charming Neoclassical building the so-called Witwenschloss or Widow’s Castle.
The Mentzel family owned Schloss Lomnitz until 1811. Ownership changed hands several times. In 1835 Carl Gustav Ernst von Küster bought it. He was a Prussian Legationsrat and Major. He commissioned Albert Tollberg a student of Karl Friedrich Schinkel to remodel the castle. This renovation between 1828 and 1844 transformed Schloss Lomnitz. It gained a monumental staircase. The only remaining Baroque feature is the grand entrance portal with its balcony. The castle’s present appearance reflects this last major change.
Mark-Albrecht von Küster the last owner before World War II died in a plane crash in 1941. His widow fled to the West in 1945. The castle was confiscated and nationalized after the war. The main building served as a school until 1979. It was abandoned and fell into ruin. The Witwenschloss housed the agricultural state farm administration. The park was neglected.
Ulrich von Küster the grandson of Mark-Albrecht von Küster initiated the castle’s revival. With a Polish partner he bought the ruined main building in 1991. He restored it as a family home. He also acquired the Witwenschloss and ten hectares of parkland in 1995. Together with his wife Elisabeth they renovated the Witwenschloss. It became a successful hotel and restaurant by 1996. They painstakingly restored the vast park. A monument to the writer Stefan Andres whose wife hailed from Lomnitz stands there. He wrote his novella El Greco paints the Grand Inquisitor here.
Today Schloss Lomnitz is a cultural and educational center. Private donors and associations helped restore it. The ground floor’s state rooms display restored wall paintings and marble imitations. The Verein zur Pflege schlesischer Kunst und Kultur e V. has its headquarters here. A permanent exhibition features castles in the Hirschberg valley. The old granary was also renovated. A replica of a Silesian Bethaus was inaugurated in the park in July 2020. A museum displays three centuries of life at Schloss Lomnitz. This amazing place showcases furniture from different eras. You’ll even see a Biedermeier-era tea room a wealthy linen merchant’s office and a historic kitchen.
Schloss Lomnitz is more than just a castle. It is a living testament to history resilience and the enduring power of family legacy.