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Yesterday’s photo was of Palac Marianny Oranskiej – The Palace of Princess Marianne of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau. Location Kamieniec Zabkowicki, Poland.
Princess Marianne (1810 – 1883) was the daughter of King William I of the Netherlands and Princess Wihelmine of Prussia. The story goes that when she was about 18, her mother gave her a large area of land in what was then Southern Prussia and is now southwest Poland
Of course, every Princess needs a Palace. Construction started in 1838 and was interrupted from 1848 – 1853 while she went through a messy separation with her often unfaithful husband Prince Albert of Prussia.
The Palace is 75 metres x 48 metres and the 4 corner towers are 34 meters high.
Princess Marianne is still highly regarded in the area as a person who brought economic development to what was then a backward region. It is unclear how much land her mother had given her, however, another town which she created is 55km away using current day roads.
After her separation from Prince Albert, she took a live-in lover and companion. She had an illegitimate child with him. To make matters worse, she raised the boy as her own, rather than quietly giving the child to someone else, as was the custom of the time. This caused a right Royal Scandal, and she was banished from Prussia.
In 1873 she gave the Palace to her son (from her marriage with Albert) as a wedding present. The Palace continued as a family residence until 1945. The Soviet army looted it and caused severe damage. It is currently undergoing restoration but is open for guided tours. My photo was taken in early June. A week later the news reported that someone had fallen to their death from one of the towers
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