Sławięcice Palace (Schloss Slawentzitz)

In the 15th century, the first castle was built in Sławięcice, owned by the dukes of Opole and later the Bohemian crown. In the 17th century, the castle was owned by various families: Bohussin von Zwolle und Güldenstein, who purchased it from emperor Rudolf II in 1600,[1][2] and later the barons of Sießwohl.[1] In 1678, Countess Henkel came into possession of the estate, who was succeeded by counts Carl Maximillian and Leo Ferdinand Henkel.[1] Subsequently, in 1702, their heirs sold the castle to the Saxon General and minister count Heinrich Jakob von Flemming.[2] He erected several iron smelters in Sławięcice and neighbouring towns. At these times, these were the most modern iron and steel works in Upper Silesia. In 1714, Von Flemming exchanged the estate with Adolph Magnus, baron of Hoym.[2] Between 1716 and 1720, Hoym constructed a garden palace on the opposite of the Klodnica river, inspired by Versailles, but it soon burned down.[2] Also, he further expanded the steel factories.

In 1782, the Prussian general Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (1746-1818) married countess Amalie von Hoym, receiving the Hoym estates in Oppurg, Thuringia, and Sławięcice.[2][3] The prince fought in the Napoleonic Wars and after losing the Battle of Jena to Napoleon on 14 October 1806, he retired to Sławięcice, spending here his last years in a self-imposed exile. After his death, a monumental tomb made of cast iron with the Hohenlohe family's motto was built in the park.[2] His son, August, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1784-1853) rebuilt the palace in 1827, when the old mansion burned down after being hit by a lightning strike.

In the 19th century, the Hohenlohe family became large scale industrialists in Upper Silesia and belonged to the richest citizens of Germany [4] Their zinc smelting works belonged to the largest in the world.[3] They made the Sławięcice palace not only their main seat, but also the centre of their business empire.[3][2] The son of August, Hugo zu Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1816-1897) received the title of Duke of Ujest at the coronation of William I as King of Prussia in 1861.[2] The duke was an was an hereditary member of the upper houses of Württemberg and Prussia.[5]

In 1897, prince Christian Kraft (1848-1926) succeeded his father as owner of the Sławięcice palace. During his time, the mansion received visitors like tsar Nicholas II of Russia and emperor William II.[6] The last Hohenlohe to own the palace was prince Johann (Hans) zu Hohenlohe-Oehringen (1858–1945).

During the Second World War, the Hohenlohe family fled first to their summer palace in Oppurg[4] and later to Neuenstein in Hohenlohe. Since then, Schloss Neuenstein has remained the main residence of the princes up to this day. Schloss Slawentzitz with its park and greenhouses were severely damaged in the fights with the Red Army in January 1945. The ruins burnt down completely in 1948, but in the 1950s youth camps were still organized in its interiors. The palace was finally demolished in the 1970s.[7] Only an entrance portico remains.

The Gleiwitz incident was a false flag attack on the radio station Sender Gleiwitz in Gleiwitz (then Germany and now Gliwice, Poland) staged by Nazi Germany on the night of 31 August 1939. Along with some two dozen similar incidents, the attack was manufactured by Germany as a casus belli to justify the invasion of Poland. Despite the German government using the attack as a justification to go to war with Poland, the Gleiwitz assailants were not Polish but were German SS officers wearing Polish uniforms. The planning and preparations for this operation were carried out from the Sławięcice palace.[6][7]

Prince Frederick Louis of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen created an English landscape park around the palace. It is one of the four largest gardens in the Opole region.[7]