Architectural style French neo-Renaissance Completed 1896 | Opened 1896 | |
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Location Bebrene, Bebrene parish, Ilūkste municipality Client Stanisław Kostka von Plater-Syberg Similar Ilga Manor, Snēpele Palace, Vecmēmele Manor, Dzelzava Manor, Suntaži Manor | ||
Bebrene Manor (Latvian: Bebrenes muiža, German: Rittergut Bewern) is a manor house in Bebrene, Ilūkste municipality, Latvia, in the historical region of Selonia. Commissioned by Count Stanisław Kostka von Plater-Syberg and built in French neo-Renaissance style in the late 19th century by the Polish-Italian architect Leandro Marconi, the Bebrene Palace complex is located in a park, one of the most expressive English style landscape parks in Latvia.
Contents
Map of Bebrene Manor, Bebrene, Bebrenes pagasts, LV-5439, Latvia
The building currently houses the Bebrene secondary school.
History
The first manor was built at the beginning of the existence of the Livonian Order. In 1562 the manor fell to the hands of Kaspar Syberg and his family, who ruled in Bebrene until the beginning of the 19th century. On 6 January 1803 Count Michael von dem Broele, née Plater (1777-1862), married Izabela Helena Syberg zu Wischling (1785-1849) and from then on until 1920 the estate belonged to the Plater-Syberg family.
The current French neo-Renaissance manor house built in rectangular form was commissioned by Count Stanisław Kostka von Plater-Syberg (1823-1895) according to the design by Polish-Italian architect L. J. L. Marconi and completed in 1896 after the count's death. Originally it had two stories, but in the 1960s the attic of the palace was built on the third floor instead.
Description
The main façade in the center of the building was decorated with three polygonal openings, which adjoins a terrace with stairs on both sides. Above the entrance door on the second floor there is a small balcony. Along the main façade a second series of three openings were built in the mezzanine. Also adjacent to the wide terrace, the ground level is suspended above a stone masonry floor.
The key point of the manor is the hall, located behind the entrance door on the western end of the palace. It is decorated with crystal lamps, and antique furniture imported from Paris. Two lounges and a library provided with marble fireplaces, oval table and chairs in the style of Louis XV. To the right side of the door, there is a small cabin which leads to a large saloon. The manor also has a large library located left of the eastern main entrance. The second floor is reached by stairs through the corridor in the lobby. The dining room is located further with an adjacent pantry containing stairs to the basement of the palace where an underground corridor leads to the kitchen.
Bebrene park was designed as an English landscape park. The complex includes a part of the palace gates, estate manager's house, kitchen house, another house above the basement mill built in 1836, and horse stables. To the present day, it is partially preserved with an underground passage from the palace cellar to the kitchen building.