Turawa

History

Though the origins of the village are not known, local legend states that the rich forests around the village were used as a hunting ground by the Dukes of Oppeln, who built a hunting lodge in the area. The first documents that mention Turawa are from the beginning of the sixteenth century, and mention two estates, both named Kuchar, belonging to the village of Groß Kottorz. One of them was Turawa, while the second was located on a site now flooded by the Turawa Reservoir. The name was probably given around 1562 by Georg von Königsfeld, the owner of the manor the settlement was located on. The settlement, along with its hamlets of Marscholken and Łyczyna continued to belong to the village of Groß Kottorz until the eighteenth century. In 1712, the settlement and the surrounding property was sold by Franz Karl von Blankovsky to Martin Scholtz von Löwencron of Kamienitz and Wieschowa, who began construction of the present palace. His son, Joseph, died childless in 1759 and his widow, Anna Barbara von Garnier, remarried Franz Adam Count von Gaschin. After her death in 1804, Turawa was owned for years by a brother, Franz Xavier von Garnier. From then until the end of World War II the village was ones by the von Garnier family, who in 1841 received the title of count (with the name Count von Garnier-Turawa.) In those times Turawa had 581 inhabitants. The last owner of turawa was Hubertus Count von Garnier-Turawa, a member of the Prussian Landtag (1925-1932), who died in 1952 in Unterwössen in Bavaria.

At the end of the nineteenth century, a chapel and cemetery were built on Bald Hill near the village, which came to be considered one of the most beautiful religious buildings in Turawa. However, after 1945 the building was systematically devastated as part of the Communist government's anti-German campaign. In 1965 the chapel was blown up, and in 1976 the ruins were removed.

In the 1930s, a project came up for consideration in Oppeln for the construction of an artificial reservoir to protect the city against flooding. Hubertus von Garnier offered his own lands west of Turawa for the project. In 1933 the project was submitted to the German government, receiving the personal approval of Adolf Hitler. Construction on the 22 km² reservoir finished in 1938. As a result of the project, several small villages were flooded, and many of their citizens were relocated to Turawa.

Since 1945, after the occupation of Silesia by the Red Army and Soviet authorities, Turawa became the seat of the municipality, with its first mayor, Roch Stotko.

Palace

Construction on the current palace in Turawa began in 1730 at the behest of Martin Scholtz von Löwenckron to plans by the Oppeln-based architect Adam Tentschert. In 1751 his son, Joseph, expanded the palace, adding a chapel with bell tower. It was again expanded in 1761 with the construction of the north wing and entrance gate. In 1847 Karl Count von Garnier completely refurbished the somewhat neglected palace. In 1937, the family von Garnier gave the palace to be used as an orphanage.After the Second World War, in 1949, the palace was given to the Children's Home of Turawa. After a fire in the offices of the district council building, it also housed temporarily the municipal offices. Between 1964-1965 the palace was remodeled to better suit the needs of the orphans. To this day, it preserves a mixture of Baroque, neo-Renaissance, and neo-Rococo architecture, including marble fireplaces, Baroque bookshelves, gilded wall deceptions and stucco, and a grand ballroom. The park surrounding the palace is filled with interesting old trees, including white oak, ash, and linden.