Kruszyna, Silesian Voivodeship
Kruszyna is a village in Częstochowa County, Silesian Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Kruszyna. It lies approximately north-east of Częstochowa and north of the regional capital Katowice.
The village has a population of 968.
Kruszyna is one of the oldest villages of the region. It was first mentioned in 1337, as the seat of a Roman Catholic parish, with its own church. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the village belonged to the noble Koniecpolski family. In the early 17th century, it was property of Aleksandra Koniecpolska and her husband Kasper Doenhoff, a courtier of King Zygmunt III Waza, and Voivode of Dorpat Voivodeship. After annexation of northern Livonia into the Swedish Empire, Doenhoff left his native province and settled in Kruszyna. He was one of favourite courtiers of the king, who named him Voivode of Sieradz Voivodeship and Starosta of both Wielun and Radomsko.
In 1630, Kasper Doenhoff commissioned Italian architect Tomasz Poncino to build a Renaissance palace, in which in 1633, the wedding of Denhoff’s daughter took place. Furthermore, in February 1670, wedding reception of Michal Korybut Wisniowiecki and his wife Eleanor of Austria, Queen of Poland took place at the Kruszyna Palace.
In the 19th century, the complex was remodelled, and after World War Two, the palace for a while housed an orphanage. By 1980, it was abandoned and neglected, together with adjacent park.
