Frédéric Chopin spent the autumns of 1827 and 1829 in Antonin.
Tsarina Aleksandra Feodorovna visited with her son, the future Alexander II, in May and June of 1829, with Tsar Nicholas I arriving later. The Tsarina also came here in 1830, as did the “uncrowned King of Poland”, Prince Adam Czartoryski. The Dukes of Saxe-Weimar, Mecklenburg, and the Netherlands all visited, as did Alexander von Humboldt, the prominent German scholar who pioneered landscape science, climatology, oceanography and plant geography (the precursor to nature conservation). Members of the Hohenzollern family, who were related to the Radziwiłłs, most frequently came here to hunt. Princess Elise visited Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig Hohenzollern, the second son of King Wilhelm Friedrich III of Prussia, who was in love with her. Wilhelm bowed to family pressure and broke off his relationship with Eliza. They met in Antonin in 1829 for the last time. He was crowned King Wilhelm I of Prussia in 1861 and the first Emperor of a united Germany in 1871. He never forgot his youthful love and kept her portrait on his desk. Elise never married and died of consumption a few years after their breakup. She was interred in the mausoleum in Antonin.
Antonin palace is now the venue for numerous concerts:
- January - carnival
- February and October – the anniversaries of the birth and death of Chopin
- February – the International “Chopin for the Youngest” Piano Competition
- April – Tournament for Pianists on Foreign Scholarships
- July and August – “Chopin Confrontations”
- September – International “Chopin in Autumn Colours” festival
There is a restaurant and cafe in the Fireplace Hall. Marian Owczarski’s sculpture of Chopin stands in front of the palace. Lake Szperek is a place for people to enjoy themselves during summer.
Antonin Palace was awarded the 1994 Europa Nostra certificate in recognition of its extraordinary conservation efforts.
The start of a walking trail through the Wydymacz Nature Reserve is not far from the palace.
For more information:
www.ckis.kalisz.pl/antonin/antonin
Address:
Pałac Myśliwski Książąt Radziwiłłów w Antoninie (Hunting Palace of the Radziwiłł Princes in Antonin)
ul. Pałacowa 1
63-421 Przygodzice
Tel. +48 62 734 83 00