Łęczna, Poland

Piotr Hardecki and his design team at Piotr Hardecki Architekt led the revitalization and reconstruction of Podzamcze Park in Łęczna in cooperation with the landscape architecture offices KANSKA Design and ARGO Atelier, securing and making available to visitors the remains of 19th-Century farm buildings, including the adaptation of the former hop dryer to the observation tower. 

The new park (also known as the Castle Park) features the renovation and preservation of a medieval castle confirmed by fragmentary excavations, a ruined palace managed by electronics factory, the remains of 19th-Century farmyard, lindens dating back to ancient garden assumptions, the picturesque river, and an Old Town in the oldest dinosaur valley in Poland.

The area of Podzamcze Park and the adjacent areas included in the scope of the spatial programme concept is 29 ha, while Podzamcze Park area has 13 ha.

The park is divided into three parts: northern (between the railway viaducts and Nowowiejskiego street), middle (between Nowowiejskiego street and St John’s bridge), and southern (between the bridges of St John and St James). 

After the post-war nationalization, the farm buildings of the former grange functioned as a state farm and horticultural complex until the end of the 1990s.

As a result of the political changes, after successive fires, the unattended buildings turned into roofless, dangerous rubble, gradually appropriated by wildly growing greenery. 

The designers aimed to preserve as much of the original building substance as possible. 

Due to the impossibility of reconstructing the destroyed buildings, the remains of the manor were developed as ruins, secured, and accessible to the public.

After removing the plaster, traces of architectural decoration were exposed in the form of limestone cladding, but also in the form of remnants of multiple alterations and rebuildings. 

A flower meadow has been proposed for the former farmyard, while the birch trees planted inside the walls of the burnt stable are reminiscent of the scrubby growth that used to thrive there.

Similarly, the pergola resting on the walls left by the second farm building recalls the layout of the former ceiling beams. 

The integrity of the complex is emphasised by the clinker paving. 

The former hop drying room has been adapted into a viewing tower.

Inside the tower, an openwork staircase was installed, ending in a perimeter gallery attached to the existing walls.

All contemporary elements are made of galvanized steel.

As part of the remaining stages of revitalization, the blurred layout of the 18th-Century Italian garden in the central part of the premises was reconstructed and the 19th-Century romantic park was originally laid out on the slopes and around the escarpments falling towards the nearby Wieprz River.

The selection of plant species was based on compositions characteristic of the 17th- and 18th-Century single-story baroque gardens.

The park is diverse, partly surrounded by high escarpments, and it is crossed by walking alleys lying at different levels. 

The axis of the park makes a riverbed over which, apart from road bridges, several footbridges were built. 

Near the castle, partitioning the river, there is a threshold called “Niagara.”

In the spring or summer the flowers and lush greenery of the chestnut trees, maples, and alders bloom, and in autumn, the trees delight with the richness of their colorful foliage.

Project: Podzamcze Park
Architects: Piotr Hardecki Architekt
Design Team: Piotr Hardecki, Tomasz Trzupek, and Filip Twardowski
Landscape Architects: Kanska Design Office and Argo Atelier
Structural Engineers: Konbud Gurja and Partners
Photographers: Lukasz Trojanowski