History of the Palace
Lezno was mentioned for the first time in the 14th century documents. First, by the road leading from Gdansk to Kartuzy Lezno Wielkie was founded, then another estate - Lezenko. This very estate - subject to numerous changes during its history - survived till today. The first known owner of the Lezno estate was Knight Gottk, endowed by the Teutonic Knights Order in 1338. After the collapse of the Teutonic Order the Lezno estate became a property of the Polish king. In 1623 the estate got briefly into the hands of an eminent Gdansk burgher family, the Gieses, and then the site came once again at the disposal of the king.
Among the king’s beneficiaries, in 1681 there appears the name of Jan Jerzy Przebendowski, an eminent figure in Polish public life at the turn of the 17th and the 18th centuries, a participant of the Battle of Chocim, and a Royal Treasurer since 1703. Thanks to his efforts a splendid palace, surrounded by a small landscape park, was erected in the years 1720 - 1722.
The three-storey U-shaped brick building with a span of 56 metres is known from description only. There exists an old description of its beauty: You could count its rooms and halls easily more than thirty, each in different style. Contemporary writers say with astonishment that such a building can be found nowhere in whole Prussia, and that can it be compared to the famous Teutonic castles.
In the years to follow, the estate was managed by the Przebendowski family, then by the Grabowski family who contributed to the fall of the estate. The destruction of the estate continued during the Napoleonic times, when the French troops were stationed in the Palace.
Lezno at that time was in the hands of the Hellfenstein, who transferred it in 1832 into the hands of Friedrich Hoene, an owner of a thriving shop in Gdansk. Since then Lezno had been owned by the Hoenes until 1945. The highest changes of the estate were made by Georg Hoene who - in 1884 - started thorough refurbishment of the 18th century Palace. As a result, a building existing until today was created, and a landscape park, one of the most magnificent in the area, was created.
After the WW II, when the Palace and the Park vandalised by the Red Army, were nationalised, the estate was turned into a state-owned collective farm, which contributed to further destruction of the historical complex.
In 1994, the Palace together with a part of the former estate became the property of the University of Gdansk. At that time, the park and the Palace itself were effectively devastated. Thanks to the University’s efforts, within a few years, the palace was carefully renovated, and the interiors were cleaned and refurbished.
Source:lezno.ug.edu.pl