Balice: Palace, Park and Landscape

Balice can be understood through its palace architecture, local history and landscape. The Radziwiłł Palace is an architectural landmark; other features include a landscape park, historic buildings, the valley and stream landscape, and a planned section of the VeloRudawa. When planning a stay, you can give these themes different weight depending on whether you are particularly interested in architectural history, the landscape setting or possible cycling plans.

Radziwiłł Palace: Architecture and Building History

The Radziwiłł Palace in Balice is architecturally modelled on Baroque residences. The main building is square, with two side wings projecting forward. An east wing is connected to the main building by a gallery, and the hotel area is located in this east wing. This describes both the architectural reference and the layout of the complex: the residence style establishes its architectural character, while the main building, side wings, gallery and east wing determine how the building’s parts are arranged. To understand the palace, you can consider these two aspects separately: its stylistic reference and its specific layout.

The building’s history begins around the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. At that time, the Szembek family built the palace on the site of an older villa belonging to the Boner family. The building acquired its present form through extensive reconstruction between 1887 and 1894. The construction date and the reconstruction therefore refer to different stages: the first concerns the building erected by the Szembek family, and the second the later changes that gave it its present form.

Park and Preserved Historic Buildings

The landscape park surrounds the palace, covers about four hectares and was laid out towards the end of the 19th century. Buildings preserved in the park’s surroundings include farm buildings, granaries, a former cowshed, other structures dating predominantly from around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and two historic entrance gates. The park and the buildings can be understood as different parts of the historic setting: the area and date refer to the landscape park, while the turn-of-the-century dating applies to the preserved buildings.

Several historic houses from around the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries also remain elsewhere in Balice, outside the park’s surroundings. They complement the history of the palace and park with other historic buildings in the village. The local history thus extends from the development of a single palace complex to several preserved houses. To understand the setting, it is helpful not to treat these as parts of a single complex: the palace and its park form one landmark, while the historic houses form another.

Valley and Watercourses

The built-up centre of Balice lies predominantly in the valley of Borowy Potok (Baliczanka). This valley is cut into the tectonic edge of Garb Tenczyński. Thus, alongside the palace complex, the location of the built-up centre is part of the picture of Balice. A narrow stream also flows through Balickie Doły; it is a tributary of Borowy Potok (Baliczanka). These descriptions refer to different spatial features: the valley defines the setting of most of the built-up centre, while the stream is located in Balickie Doły. This distinguishes the village’s location from the named tributary.

Planned Section of the VeloRudawa

A planned section of the VeloRudawa is relevant for cycling. The approximately 3.3-kilometre section is intended to run from Zabierzów to Balice, passing through the localities of Zabierzów, Szczyglice and Balice in the municipality of Zabierzów. Its length, endpoints and named localities give a specific overview of the project, but do not indicate the route’s current status. If you are considering this section for a specific ride, check its current status in advance.

Discover more destinations: Chrosna, Skawina, Czernichów, Rząska, Ojców, Szczyglice, Kryspinów, Zabierzów.

For the broader travel overview: Krakow.