Siedlce area - 70 km east of Warsaw

The village of Sucha lies on the eastern edge of the Masovian Voivodeship. In a historic park and a complex of ponds you will find a joint complex of wooden buildings, clustered around the old mansion of Cieszkowscy family. This complex of buildings was gathered for years by Maria and Marek Kwiatkowscy, saving from destruction many valuable and unique things. Most of them were brought  to Sucha by them, the complex was returned to its former glory. The passion and commitment of two eminent researchers and caregivers of Polish monuments is an example of selfless initiative in rescuing forgotten and abandoned relics of the past of the Mazovia and Podlasie borders. The center of the "property" is Cieszkowscy family mansion. From this property we can begin to explore the museum.

History

The Larch Manor in Sucha was built in 1743 on the place of former mansion. The initiator of its construction was Ignacy Cieszkowski. At that time the Baroque one-storey building with corner alcoves and a high roof was built. The internal division of the mansion has changed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. During the reconstruction works in the side offices, on wooden floors a rich ornamentation was discovered.

In 1787, Sucha was visited by the King Stanislaw August Poniatowski. 27 years later in the manor Count August Cieszkowski - philosopher, economist, social activist and political representative of the so-called national philosophy was born. Friends with Zygmunt Krasinski, on whom he had a strong influence. August Cieszkowski used to call himself a "progressive conservative".

After the death of August, his son took over Sucha, also called August. The last of Cieszkowski family, being childless, adopted four members of well-known families of landowners, friends with him and his father. Finally, the property in Sucha passed on to Felicjan Dembiński who henceforth took the name Cieszkowski.

In 1945 the estate, along with the mansion became a victim of agrarian reform. The estate was parceled up, and the mansion became a place to live for the State Agricultural Farms’ employees.

In 1988, the mansion was already in a state of complete ruin. Photos from this period are exhibited in the museum. The activity of Kwiatkowscy family restored the manor complex its state of public utility.

Museum of Wooden Architecture of Siedlecki Region

phone: 604 095 147

The whole complex is owned by Professor Marek Kwiatkowski, director of the Łazienki Park in Warsaw. The interiors of the Cieszkowski family manor were made available to the public. There are also meetings, conventions, etc. held in the facility. In the vicinity of the manor there is a variety of wooden buildings from the period of eighteenth century, moved from Siedlce region. They create a museum opened to the public.

In the historical garden there is a possibility to organize festivals and picnics, as well as workshops and open-air painting.