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Press Release 2 October 2009

SILESIA: THE LAND OF DYINGCOUNTRY HOUSESA Report by Marcus Binney, Kit Martin and Wojciech Wagner for SAVEEurope ʼ s Heritage. 122 pages. Full colour. Available Now

Silesia, in western Poland, was oneof the richest and most fertileprovinces in Europe. Almost everyvillage had its own great house andgrand set of farm buildings. Many ofthese remarkable houses now standempty and decaying - a product ofSilesia ʼ s turbulent history. Thisreport identifies the scale of theproblem, describing over 100houses, most in desperate need ofrepair, and suggesting strategies forrescue and reuse.

Among them are fine examples, large andsmall, of Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-classical and Romantic architecture. Yet theoverwhelming majority stand empty anddisused and many of these are crumblingrapidly into ruin. Nearby there are often largecourtyards of farm buildings with distinctiveeyebrow roofs sweeping over the upperwindows. These houses often stand in theheart of villages many of which are only twoor three kilometres apart, for this is fertilefarming country.

This book not only captures the desperate plight of these remarkable houses, but looks at the ways inwhich they might be brought back into life, by new owners, whether as single houses or sensitivelydivided for several families to occupy. A few have been successfully restored as hotels. When Polandgained independence from the Soviet bloc, many of these properties were handed to an agriculturalagency with a view to selling them. But most of the sales have been to speculators and the housesremain empty.

The plight of these houses is a product of Silesiaʼ

s turbulent history. First Polish, then Czech andthereafter Austrian, it was seized by the Prussians in the mid-18th century. As the Soviet armies thrustinto Germany early in 1945, the German population fled and was evicted, to be replaced by Poles whohad been evicted by the Soviets from the east of Poland.

This book is intended for all those fascinated by great country houses and the families which lived inthem, whether as armchair reading, property guide or companion on a tour of Silesia.

NOTES TO EDITORS

SAVE Europe's Heritage campaigns publicly for endangered buildings throughout Europe, through pressreleases, reports, leaflets and exhibitions. For more information and images contact William Palin, T:020 7253 3500 E: william.palin@savebritainsheritage.org

Silesia: the Land of Dying Country Houses is available from SAVE Europe ʼ s Heritage, priced at £15 (£13 for friends of SAVE). Download your order form from the website www.savebritainsheritage.org or contact SAVE at: 70 Cowcross Street, London EC1M 6EJ. T: 020 7253 3500 E: office@savebritainsheritage.org