Discover Kopice: Church, Palace History and Castle Mound

A Church with Artworks from Different Periods

The parish Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross was built between 1802 and 1822 in the Neoclassical style. Inside, an altarpiece of the Crucifixion dating from 1822 and a Regency pulpit from the first half of the 18th century have been preserved. The pulpit is therefore older than the church building; both can be considered distinct aspects of the village’s history. Visitors interested in church architecture or sacred art will find different historical points of interest in Kopice, not just a single building.

Palace and Park: Transformation and Loss

The palace in Kopice was originally built between 1783 and 1786 as a Neoclassical residence. From 1863, it underwent extensive renovation under the direction of Carl Lüdecke and later Carl Heidenreich. This architectural history came to an abrupt end: a fire completely destroyed the palace in the late 1950s, after which it fell into ruin. The ruins offer a different kind of historical experience from the preserved furnishings in the church.

The palace’s romantic park once included a pond, an artificial island, a Temple of Diana, and Greek and Chinese pavilions. Artificial ruins of a “medieval” castle were also part of the grounds. These features describe a designed historic landscape; they should not be confused with the late-medieval castle mound in Kopice. This distinction is particularly interesting when considering the palace’s history: one was a deliberately created setting, the other an archaeological site.

Mausoleum and Cycling Route

The Schaffgotsch family mausoleum was built in the second half of the 19th century as a Neoclassical structure in the form of a Greek temple. It became the burial place of Joanna Schaffgotsch in 1910 and of Hans Ulrich Schaffgotsch in 1915. Alongside its architecture, these dates give the building a specific connection to the family’s history.

Official Cycling Route No. 4 runs from Grodków into the area around the Nysa Kłodzka and through Kopice. The section through the village passes the mausoleum and the historic church. For cyclists, this provides a clear indication of which buildings are on the route; it does not include information about distance or travel time. Those exploring Kopice by bicycle can take the route information into account when planning alongside the village’s historical attractions.

The Late-Medieval Castle Mound

Another point of interest is the conical castle mound dating from the late Middle Ages. The site is an archaeological monument and offers insight into late-medieval residential and defensive structures. Its terrain is clearly visible in the landscape; the site is also one of the few of its kind in Silesia. The castle mound therefore differs from the church, palace and mausoleum both in age and in function. For travelers interested in cultural history, it complements the architectural history with an archaeological perspective on medieval life and fortification.

The village’s varied attractions range from the late-medieval castle mound to the palace and its landscaped grounds, as well as the church and mausoleum. You can take into account which of these you would like to shape your trip when choosing where to stay.

More pages about local destinations: Borkowice, Brieg, Sulisław, Grodków, Pisarzowice.

For the broader travel overview: Brzeg.