The Museum of Opole Silesia in Opole managed to obtain exhibits related to the history of the prince’s palace in the room of Pokój (Carlsruhe). The treasures of the Württemberg family from an auction in Munich will enrich the collection of the facility in Opole.

The auction selling items of the Württemberg family lasted 10 hours. Over 25,000 euros have been allocated to the purchases of treasures that will be then transferred to the Museum of Opole Silesia.

The list of items obtained at the Neumeister auction house is a painting of Princess Matilda von Waldeck with her son Eugen and daughter Maria. Matilda died in 1825, at the age of 25, after giving birth to her son Wilhelm (he died the next day). The prince built in her honour the Temple of Matilda, which still exists in Pokój.

In addition to the painting, the Opole collection will be enriched by porcelain with views of Pokój, furniture, silverware, jewellery, fabrics, paintings and prints. Historians speculated that these items were lost forever, while in 2021 it turned out that the movable property from the Pokój Palace had been secured, and before the outbreak of World War II, they were taken to Württemberg.

“There was a lot of preparation, and our success was possible due to the fact that our art department was very well prepared for it. I was also accompanied by the curator, Patrycja Farys-Kawalec, whom I would like to thank for her hard work in preparing for the auction. Also, Joanna Hassa from the Social and Cultural Society of Germans in Opole Silesia was with me, there. We also asked her for help, taking into consideration that we will need a few heads together to simultaneously listen to what is happening at the auction and make decisions quickly”, reports Iwona Solisz, the director of the museum.

Now, the museum is dealing with another very difficult logistic operation to ensure that the collected items will be transported safely to Poland.

Arkadiusz Słomczyński