Venue

Leśnica, a housing estate in Wrocław with over 800 years of history, lies approximately 12 kilometres west of the city center. Originally a street village, it was annexed to Wrocław in 1928 during the city’s largest territorial expansion, when dozens of villages and two towns were incorporated. At that time, Leśnica, with a population of around 5,000 people, had been downgraded from a town to a village and was known as Deutsche Lissa.

Throughout its history, the settlement suffered significant destruction, having been burned down multiple times during invasions and battles. It was first ravaged by the Hussites, later by soldiers during the Thirty Years’ War, and finally by Napoleon Bonaparte’s army in the early 19th century. In 1945, although the front of the Battle of Breslau was passing through it, Leśnica sustained relatively little damage. From August 1942, a sub-camp of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp operated there.

The castle in Leśnica was historically one of the seats of the Silesian Piast dynasty. Likely built in 1132 as a small defensive stronghold along the road to Legnica, it witnessed significant historical events, including the death of Prince Bolesław I the Tall on the night of 7–8 December 1201. After the death of Henry VI the Good in 1335, the last Duke of Wrocław, the castle and the duchy became part of the Kingdom of Bohemia. Over time, the estate passed through the hands of various noble families. Among its owners was Count Horatio di Forno, an Italian nobleman infamous for his religious fanaticism and cruelty. He was reputed to have killed 50 peasants for refusing to convert to Catholicism and to have stabbed a servant in anger over spilled wine. Local legend held that the Count’s wraith haunted the castle, influencing weather and the Bystrzyca River. His son was also rumoured to have mistreated the servants, particularly the maids.

After 1733, the castle underwent a thorough Baroque-style reconstruction. Another legend emerged about a visit by Prussian King Friedrich II, who, after his victory at the Battle of Lutynia in 1756, allegedly surprised Austrian soldiers quartered in the castle. This tale was popularised by a painting by Adolf Menzel and became part of the region’s folklore. The palace survived World War II, but a fire in the 1950s prompted its reconstruction as a community centre. Today, it houses the OPT ZAMEK Cultural Centre.

The Leśnica Palace exemplifies Silesian architecture, evolving from a medieval residence to a Renaissance manor house and finally into a grand Baroque palace. The estate is surrounded by 17th-century bastion fortifications with casemates. At the turn of the millennium, one of the town’s largest discotheques functioned in these spaces.