The owners and the most important administrators of the estates in Wasowo,
and the key events in the history of Wasowo:
IV w.- the Benedictines of Lubin
1408 r. - Zawisza - the Knight of Poraj's family
XV w. - Paweł Niegolewski from Niegolewo
Wasowo is registered in the official documents as the Knight's Estates)
1580 r. - Jakub Niegolewski
XVII w. - Wojciech Rogowski
1715 r. - Stanislaw Zakrzewski, subsequently his daughter Marianna
1776 r. - Kazimierz Raczyński
The last governor of Wielkopolska province before the Second Partition of Poland
1781 r. - Sylwester Szczaniecki the governor of Średź and the deputy to the Parliment
1781 - 1785 r. At the time, the classicistic palace of Szczaniecki's family was built,
as well as the foundations of the chapel of the Lord's Ascension.
1786 r. - Łukasz Józef Szczaniecki, subsequently his wife Weronika
1790 r. - The building of the chapel of the Lord's Ascension is completed.
1810 - 1830 r. The fortune of Szczniecki's family is administered by the wife of Sylwester Szczaniecki - Anastazja
1835 r. Konstanty Sczaniecki
1850 - 1860r. The indebted property of Szczaniecki's family goes into the German hands.
1860 r. The auction and the purchase of the property by Ludwik Lewinka for the eqivalent of 208 thalars.
1868 r. The purchase of the property by the banker from Berlin - Richard Hardt
1870 - 1872 r. The building of the neogothic palace called "the castle"
1887 r. The establishment of the law of primogeniture of Wasowo, Charplewo and Głuponie.
XIX/XX w. The rebuilding of the castle by the son of Richard - Fryderyk Wilhelm.
1918 r. The disposition of the independent Polish government of compulsory acquisition of land (no interest whatsoever)
1925 r. The resolution of the compulsory acquistion of the land by the National Tresaury. (however, no adnotation in official documents)
1941 r. The registration of the new owner of Wąsowo - Richard Hardt, the son of Fryderyk Wilhelm
1946 r. The estate becomes the property of the National Treasury of Poland
1949 - 1983 r. The National Rural Farms, unit in Michorzewo
1983 - 1993 r. The Agency for Rural National Treasure, division in Poznań
1993 The private agricultural firm - (Folwark Wąsowo) - Jan Wieła
In IV century Wasowo was located in the district of Poznań (North-East from Nowy Tomyśl) and belonged to the estates of Benedictines of Lubin. Since it was placed too far from the monastery Wasowo became a private property. In the official documents of 1408 Zawisza the Knight of Pojar's family is mentioned as the owner of Kozłów, Wąsowo and Niałek. In XV century Wasowo became the Knight's Estates and belonged to Paweł Niegolewski from Niegolewo, and later in 1580 to Jakub Niegolewski. In mid XVII century it was purchased by Wojciech Rogowski, however in 1715 it was owned by Stanisław Zakrzewski, the sheriff of Bechów.
After Zakrzewski's death Wasowo was inherited by his daughter Marianna Zakrzewska, who sold the village to the Polish general Kazimierz Raczyński, the last governor of Wielkopolska Province in Poland before the second partition of Poland, the son of Wiktor and Magdalena Działyńscy. Not long was Kazimierz Raczyński the landlord in Wasowo when in 1781 it was bought by Sylwester Szczaniecki, the son of Józef, the governor of Śrem and the deputy to the Parliment. Sylwester was married to Anastazja Skórzewska, the daughter of Poznań marshal - Michał Skórzewski of Czerniejów, who since 1767 had administered inherited nearby Wąsowo: Brody, Michorzewo, Śliwno, Pakosław and Mościejewo. Wąsowo, which belonged in XVIII and mid XIX to Szczaniecki's family, together with Śliwno and Wymysłów was considered a one estate. After purchasing Wąsowo Sylwester Szczaniecki began the building of the late baroque-style, two-storey palace, which had become the family's main place of residence.
The palace, built in late XVIII in the baroque-classicistic style, was covered with hip tile roof. On the triangular pediment of the palace was placed Skrzórzewski-Drogosław and Sczaniecki - Ossoria coat of arms to commemorate the marriage of Sylwester Szczaniecki and Anastazja Skórzewska in 1773. Sylwester Sczaniecki began the building of a chapel near the existing palace, in a rotunda shape with a dome shaped roof, but was unable to finish it on account of his death in 1786. The classicistic chapel of the Lord's Ascension was finished in 1790 by his very industrious wife Anastazja.
Following the death of Sylwester, Wasowo and the rest of the estate was inherited by his only son, the young Lukasz Jozef Sczaniecki who would later become a Poznan province Judge and marry Weronika Zakrzewska in 1800. Lukasz and Weronika Sczaniecki's family grew to have five children: Stanislaw, Konstantyn, Nimfa, Kordula and Emilia. The family's livelyhood mainly relied on the estates of: Wasowo, Brody, Pakoslaw, Michorzewo, Michorzewko, Sliwno, Suchocin and Nietrzanowo, in other words areas lying west of Poznan, between Buk, Nowy Tomysl and Pniewy. The very untimely death of Lukasz in 1810 and not long after his wife Weronika, left the still juvanile children amongst whom were, their son Konstantyn (who went on to become a captain of the Poznan cavalry in 1830 and married to Kornelia Radonska) and their daughter Emilia (a patriotic social activist (1804-1896) laid to rest in Michorzewo.
The late Lukasz Sczaniecki's estate was administered amongst his juvenile children by their long living grandmother, Anastazja Sczaniecka (of the Skorzewski's)(1750-1839), who undertook custody of the orphaned children. The family trust accepted her decision to have the daughters live in Wasowo and take up lessons from a specialy appointed governess. Konstantyn and Stanislaw were to continue their education in Kassyusz (and live in its dorms). Nimfa accepted this decision, but Emilia had her mind set on further education which meant a move away from Wasowo. The family trust placed Emilia and Kordula into Laforgue's boarding school in Drezno.
The Saxon capital was brimming with Polish nobles at the time, which undoubtably helped sustain the strong ties between Drezno and Poland. With time, Drezno, Berlin and Wroclaw became a meeting place for significantly influential and highly intelligent Poles. A lack of universities in the local area meant that a lot of young Poles left their homes to pursue further education in these cities. The Sczaniecki sisters very quickly found themselves the good company of boyfriends and girlfriends of well known noble families of Wielkopolska. Drezno, a dynamic worldly city of culture, also attracted poles from all parts of the Polish Kingdom. These people shaped the views and opinions of the Sczaniecki girls.These were hard times for Polish nobles, and prosperous times for the Prussian administration. The less resourceful and cautious nobles, wanting to uphold a declining economy, undertook risky credits which they were later unable to pay off. This debt trap caused the turn over of many Polish estates into the hands of Germans. This very fate was met by one of the Sczaniecki estates - Wasowo. Konstantyn Sczaniecki was unable to deal with the economic difficulties, and this resulted in the loss of the estate to which Emilia was particularly attached. This caused many tensions between the siblings as Konstantyn was a good soldier and an honest patriot, but not the best businessman.
Shortly after Wasowo, the estates of Chraplewo, Lackich and Gluponie changed to German hands. In 1861 Konstantyn was still unable to deal with the running of the remaining estates and as a result the family estate of Brody also went to Germans, and Konstantyn moved his large family to Poznan. For Emilia, this news was devastating. Being a dedicated nurse and organiser of medical services during the uprisings in 1831, 1848 and 1863, Emilia Sczaniecka set up a hospital and orphanage, funding them with her own money. She colaborated with polish leaders in exile and their emissaries in the country, as well as forming a support fund for apprentices.
The last inheritor and landlord of Wasowo was the son of Konstanty, Zygmunt Szczaniecki, whose death in 1863 did not leave any offsprings.
The impoverished Wasowo estate was taken over (by forced auction) by Ludwik Lewinka from Tucholi for 208 thalars. In 1868, he sold it to a banker from Berlin, Richard Hardt. Despite the existance in the newly acquired Wasowo, of a spacious and beautiful palace built over a 90 year span by Sylwester Sczaniecki, Richard Hardt built, in the years 1870-72, a large new palace in the style of a neogothic castle.
The initial project for this palace was done by G. Erdmann, a builder for royalty in Berlin. In 1887 Richard Hardt formed an entail from Wasowo, nearby Chraplewo (which he acquired in 1879) and Gluponie. Following the death of Richard Hardt (who was buried in a park in Wasowo) the entail was inherited by his eldest son Fryderyk Wilhelm Hardt. He expanded the entire palace to its current appearance. Fryderyk Hardt was the owner of Wasowo in independant Poland, formed in 1918, when it found itself within its borders. Polish authorities demanded a forced sale of Wasowo within 3 months. However, a buyer could not be found, so a resolution was passed for the aquisition of Wasowo by the National Treasury (resolution from 17th october 1925). It is likely that this resolution was not finalised as there is no mention of this transaction in official documents. There is however official documentation from 1941 of the next owner of Wasowo, the son of Fryderyk Wilhelm, Richard Hardt.
Until the second world war, these large estates (in 1930, Wasowo more than 2950 ha, Chraplewo 847 ha) were in the hands of the Hardts; characterised by a high level of cultivation. Wasowo was distinguished by two palaces: an old one after the Sczanieckis and a new one built for Hardt; an extensive scenic park (49.5 ha) planned along both sides of the valley with many varieties of trees (oak, beech, lime-tree); farm buildings built between the XIX and XX century from stone and brick, as well as a second cluster of buildings of uniform styling built for farm workers.
Only after the second world war, at the request of the mayor of Poznan, dated the 27th of november 1946, did the land and buildings of Wasowo become the property of the National Treasury, with official documentation written on th 14th of december 1946. After becoming partially devided, the remains were acquired by the National Land Estates (PNZ) later to become the National Rural Farms (PGR). From 1949-1983 it became the property of the Poznan division of PGR and from 1983-1993 it was administered by the Agency for Rural National Treasure.
After a decision by the provinces conservator of monuments, dated 5th of march 1990, the whole cluster of farm buildings were written into the register of monuments of the Poznan province. The reasons given were as follows: the farm in Wasowo originated in the third quarter of the XIX century and forms a stylisticly uniform complex of farm buildings historically designed to function as barns, smith houses, alcohol distilleries, administrative buildings and homes for farm workers. The whole farm is surrounded by an ornamented wall with granite facing. The cluster of farm buildings in Wasowo, on account of the richness of styling and relatively few rebuildings, is amongst the most valuable examples of Prussian architecture from the middle of the XIX century in Wielkopolska.
As of october 1993 the Wasowo farm is being leased under an agreement with the Agency for Rural National Treasure. Currently it functions as a private agricultural firm as well as a highly qualified agro-tourism business. Meetings, parties, holidays, picnics, mushroom picking, sleigh rides, bon fires, walks, bike rides and horse rides are examples of the kinds of events organised for guests.
Numerous works were undertaken to restore and adapt the farm. Amongst these was the restoration of the smith house which in 2001 received the award for the "Chata 2001" competition as the most outstanding old farm building in the Nowy Tomysl region. Currently the building has a few rooms, living room, restored fire-place room, and office rooms.
Restorations were also made to the almost ruined stables as well as the beautifully equipped antique XIX century saddlery.
