Manor house in Poland goes up in flames
PR dla Zagranicy
Nick Hodge
05.01.2016 13:07
A manor house in Miłachowo, north western Poland, went up in flames in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The manor house at Miłachowo on Tuesday morning. Photo: PAP/Marcin Bielecki
About 50 firefighters battled with the blaze, but the historic building was gutted.
Grzegorz Kurek, director of the nearby Museum of the History of the Kamień Lands, said that the destruction of the 19th century building represents a huge loss for the cultural heritage of the region.
“From what I've seen, it is beyond being saved,” he said.
The local fire brigade has suggested that a tenant living in an apartment within the building had incorrectly lit a fire.
Miłachowo is part of territory that was awarded to Poland following World War II as a result of the loss of lands in the east to the Soviet Union. It had formerly been part of Germany.
The border shifts were hammered out at the Potsdam Conference of 17 July to 2 August 1945, following the meeting of 'the Big Three' (Russia's Josef Stalin, the UK's Winston Churchill and the US's Franklin D. Roosevelt) in Yalta in February of that year.
Thousands of manor houses across Poland were looted and fell into disrepair during the communist era. (nh/pk)
Source: IAR/Kamienskie.info