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Manors in former East Prussia: Kwitajny
Quittainen Manor (Kwitajny) in today's Warmia-Masuria was originally built in 1728 as a Baroque palace according to the plans of the French architect Jean de Bodt. From 1744 it was an estate of the Dönhoff family. The name is still known today for the charitable Dönhoff Foundation, established by Otto von Dönhoff and Maria Amalia zu Dohna-Schlodien after 11 of the couple's children died in early childhood.
Quittainen is also known as the residence of Marion Gräfin Dönhoff: she was the last estate administrator at the time of the Second World War. The country estate also housed a collection of portraits of the Dönhoff family. Some of them were saved after the Second World War. Today they can be seen, among others, in the castle of Allenstein (Zamek Olsztyn), where the Museum of Warmia and Mazury is located.
In the middle of the 19th century the manor was rebuilt in neoclassical style. A double-flight baroque staircase is preserved inside. In many historic houses in the region, the staircases are often the last remaining stately element after military occupations and state uses. A similar interior condition can be seen today inside Ponary Castle. Also worth mentioning is the access road to the manor in the form of a neo-Gothic bridge, as well as the ruins of an outbuilding made of brick, which is probably the former manor administrator's house.
Since 2017, the historic estate ensemble in Northern Poland has a new owner.
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