Before the war, Mendel Glinstein, aka Jaśnie Tatko, lived in the manor in Niechmirów, and he won this land in a card game. He would come by carriage with his family to the ponds to rest during the Sabbath. Then, at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a farm here belonging to the Niechmirów manor. The manor workers lived in quads, there was a sheepfold and a shepherd's house with 200 sheep. The buildings are gone today, but you may encounter a herd of fluffy animals during your walks. But first you have to look for the treasure. You can't get to a house in the middle of nowhere using navigation. You have to look for a hiding place, because the name of our house is not accidental. It is difficult to be visible in the forest, on 17 hectares that are part of the Międzyrzecze Warta and Widawka Landscape Park, in an area filled with meadows and covered with old beeches and oaks. There will be even more trees, because we will give you one and ask you to plant it here. There are also ponds buried in the 1960s, which my father Jerzy recreated based on maps, and a river flowing in front of the house, the course of which he renewed. Now we have taken over the old orchard as a family.
Because Schowanko is our family project, a place full of nooks and crannies that we call hiding places. It was there that my mother, Magda, and I found furniture that, together with those found at antique fairs, filled the interior of the house with 4 bedrooms, a spacious dining room with a fireplace and a terrace. You will also be able to relax in the huge garden, inviting you to yoga sessions and outdoor parties, and in the seasonal barn, where there is a workshop room and a place to sit together. I will tell you that Schowanko has another meaning. It allows you to realize the vision of going to a place where you can disappear for a while, read, wander, relax and regenerate.
You will have to look for the hiding place first. After all, this is a place in the middle of the forest. Navigation will not make this task easier for you, but we will share precise instructions.
In the house hidden in the Międzyrzecz Warty and Widawki Landscape Park, we have four rooms for you - each with its own bathroom with a shower, as well as: a kitchen and a dining room with a living room function and a fireplace, and a toilet. The layout of the sleeping places: a room with a double bed (only with an intimate entrance from the outside), a room with a double bed and a mezzanine with a single bed, a room with a single bed and a room with a very large double bed.
All rooms are located on the partner, with varied entrance levels, and two of them have separate entrances from the outside of the house. From some of them you will also enter the terrace with a vast view of the ponds. You will hear the stream, sometimes see a kingfisher, swans, and on cloudless nights you will see the starry sky.
The house is heated by a heat pump. Possibility of accommodation for 2 additional people in the barn.
Right next to the house there is a renovated barn available to guests in spring, summer and autumn. There is a 45-meter workshop room and a smaller, 20-meter room that is a relaxation zone with a fireplace. There is also a play corner for the kids in the barn with a chest full of treasures.
My parents' house is also near the house, who sometimes drop by, sometimes with guests - so it may happen that you will not be alone on the premises. However, the house and barn will always be available to you exclusively. Due to the animals living with us - friendly dogs and a large flock of sheep, we invite you to Schowanek without your pets.
We say yes to intimate celebrations with us. However, stag parties are too much.
In season, feast on grapes that grow right by the entrance, as well as apples, pears, currants, gooseberries, raspberries and a whole bunch of other delicacies. You can come across fruit trees and bushes while walking around our grounds. We also encourage you to use the gifts of the forest at any time of year. Living in harmony with nature is especially important to us. For beginner herbalists, we have dried goods to encourage you, from which you can prepare your own infusions. In Burzenin, a few kilometres away, there is a market where you can buy fruit, vegetables, honey, jam, pickles and other local specialties. And Father Jerzy, if he happens to be there, can treat you to homemade liqueurs.
Hide in the Międzyrzecze Warty and Widawki Landscape Park, on 17 hectares of meadows and mixed forests with centuries-old oaks and beeches surrounding us, just watch out for the swamps! We have some of them here too. Our habitat is immersed in nature, which can be admired here. We have observed 58 different species of birds here, sometimes you can also see a roe deer or a deer. You can listen to the clanging of cranes that nest in the swamps all year round and see a beaver lodge. In spring, bird concerts begin, and from April to June you can also hear the frogs. They carry through all 4 ponds.
Schowanko is a place created for:
- picnics in the garden, feasting by the fire,
- jogging on the grass or in the room in the barn (note! unavailable in winter),
- running, cycling trips in the nearby forests,
- intimate celebrations, celebrations for an occasion or not, spending time together and hiding away, working,
- children's games in nature and in the enchanted house covered with ivy,
- walking by our ponds visible from the terrace - in summer you can cool off in them, and in winter you can swim in the winter,
- drinking coffee on the terrace, which can be accessed directly from two rooms,
- expeditions in search of herbs, rhizomes (you will find here many species, including mullein, cleavers, common chickweed, or goutweed),
- reading books on the swing in the garden,
- releasing stress, shouting out to prefers,
What about the area? You can:
- go on a kayaking trip on the Warta River - we will give you the contact details of a friendly kayak rental company - we recommend the most, to a place that is 2.5 km away from Schowanek, then you can walk back here through the meadows,
- go on a kayaking trip on the Widawka, where the routes are more interesting, but the Widawka is a capricious river and kayaking is only possible when the water level is high,
- go for a walk along the river embankments,
- go to Sieradz, and there go to the Castle Hill with the ruins of the royal castle, visit the Ethnographic Museum and the Antoine Cierplikowski Virtual Museum,
- take horse riding lessons at the nearby stud farm,
- visit Zduńska Wola (an open-air museum of locomotives and railway equipment, the Jaruga Old Polish Brewery and the City History Museum, go to the aquapark or for a sauna session),
- go to the Jeziorsko Lake (a dam reservoir on the Warta River), where you can rent kayaks and try your hand at wakeboarding, as well as cycle around the reservoir,
– at the turn of May and June, go to Spycimierz to see the amazing flower carpets laid for Corpus Christi, included on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
What’s there for children?
Children will also find shelter in the Shelter. We know from experience that the youngest ones love sleeping on the mezzanine, which also becomes a play area. It can be a pirate ship, Santa's sleigh or a base where you can plan the whole day.
In the garden for children there is an enchanted house covered in ivy, as well as several swings and a sandbox. In the barn, we have set up another corner for children with an enchanted chest full of toys. The youngest ones enjoy watching the flock of sheep, looking out for birds (you can take an atlas with you to help identify them or install a special application on your phone) and wandering aimlessly. You must be vigilant near the ponds - their area is fenced off with a net, but after passing the gate, you need to be more vigilant and keep an eye on the children. We can provide a cot and a highchair for feeding children.
What’s there for employees?
There are plenty of places to work – there are desks in three rooms, a large table in the dining room, and it is also good to work on the terrace or in front of the house, in the shade of the vines. Fibre optics will be installed from early summer. Until then, we offer mobile internet.
You can organize meetings and conferences in the barn space. We will be happy to host teams for work-outs and groups for all kinds of intimate workshops.
