Hasbach’s Palace

One of the first factory owners from Łodz who decided to move to Bialystok in an effort to avoid the high duties placed on the goods imported into Russia was Ewald Hasbach. Next to the factory stood a villa and several smaller buildings. The villa was modernised in the years 1905 – 1907, resulting in a small palace, which is an architectural mixture of French, Dutch and Tuscan Renaissance.

The palace, unlike the factory buildings, survived World War I. During the crisis of the 1920’s and 1830’s, the then “A. Hasbach’s Plywood Factory” filed for bankruptcy and was nationalised, together with the palace. Upon the break of World War II, the Hasbachs moved to Warsaw. The Soviets started the factory up again, and the management moved to the palace, where a lounge and a bar were also located. When the Germans chased the Soviets out, Ewald’s grandson, Sergiusz Hasbach moved into the palace, wanting to run the factory under German administration. In June 1944 the retreating occupiers set fire to the factory buildings, leaving the palace intact, however. [Bialystok]