Park przy Dworku Olszewskich

Park przy Dworku Olszewskich occupies just under 3 hectares on ulica Hellwigów in Bełchatów and surrounds a historic manor house, which is home to the Regional Museum in Bełchatów. It is one of the few parks in the city with origins reaching back to the time when a landed estate, rather than a residential development, stood here.

The origins of the manor park

The park was established in the first half of the 18th century together with the manor house, in the fashionable French style of the time, which is to say geometric, with straight avenues and regular planting arrangements. In the following century the layout was remodelled according to the then-current fashion for landscape parks, and after the Second World War the original composition was largely obscured. To this day two distinct parts can be distinguished: closer to the manor house the park has a more geometric character, whilst in the further sections it transitions into a free, landscape style.

The Hellwig family and traces of the former estate

The name of ulica Hellwigów recalls the estate's owners, who held it from 1887 to 1945. A family mausoleum belonging to them survives on the park grounds, as do the remains of a former water channel, a trace of the site's earlier development. In November 1998 the Regional Museum relocated to the historic manor house, which established the function of the entire complex as a place of culture and recreation at the same time.

Tree stock

The park is home to approximately 400 trees, mainly maples, lime trees, horse chestnuts, elms and willows. These give the place its character, particularly in the landscape sections, where old-growth trees developed freely for decades without the intervention of gardeners.

Renovation 2025

In 2025 the city carried out a renovation of the park at a cost of around 300 thousand złoty, financed to 98 per cent by the Government Programme for Strategic Investment. The work included an inspection and partial replacement of vegetation, an expansion of lighting comprising five floodlights illuminating groups of trees and two new street lamps, a new gravel path 1.5 metres wide in the southern part of the park near the museum's outdoor exhibits, as well as new benches with backrests and litter bins. Work was halted during Bełchatów Days and resumed a week later, with completion scheduled for summer 2025. The park remained open to visitors during the renovation.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Hellwigów 11, Bełchatów
• The park is open to the public without set closing times; the manor house with its museum has its own opening hours
• Within the park it is worth taking note of the old-growth trees, the Hellwig family mausoleum and the remains of the former water channel
• Close to the park are plac Narutowicza and a fountain in the park