These unspoilt areas do look quite „humpbacked” due to the glaciations, but in combination with the lakes, they have become one of the last areas where nature still rules with its wisdom and reveals its unique beauty. In the charmingly situated historical settlement of Biała Olecka, manor farm buildings were put up in the mid-19th century. Its landmark soon became a neo-Baroque palace with an adjacent park complex. The estate of the Tolsdorff family attracted attention with its character and soon became known as the most modern in East Prussia. Over the years, the manor and its outbuildings were home to a carpenter’s workshop with a forge, a distillery producing commercial spirit, a cattle and horse farm, a feed factory and several hundred hectares of arable land. There was even a narrow-gauge railway used for the grain and cattle trade.

During the First World War, the property was completely burnt down. The palace was rebuilt from the surviving walls. Later, after the Second World War, the State Agricultural Farm was established in the manor. The palace was used as offices and flats for the employees. Also, a branch of the agricultural school was established here. However, deprived of proper care, the palace was falling into ruin, and its further fate was sealed in 1980 by a fire started during renovation works. The losses were so severe that the idea of renovation of the monument was abandoned. After 10 years, the building passed into private hands and the arduous restoration process began, which took almost 15 years. Since 2005, the palace has been in the hands of its current owner, Wojciech Kot, who had already been running a prosperous farm in the manor. As the profile of the farming business has also changed in the meantime, and modern farm buildings have been built, the historic red-brick manor buildings have been successively renovated to become a place of display for the growing collection of the family’s vintage car and motorcycle collection.

---