During the Renaissance, the park in Radziejowice was arranged in the Italian style, typical of the period. It was characterised by the geometrization of space through axial parterre layouts, symmetry, trimmed plants and a desire to subordinate nature to human design. In the nineteenth century, during the major modernization of the estate by Józef and Emilia Krasiński, the park was extensively redesigned by the family friend, Colonel Aleksander d’Alfonce de Saint Omer. The Colonel was a Frenchman who settled in Poland. He was known as an outstanding cartographer, draughtsman, and engineer, as well as a keen gardening enthusiast. The date of its creation is recorded in an inscription on a sandstone column, located in a clearing in front of the southern facade of the Palace: CE JARDIN A ETE TRACE & PLANTE par le Colonel Alex Alfonce pour sona mi Josef Comte Krasiński 1817 (“This garden was laid out and planted by Colonel Alexander d’Alfonce for his friend Count Józef Krasiński, in 1817”). It was when the English landscape park was created, characterised by a loose, irregular, and asymmetrical layout. It aimed to emphasize natural elements: groves and glades. Formal plant arrangements were replaced by lawns and meadows. However, earlier features were preserved, including a pond and a network of canals crossing the park, as well as seventeenth-century main avenue, and lime-tree avenue separating the residence from the manor farm buildings which survives to this day. The original idea was to create the most natural-looking landscape, that appeared untouched by human interference. Today, the Palace in Radziejowice exercises the utmost care, so the Palace complex continues to reflect its creator’s vision.
