International Conference and Educational Centre
Kulice 24
72-200 Nowogard
Tel. (91) 444 10 87 / (91) 444 13 39 /
(91) 444 13 07
kulice@univ.szczecin.pl
www.kulice.usz.edu.pl
Director: Prof. Jörg Hackmann
Deputy Director: Kamila Latocha MA
Staff: Jolanta Libront MA, Teresa Kania MA, Krzysztof Kania
The centre in Kulice was established in 2002 as an entity affiliated to the university to conduct social education, academic exchange and knowledge transfer, via conferences, seminars, workshops, summer schools, educational trips, debates, as well as cultural and artistic events. Kulice organizes international conferences and projects focused on Polish-German cross border cooperation and European topics. The manor house and park in Kulice operates pursuant to the bylaws of the University of Szczecin: Order No. 30/2002 of the Rector of the University of Szczecin dated 22 May 2002 and the regulations of the University of Szczecin (Rector’s Ordinance US 70/2017 of 31 October 2017 amending the ordinance on the introduction of the Organizational Regulations of the administration of the University of Szczecin). The centre is located in a historic manor house in an extensive park in the village of Kulice (municipality of Nowogard), approx. 70 km from Szczecin. The manor house and the park are under the supervision of the conservator and are entered in the national register of historical monuments. For centuries the village of Kulice belonged to the von Dewitz family whose main residence was the castle in Dobra. From 1727 until 1945 the village along with the neigbouring Konarzewo and Jarchlin were properties of the Bismarck family. Between 1838 and 1844 the estate was administered by the future chancellor of Germany, Otto von Bismarck. A few years later the properties passed into the hands of his older brother Bernhard von Bismarck (1810–1893), who, in 1848, had a manor house built there which was further extended in the following decades. Farm buildings and a neo-Romanesque church (1865) were erected near the manor. The tomb of the wife of the last owner of Kulice, Katharina von Bismarck, is located in the park. After 1945, the Kulice estate became part of the State Agricultural Farms, and the manor house served as the offices of a state-owned farm (PGR) and accommodation for the workers. After the change in the system and the fall of state-owned farms in the the early 1990s, the damaged property was taken over by the Agricultural Property Agency of the State Treasury (Agencja Własności Rolnej Skarbu Państwa). On the initiative of Philipp von Bismarck, a long-time member of the German Bundestag and European Parliament, the Fundatia Europea Pomerania was appointed, which in the years 1994–1995 rented out the estate and refurbished the manor house from German Funds provided by the Ministry of the Interior and the Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation. Based on the Baltic Academy in Lubek-Travemünde the centre in Kulice was established as a hotel and conference centre designated for Polish, German and European debates. In the years 1995–2002, the centre was managed by the Kulice-Külz European Academy Foundation, headed by Lisaweta von Zitzewitz, who organized many academic and popular conferences and seminars in Kulice. In 2002, ownership of the manor house and adjacent park was transferred to the University of Szczecin, which, until 2013, continued to conduct its activities together with the Kulice-Külz European Academy. In 2016, the centre resumed its activities which are undertaken in collaboration with the Kulice Academy Association. The centre is in the process of compiling its library collection on Pomerania and Polish-German contacts. The library occupies premises of 28 sq. metres. and will also serve as a museum – exhibitions on the history of the manor house and its inhabitants, including the von Bismarck family, the history of Kulice, and the lands in Dobra and Nowogard. The museum will be opened in June 2021. The centre has several rooms where exhibitions on historical and artistic topics are organized: a 70 sq. metre hall, two conference rooms with a total of 150 sq. metres and a garden room of 63 sq. metres. The open air artistic workshops and art exhibitions are organized in the extensive park (of 9 ha) adjacent to the manor house. In the years 2020–2022, the project Discovering a Common Cultural Heritage by getting to know the history of the region − promoting knowledge, exchanging experiences, motivating the inhabitants of the borderland and increasing its attractiveness as a tourist spot will be implemented in Kulice and Schwedt (Germany). The project is co-financed with funds from the European Union’s Interreg VA Programme (European Regional Development Fund).
