The dean's curia
The original manor was built in the 14th century as the curia of the dean of the cathedral chapter in Kamień Pomorski. It was destroyed twice by fires in the town — in 1582 and 1630. The building owes its present appearance to a remodelling in 1725. It stands at Plac Katedralny 4.
Ewald Jürgen von Kleist and his jar
From 1722 to 1747 this was the home of Ewald Jürgen von Kleist, dean of the chapter of the Pomeranian Evangelical Church. In his spare time he studied chemistry and physics, especially electricity. On 11 October 1745, in this house, he carried out the first experiment with an electrical capacitor, known as the “Kleist jar”. At that time two rooms of the manor served as a boarding house for pupils of the cathedral school.
Military hospital, seminary, mayors
In 1813, during the Napoleonic Wars, the building housed a military hospital for French prisoners of war; later the district administrator (Landrat) lived here. From 1840 to 1907 the manor served a seminary; in 1898 it was bought by the state treasury. Until 1945 it was the residence of the mayors of Kamień. After the war it housed, among others, the State Repatriation Office and municipal flats.
Today
In the late 1990s the town handed the manor over to St Otto's parish. Renovation begun in 1998 remained unfinished for years; a thorough modernisation took place in 2021 with support from the Regional Operational Programme of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. An interactive exhibition devoted to von Kleist was created in the building. In front of the manor stands a boulder with a plaque commemorating the inventor, placed in 2000 on the 300th anniversary of his birth.
Gallery
