Książ Castle is searching for descendants of former castle service

"The process of identifying employees of the princely court in Książ in its final years has been ongoing for over 10 years. It has accelerated especially after 2016, when a collection of more than 1,000 photographs taken by the princely chef Louis Hardouin was brought to Książ from Canada," said Książ Castle spokesperson Mateusz Mykytyszyn.

Many of the black-and-white images show the everyday life of the castle employees: butlers, chambermaids, gardeners, stablemen and kitchen staff. According to Mykytyszyn, a 69-year-old woman from Hannover - Dorothea Huhn - has recognised her grandmother in one of the photos, who used to cook for the Hochbergs. The woman contacted the castle representatives, and now they are sharing her testimony.

"My grandma's name was Anna Biller. She came from Peilau (today's Piława in Poland). She spent her youth serving Prince Hans Heinrich XV and Princess Daisy, or to be more specific, in their luxury kitchen located at the newly build fifth floor. I remember her excellent cuisine and I inherited grandma's recipes after my mother, including Silesian crumb cake (Streuselkuchen)," Huhn recollected.

It turns out that Anna Biller was delighting the aristocratic palates for a few years. She ended her work at the castle in 1924,after she got married. Two years before earlier, Princess Daisy got divorced from Hans Heinrich and left the Hochberg mansion. "It was more or less then that the cook received a saltshaker from the princely table as a gift," Mykytyszyn said. Anna Biller's granddaughter added: "It was a small, yet very elegant item made of cut crystal and silver. Grandma got it as a farewell gift, when she was leaving the castle before her wedding with my granddad from Freiburg (today's Świebodzice in Poland), Fritz Schöntier".

Fritz was also employed by the Hochbergs. At first, he worked as a woodcutter in the local forests, but he lost his hand in an accident. Later he found a job at the princely stables.

"The story of Anna Biller has inspired us to look for more descendants of the pre-war castle employees. If you recognise your relatives in one of the photographs, please contact us," Mykytyszyn appealed. Książ Castle management hope the search will bring results because, in the early 20th century, the five-people-strong Hochberg family was being served by more than 500 persons.

Książ Castle also extended the call to descendants of former service in English and German. "All you need to do is write to us at: info@ksiaz.walbrzych.pl OR office@ksiaz.walbrzych.pl" - the castle spokesperson said.