Kaczmarek, Sylwia - Architecture of Poland as the Heritage of the Past in the Present. Castles, palaces and mansions, historic cities (2015).pdf

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Sylwia Kaczmarek
Institute of Socio-Economical Geography
and Spatial Organization
University of Łódź
Architecture of Poland as the Heritage
of the Past in the Present. Castles, palaces
and mansions, historic cities
1. Introduction
Architecture as a  conscious creative act of construction of premises
fulfilling various functions dates back in Poland to the10
th
 century. It was at
that time when Prince
Mieszko I of
the Piast dynasty accepted Christianity
and thereby introduced Poland into the family of European states.
The history of architecture in Poland is traditionally broken down into
the  following periods starting from the  beginnings of Christianity until
contemporary times:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Pre-Roman, ca. 950–1050,
Roman, ca. 1050–1250,
Gothic, ca. 1250–1470,
Renaissance and Mannerism, ca. 1520–1650,
Baroque, ca. 1650–1770,
Classicism and Romanticism, ca. 1770–1850,
Eclecticism and Art Nouveau, ca. 1850–1914,
Intra-war 1918–1939,
Contemporary after 1945.
34
Sylwia Kaczmarek
This division indicates that although it reproduces sequential stages
of development of Western architecture, there was a slight delay, mainly in
the period of fully fledged Middle Ages and Renaissance. Single buildings
and their complexes were designed by indigenous inhabitants of the Polish
land as well as by those who had come to live there from various parts of
Europe. Hence in Poland one can find traces of the presence and works of
groups of medieval stone cutters from Saxony and Burgundy, Renaissance
artists from Tuscany and Flanders, Baroque and classicist Italian, French
and Scandinavian architects.
The specific geographic location of the country in Central Europe at
the borderline between Western (Latin) culture and the East contributing
Byzantine tradition greatly enriched architectural heritage in the territory
of Poland. It is in this part of the continent where commercial routes cross
going from the  south to the  north which was reflected in construction
structures as well. The history of our nation and the role of nobles and mag-
nates are the third important characteristic that shaped Polish architecture
which differs depending on the part of the country even when it comes to
buildings of the same style. Such differences are particularly true of Gothic
and Baroque.
Polish architecture has its individual profile, mostly visible in residen-
tial buildings. For centuries interesting buildings were constructed in Po-
land, for some of which no equivalents can be found elsewhere in Europe.
Today they constitute an important element of common European cultural
heritage and an ingredient of Polish identity and its image; an image com-
posed for centuries, dynamically changing, rich with the  co-existence of
various influences.
2. Polish residential castles, palaces and mansions
This overview includes selected residences in Poland of different épo-
ques which are interesting examples of architecture and confirm the origi-
nality and uniqueness of Polish architecture and its territorial variety.
Undoubtedly the castle complex in
Malbork
(photo 1, 2) is the most
prominent example of a medieval castle in Poland. It was erected by the Teu-
Architecture of Poland as Heritage of the Past in the Present
35
tonic Order of the Hospital of Saint Mary of the German House in Je-
rusalem who in Poland were commonly referred to as
Krzyżacy
because of
the black cross that ornamented their white cloaks. The Order of the Hos-
pital of Saint Mary of the German House in Jerusalem was established as
a German order in Palestine in 1190 and in 1198 was transformed into
a Teutonic Knights’ order. Their main task was taking care of pilgrims and
the sick and fighting against the so called unfaithful. The order was headed
by the Grand Master and the chapter. Due to the pressure of Muslims in
Palestine and in looking for new territories, the Grand Master started to
apply to move the Order to Europe. In 1211 Hungarian King Andrew II
called upon the Teutonic Knights to protect southern borders of Siedmi-
ogrod against Polowce, however, the  striving of the  Knights to establish
their own state resulted in their expulsion from Hungary in 1224–25.
In 1226 invited by  Conrad I of Mazovia to fight the Prussians, they ar-
rived four years later (1230) to the  area of
Chełmno
and took it over in
1231–1233 (partly as a liege from Conrad I of Mazovia) and conquered
Prussia until 1283. Teutonic Knights with the support of the Emperor and
the Pope established their own state on conquered territories with the ob-
jective to expand it constantly at the cost of their neighbours. Around 1274
the Teutonic Knights started the construction of a castle (marienburg, since
16
th
 century called
Malbork)
that was to become the capital of their newly
created state and the  place of residence for Grand Master of the  Order.
Malbork
was granted the founding charter around 1286.
The Gothic castle of Teutonic Knights was built of red brick on stone
foundations mixed with lime, granite and artificial stone used for making
details. The fortress (one of the Major in Europe and the biggest within
the category of medieval brick constructions) was built in stages, starting
from 1280 and extended subsequently till mid-15
th
 century. The complex is
spread along the right bank of the Nogat River, one of the arms of the delta
of the Vistula River, and includes: the High Castle, the middle Castle and
the Lower Castle surrounded by walls with towers and gates.
The  High Castle, the  oldest part of the  fortress, was built in 1280
and then considerably extended in the years 1334–1344. It was erected on
rectangular view as a three-floor structure with inner courtyard surrounded
with galleries. There is an annexe in the High Castle with a tomb Chapel
36
Sylwia Kaczmarek
of St Anne on the ground floor and on the first floor the Chapel of Holy
Virgin Mary accessible via the so called Golden Gate, a richly ornament-
ed sculptured portal. The  High Castle housed facilities for the  Knights:
sleeping quarters (dormitories), refectories and an elegant meeting room
(chapter room).
The  Middle Castle constructed as an irregular quadrilateral around
a  big courtyard has three residential wings with a  hospital (infirmary),
rooms for visitors and the Great Refectory (with a kitchen). There is also
a two-floor residential part of rectangular shape on the side of the courtyard
and a four-floor residential part on the side of the river called the Grand
Master’s House.
The  Lower Castle is the  third structure in the  fortress and includes
partly preserved supporting facilities. At the  times of Teutonic Knights
the  Lower Castle built in extended rectangular shape was occupied
by  craftsmen working for the  needs of the  Knights, young knights who
were not members of the Order and merchants.
The Malbork Castle is a unique construction in Poland and makes an
excellent and impressive example of European medieval military architecture
being at the same time the biggest brick fortress in Europe. It has been in-
cluded in the UNESCO List of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The times of mature Middle Ages left many castles in Poland (pho-
to 3). They were of different sizes and use and although all of them were
smaller than
Malbork,
they reflect interesting features of medieval military
structures of brick and stone. These were single structures: the seats of bish-
ops, local dukes and knights but also parts of larger complexes such as local
fortresses or military defence units along commercial routes (e.g. castles in
Będzin, Olsztyn, Gniew, Toruń, Łęczyca, Ogrodzieniec, Ojców, Szczytno etc.).
The castle in
Lidzbark Warmiński
provides another example of interesting
and well preserved architecture. Built of brick in Gothic style in the years
1355–1401 it was a project financed by the bishops of Warmia and their
official residence, one of those situated in various towns of the  Warmia
province. It suffered from fire in the middle and at the end of 15
th
 century
and then was restored in 1442 and 1497 respectively. It was constructed
as a square four-floor building with an inner courtyard surrounded with
arcaded galleries. Its corners are decorated with turreted towers ending in
Architecture of Poland as Heritage of the Past in the Present
37
the north-east part with a multilateral tower. The Castle of Lidzbark (pho-
to 4) is an example of a medieval urban residence combining the functions
of a fortress, a place of residence and a representative and administrative
facility.
The Royal
Wawel
Castle in
Kraków
is of equal importance to Renais-
sance architecture as the Malbork Castle is for medieval architecture. Situat-
ed on a limestone hill on the left bank of the Vistula, south of the medieval
city it was a residence of dukes and kings between 11
th
and 16
th
centuries.
This new Renaissance castle (photo 5) was constructed on the site of
a  medieval castle in the  years 1502–1536 during the  rule of King
Zyg-
munt  I 
the  Old of Jagiellonian dynasty. The  new structure was built in
stages. The  works consisted of a  complete extension and conversion of
a complex composed of Gothic parts and also some relicts of Romanesque
structures of 11
th
–13
th
centuries. The construction was supervised by Italian
architects invited by the king from Tuscany. The first was Francis of Flor-
ence who performed his duties until 1516 and then Bartolomeo Berecci
continued until 1537. Both of them were assisted by  a  Pole, master Be-
nedykt of Sandomierz. At that time three-floor residential buildings were
completed located in three wings of a square courtyard. The fourth wing
was a  screen wall covered with an attic. Around the  courtyard there are
arcaded three-floor galleries directly linked in terms of style and form to
Renaissance Florentine palazzos. Royal residence includes a complex of el-
egant state rooms and chambers beautifully decorated with works of high
artistic and historic value (e.g. famous Audience Hall with a carved ceiling
covered with sculptures of human heads). Rooms and halls are decorat-
ed with upholstery fabrics and tapestries (called “arras” after the name of
the town where they were manufactured) ordered by Zygmunt
I the Old
and
Zygmunt II August
from the  best Flanders workshops. Splendid and
unique collection of tapestries dates back to the years 1553–71. The most
renown is the Biblical series featuring the “History of Noah” and the “His-
tory of the Tower of Babel”. In his last will,
Zygmunt II August
donated
the tapestries to the Republic of Poland but many of them had to cover
long distances during centuries to be back in
Wawel
in 20
th
 century.
Royal residence and the  tomb chapel of the  last Jagiellonians called
Zygmuntowska chapel built at the Wawel Cathedral are excellent examples

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