Konserwacja Wawelu w świetle doktryn konserwatorskich

• Authors: Stępień Piotr M.

Title variants

EN

The conservation of Wawel castle in the light of conservation doctrines

• Languages of publication: PL

Abstracts

EN

The article analyses the conservation and restoration conducted from the third quarter of the nineteenth century on Wawel Hill, both within the royal residence complex and the cathedral, from the viewpoint of the then prevailing and present-day conservation doctrines. The first pioneering study of the restoration of the royal castle, prepared by Tomasz Pryliński in 1881-1882, must be highly assessed also as regards the current conservation method. On the other hand, the project of the restoration of the cathedral proposed by Sławomir Odrzywolski in 1886 still contained numerous elements of stylistic purism. In the course of its realisation it was considerably modified by a limitation of the re-Gothicisation, a preservation of the majority of the historical strata and an introduction of modern elements (Art Nouveau). The project of the restoration of the castle presented by Zygmunt Hendel in 1908 became the topic of a discussion in which diverse stands were represented by Max Dvořak, the chief conservator of historical monuments in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and Professor Stanislaw Tomkowicz, chairman of the Castle Restoration Committee. Continuing the ideas launched by Alois Riegel, Dvořak was in favour of strictly comprehended conservation, while Tomkowicz defended the idea of scientific restoration. The outcome of the discussion was a compromise favourable for Wawel Hill, entailing a resignation from controversial reconstruction proposals but not from the actual restoration of the royal residence. In 1916-1939 the restoration of the castle was continued by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, whose specific approach was based more on artistic creation. Today, his realisations already possess a certain historical value and deserve to be subjected to conservation protection on their own merit. Their essential novelty consisted of arranging two archaeological- -architectural reservations. Out of for four conceptions pertaining to the whole Hill (1917, 1919, 1939, 1946) Szyszko-Bohusz or his successors implemented the best elements. Fortunately for Wawel Hill, they did not realise plans for a Pantheon and an amphitheatre, which cannot be favourably judged from the viewpoint of conservation doctrine. After the Second World War conservators resigned from these plans and under the supervision of Witold Minkiewicz and Alfred Majewski initiated, i.a. work on mediaeval walls in the western and southern part of Wawel Hill. The range of the reconstruction was distinctly limited in comparison with the conceptions expounded by Szyszko-Bohusz, thus expressing the transformations of the conservation doctrine of the period. In 2008 a positive opinion about those realisations was reflected in its entry into a register of historical monuments as a “conservation document”. Modern elements of exposition arrangements introduced into the Treasury, the Armoury and the exhibition “The lost Wawel” are distinct from the authentic substance, a solution that reflects a clear-cut impact of the doctrine recorded in the Charter of Venice. Complex conservation, comprising the next stage of work conducted on Wawel Hill, had been initiated in 1990 by the present-day Director of the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill and Conservator of Historical Monuments on Wawel Hill – Professor Jan Ostrowski. The basic premises of these undertakings are contained in the Statute of the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill, which defines both the function of the Castle complex as a museum- -historical residence and the trend of conservation: “the preservation of the historical substance of monuments belonging to the Castle”. “Conservation” should, however, be comprehended as “conservation- -restoration”, since present-day activities should supplement those of the predecessors and not negate them. Such a continuation of earlier initiatives included the recreation of the surface of the arcade courtyard, the recreation of the historical crowing of Lubranka, the completion of the conservation- -restoration of the Sandomierz bastion, the architectural correction of the elevation of the Royal Kitchens (no. 5), the recreation of the royal gardens and the revalorisation of the complex of Gothic houses, i.e. building no. 7. An essential element in embarking upon conservation decisions is a valorisation of the historical strata, which includes also the results of earlier conservation. The negative opinion about the nineteenth- century introduction of barracks in the royal palace complex is maintained, but Austrian fortifications extant up to this day have been recognised as an element subjected to protection. Redesigning introduced during the Nazi occupation, fortunately not extensive, has also been negatively assessed. The principles applied in reference to the outcome of previous conservation assumed their preservation as historical values unless they collide with the fundamental purpose of the presentation of a historical royal residence, i.e. falsify its image or damage its historical substance. In such cases, corrections are advised, as exemplified by the exit from the castle to the royal gardens and a new arrangement of the reservation in the west wing of the castle.

Keywords

PL

Wawel; prace konserwatorskie i restauratorskie na Wawelu; konserwacja Wawelu; prace na Wzgórzu Wawelskim; studium restauracji zamku; projekt restauracji katedry; Sławomir Odrzywolski; regotycyzacja prezbiterium; Zygmunt Hendel; doktryny konserwatorskie na Wawelu; Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz; prof. Witold Minkiewicz; prof. Alfred Majewski; koncepcje prac konserwatorskich na Wawelu; prof. Jan Ostrowski

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 2009
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 83-100

Dates

published

2009

Contributors

author

Stępień Piotr M.

• mgr inż. arch. Zamek Królewski na Wawelu

References

• Zob. E. Małachowicz, Ochrona środowiska kulturowego, Warszawa 1988, t. II.
• Zob. R. Skowron, Tomasza Prylińskiego „Zdanie sprawy ze studiów i poszukiwań do planów zamku królewskiego na Wawelu”, „Studia Waweliana”, IV, 1995.
• S. Odrzywolski, Restauracja Katedry na Wawelu, „Architekt”, R.2, 1901.
• zob. J. Frycz, Restauracja i konserwacja zabytków architektury w Polsce w latach 1795-1918, Warszawa 1975, s. 201.
• zob. L. Puszet, Nowe klejnoty stołecznego miasta Krakowa, Kraków 1901
• Protokół z posiedzenia Grona Konserwatorów Galicji Zachodniej w dn. 21 czerwca 1908 r., Teka Grona Konserwatorów Galicji Zachodniej III, Kraków 1909, s. 302-307;
• zob. też: Die Restaurierung des königlichen Schlosses auf dem Wawel in Krakau, Mitteilungen der k.k. Zentral-Komission für Kunst und Denkmalpflege, Wien 1909, pp. 216-277; tłumaczenie na j. polski [w:] A. Majewski, Wawel – dzieje i konserwacja, Warszawa 1993, s. 50-54;
• zob. też M. Dvořák, Restaurierunsfragen II. Das Königsschloss am Wawel, Kunstgeschitliches Jahrbuch der K.K. Zentralkommision f. Erforschung u. Erhaltung d. Kunstu. historischen Denkmale II. Wien 1908, s. 105-111, tłumaczenie na j. polski [w:] Wokół Wawelu. Antologia tekstów z lat 1901-1909, red. J. Krawczyk, Warszawa–Kraków 2001, s.142-146.
• zob. F. Fuchs, Z historii odnowienia wawelskiego zamku 1905-1939, „Biblioteka Wawelska I”, Kraków 1962, s. 19-20.
• A. Szyszko-Bohusz, Stosunek sztuki nowoczesnej do konserwacji zabytków, „Rocznik Architektoniczny”, t. 1, Lwów 1912-1913, s. 10-12.
• zob. W. Terlecki, Zamek królewski na Wawelu i jego restauracja, Kraków 1933.
• Zob. m.in. P.M. Stępień, Wawel w projektach Adolfa Szyszko--Bohusza, „Spotkania z Zabytkami”, 2008, nr 5, s. 3-7.
• Zob. A. Majewski, Wawel, Warszawa 1993, s. 67.
• W. Minkiewicz, O problemach wawelskich, „Ochrona Zabytków”, 1950, nr 3, z. 2-3, s. 115-127.
• Zob. m.in. P. M. Stępień, Rekonstrukcja i kreacja w odnowie zamku na Wawelu, „Ochrona Zabytków”, 2007, nr 2, s. 27-50.
• Zob. P.M. Stępień, Nieznane pałace gotyckie na Wawelu, „Spotkania z Zabytkami”, 2008, nr 8, s. 4-8.

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247