Zamek w Szymbarku : budowa, zniszczenie i próba odbudowy

• Authors: Wańkowska-Sobiesiak Joanna

Title variants

EN

The castle in Szymbark. Construction, devastation, reconstruction

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

The castle in Szymbark was erected in 1378-1386 as a residence for the provost of the Pomesanian chapter. It was one of the three fortifications (alongside Kwidzyń and Prabuty) in the region. The premises of the building were truly impressive. The castle occupied an area of over 6000 sq. m., and the difference between its courtyard and the surrounding terrain totalled 10 m. The corners of the castle were fortified by four bastions, between which additional two bastions were raised along the southern, western and northern walls. The eastern wall, enclosed from above by a defensive porch, included the gatehouse and a clock tower. The western part contained a residential building w ith wtwo half-wings supported by the northern and southern walls. Changes which were introduced at the beginning of the sixteenth century partially deprived the castle of its defensive character. The curtain wall was raised by an average of 2,20-3 meters. The defensive porch was eliminated, and a residential building with a gable facing the south was erected along the eastern wall. The raised western wing now housed a refectory, and the northern halfwing — an adjoining kitchen. This redesigning was the last to be performed in the Gothic style. After the secularization of Prussia, the Szymbark property, together with the castle, was granted to Erhard von Queiss. Following his death, and in the absence of heirs, the Duke offered the estate to Georg von Polenz a Lutheran bishop. In the years 1570- 1590, Albrecht von Polenz, his heir, rebuilt the castel and introduced Renaissance decoration into the interior (stucco, fireplaces) and gables. In the seventeenth century, the castel changed owners upo n many occasions, up to 1699, when it was purchased by Ernest von Finckenstein. To this family the castle owes its consecutive redesigning, this time in the Baroque spirit, the founding of a landed estate and a park with a Classicistic greenhouse. The Finckenstein family owned the castle up to 1945 when it was burnt down by Soviet troops. In the 1960s, it was cleared of rubble and partially secured. Finally, in 1988, the ruin was taken over by the „To See Music” Foundation which intended to rebuild it for the purposes of an International Teaching Center for Musicially Gifted Blind Children. Conservation errors committed during reconstruction halted further work. The realization of the whole undertaking was ultimately abandoned due to insufficient funds.

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 1993
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 287-294

Dates

published

1993

Contributors

author

Wańkowska-Sobiesiak Joanna

References

• В. Schmid, Burg Schonberg in Westpreussen, Burgwart 23, 1922, s. 42-44
• K.H. Clasen, Die Mittelalterliche Kunst im Gebiete. I Band — Die Burgbauten, Konigsberg 1927, s. 159, 174, il. 29, 86-88;
• L. Czubiel, Zamki Warmii i Mazur, Olsztyn 1986, s. 91-93, il. 96-99;
• Iława. Z dziejow miasta i powiatu, oprać, zbiorowe, Olsztyn 1972, s. 58, 63, 66, 69, 89, 102, 257-260, 266, il. na s. 58, 59, 61;
• J. Kaufmann, Das Erbamt Schonberg. Mittelungen das Westpreussischen Geschichte, Vereins 9, 1970, s. 68-81;
• M. Toeppen, Zur Baugeschichte der Ordens und Bischofs Schlosser in Preussen, vol. IV — Schloss Schonberg, b.d.w., s. 56-64.
• A. Macur, Zamek w Szymbarku Praca dyplomowa na Wydziale Architektuiy Politechniki Gdańskiej, 1970 r.;
• A. Dolot, Zamek w Szymbarku. Projekt adaptacji części zamku na pensjonat. Praca dyplomowa na Wydziale Architektury Politechniki Warszawskiej, 1990 r.;
• M. Powązka, Projekt koncepcyjno-programowy architektury zamku w Szymbarku, 1976 r., Archiwum PP PKZ w Olsztynie.
• A. R. Chodyński w artykule Szymbark— odbudowa i... dewastacja,, ,S potkania z Zabytkami" 1991, nr 4.

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247