Od rekonstrukcji do restytucji : kształtowanie koncepcji ideowo-konserwatorskich

• Authors: Krzyżanowski Lech

Title variants

EN

THE FORMATION OF IDEAS AN D CONSERVATION CONCEPTS - FROM THE RECONSTRUCTION TO THE RESTITUTION

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

The author makes an attempt at setting in order the terms used in connection with the Royal Castle. Attention is drawn to the fa c t th a t as a matter of fa c t the thing is to analyze the actions associated with the Castle and to determine whether and to what degree these actions were covered by monuments’ conservation. The terminology used in Polish, fo r from being precise, does n o t make this task any easier. For many years until 1945 the term ’’reconstruction” had been used when referring to the Castle in both documents and opinions of the architects and other specialists engaged with monuments’ conservation. Only as late as in 1979 in one of his articles Professor Jan Zachwatowicz, architect, president of the Architectonic and- Conservation Commission of the Civic Committee fo r the Reconstruction of the Royal Castle in Warsaw substantiated the term ’’ restitution" which has got adopted in a narrow circle of professionalists not without some hesitation. The main argument in favour of this term Professor Zachwatowicz derived from the meaning of the word: „re p a ra tio n of damages", revoking of unjust decision". Thus, he evoked the meanings from the sphere of morality, just as until then this term had not been used to describe actions within the fie ld of architecture. The a u thor o f this article supports the use of this term but only with regard to the Royal Castle in Warsaw, while still another reason fo r th a t is the respect fo r the Professor, who died in 1983. The Architectonic and Conservation Commission had been empowered with special capacities — the project approved by the Commission did not have to be approved by any other bodies. In practice, it decided about the form of all solutions. Taking advantage of the results of extensive studies the Commission had at its disposal unique material on the history and shape of castle interiors and elevations that had been there before its overtaking by Tsar’s authorities and before subsequent reconstructions. The Commission decided to restore the o rigina l appearance of a number of rooms and elevations according to historic records. Still, the Commission could not bring about the restoration of the Castle’s appearance from before the loss of in d e pendance by the Polish state. Not all historic reports were precise enough. Thus, both with regard to the elevations and interiors, the present condition of the structure is the result of a compromise between objective possibilities o ffe red by documents and contemporarily set functions* According to the author of the article the whole concept of the Castle illustrates the knowledge acquired by designers and the Commission in the seventies. At th e same time it is the result of jo in tly adopted compromises. Thus, further discussions on the possibility of other appearance of some rooms than th a t assumed are no longer rational, although it is worthwhile to extend this knowledge. There is an urgent need for publishing a complete documentation on the premises th a t prompted the Commission. This is necessary not only in order to present an objective character of the Commission’s work. This documentation is also due to the society th a t made voluntary contributions to this great work. There arises the basic question: what is the place of the restitution of the Castle in Warsaw in the history of monuments’ conservation. There is no doubt th a t the reconstruction of the mass itself, even with the introduction of all historic techniques and technologies in th e completion of the decorations of the interiors is not implied in the notion of monuments’ conservation. On the other hand, a broadly conceived process of compiling historic records together with comprehensive archaeological and architectonic studies on the site of castle ruins represent a typical element of conservation practice. Also, The in -b u ild in g of several thousands of authentic stone elements (cornices, framing, details of fig u ra i sculptures) as well as of stucco work and wood-carving into th e ir o rigina l places in the building should be regarded as the actions within the fie ld of monuments’ conservation. Also, the conservation of numerous examples of work of art such as paintings, decorative textiles, furniture ought to be included into the same ca te go ry of actions. A ll these operations make it largely possible to recognize restitution of the Royal Castle in Warsaw as the outcome of conservation endeavours. Still, one should not identify this building with the notion ’ ’the Royal Castle", though this term has been adopted by the Social Committee fo r the Reconstruction and this notion is included into the name of the museum found in its interiors. The Castle, the o rigina l seat of Polish kings, stopped performing its function a t the beginning of the 19th century and in the late fa ll of 1944 its walls, first burnt and then blown up, ceased to exist. This is the structure th a t embodies a great symbolic load respected by the society, which is not in contradiction with the fact^ that only some parts of the building have preserved th e ir origina l character and they include mainly elements of its fu rn ishing. The author draws attention to the fa c t that large reconstructions are not a unique work on our continent. He recalls the in te rn a tio n a l contest and then the construction (completed in 1984) of a group of houses in Ramerbog, the historic centre of Frankfurt on-the-Main (the FRG). Another example is the. reconstruction of the furnishing of the interior of the Golden Room in the town-hall in Augsburg, executed with gre a t artistry and based on the results of the discussion of professionalists (completed in 1986). The above two examples, crowned with success, fu lfille d undoubtedly the expectations of towns’ inhabitants and they finished a great process of the reconstruction a fter 1945. We could quote here many more examples of this kind of work. This is not tantamount to the readiness of monuments' conservators to undertake further reconstructions both on a town-planning scale as well as in the interiors of palaces or town-halls. Such phenomena should be rather analyzed by means of sociological criteria of the evaluation. Perhaps the people visiting the Royal Castle in the 21st century will see in it mainly the monument of opinions and public feelings in Poland in the seventies of the 20th century. Still, if they get moved when touching elements of the bricked wall in the groundfloor, see orifices drille d during the 2nd World War fo r blasts th a t did not explode, the efforts of builders and monuments, conservators of the third quarter of the 20th century will be rewarded.

Keywords

PL

Zamek Królewski w Warszawie; rekonstrukcja Zamku; odbudowa Zamku; restytucja Zamku Królewskiego; Jan Zachwatowicz

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 1987
• Issue: 1-2
• Pages: 7-13

Dates

published

1987

Contributors

author

Krzyżanowski Lech

• dr, Zarząd PP PKZ Warszawa

References

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Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247