Zapora wodna na Dunajcu - 40 lat budowy : stanowisko władz konserwatorskich i stosunek środowiska historyków sztuki

• Authors: Michalczuk Stanisław

Title variants

EN

A WATER DAM ON THE DUNAJEC RIVER - 40 YEARS OF IT'S CONSTRUCTION

• Languages of publication: PL EN

Abstracts

EN

The building of a dam and a huge water resorvoir on the Dunajec river in the Pieniny mountains was begun in 1964 and has been continued for nearly a quarter of a century. The undertaking was preceded with long-lasting geological studies, expertises and discussions on the choice of the best concept. The research and design work carried out by numerous institutes as well as by engineering and technological offices was accompanied by a campaign led by naturalists whose aim was to protect the most exquisite work of nature represented by the valley of the upper Dunajec and the Dunajec Gorge in the Pieniny Mountains. The first nature reserve was set up within the area of the Czorsztyn castle hill in 1921. In 1932 the National Park in the Pieniny Mountains was established. People campaigning for the protection of nature were backed up by art historians — humanists, advocates of monumental treasures of the culture of interest to historians since the beginning the 19th century. The Czorsztyn Castle (in ruins since the end of the 18th century) protected south border of the Polish Kingdom. The Niedzica Castle was at the north border of the Hungarian Kingdom. Both of them regulated the traffic along the ancient international route and watched the crossing on the Dunajec. Later on they became an embelishment of the mountain landscape lending it a unique romantic character. Ethnographic values preserved in this area are just as great. On the Polish side of the Dunajec, in Podhale, they include: the village of Dębno with a wooden church from the 15th century decorated with polychromy, the village of Maniowy, the oldest and biggest in this region, boasting of a church, chapels and shrines, a manor house and examples of folk architecture, the area of the Czorsztyn castle with a manor house, a farm, a park, pavillions and 19th century chapels; the Czorsztyn Skrzyżowanie (i.e. the crossroads) with spa buildings from the first half of the 20th century. A clash of these two attitudes and contradictory trends in the interests of the same society and country has its own tradition. The state authorities were more inclined to listen to the arguments and solutions presented by the designers of the dam. Their arguments supporting the project were: protection against floods, obtaining a cheap source of electric power and just recent one — collection of pure water in a retention resorvoir for southern regions of the country. However, this enormous undertaking has caused much trouble to the state economy which has not been able to carry through this difficult construction, planned for 4-6 years. The first design assumptions have to be updated regularly. The planned water reservoir will stay useless if the drainage area of the upper Dunajec is not provided with a water treatment plant (for Zakopane, Nowy Targ and some dozens of villages) and a complete system of the equipment that would preserve the natural environment. Enormous outlays are needed to save the Pieniny National Park. The search work is done to find solutions for technical protection of the hill of the Niedzice castle. No work has been done as yet to secure the rocks of the Czorsztyn hill. The ruins of the castle in Czorsztyn are still awaiting conservation. Planned open-air museums to save examples of folk architecture and culture in the east part of Podhale and Polish Spisz have not been realized. We already know the effects of building the dam. „Protectionist" activities of all levels of administrative conservation authorities have been found ineffective. The Association of Art Historians is a social exponent of fears flowing from unknown, so far, effects of the existence and use of the dam which might bring about the destruction of natural landscape and the remaining monuments of culture.

Keywords

PL

zapora wodna na Dunajcu; zapora w Niedzicy; opinia władz konserwatorskich; stosunek środowiska historyków sztuki; starania zatrzymania inwestycji

• Publisher: Narodowy Instytut Dziedzictwa
• Journal: Ochrona Zabytków
• Year: 1987
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 259-269

Dates

published

1987

Contributors

author

Michalczuk Stanisław

• dr, kurator Zamku w Niedzicy

References

• K. R o m e y k o - H u r k o , Spór o zaporę. W: P. D ą br ows k i , Ochrona przyrody w Pienińskim Pasie Skałkowym. Krakow 1984, s. 87—102.
• S. S m ó I s k i, Ochrona przyrody w Pieninach, jej historia i zadania w obliczu nadchodzących zmian. W : Przyroda Pienin w obliczu zmian. Red. prof. dr K. Zarzycki. Warszawa 1982;
• S. My c z k ows k i , Budowa zbiornikow wodnych w Niedzicy i Sromowcach Wyżnych nad Dunajcem z przyrodniczego punktu widzenia, koreferat mgr inż. A. Ł a s k i e g o , rękopis, Ogolne koncepcje budowy zbiornika wodnego w Czorsztynie, wygłoszony na konferencji problemowej w Niedzicy w dn. 9—11 V 1966 r.
• T. C hr z a n ows k i , H. Pieńkowska (1917—1976), wspomnienie pośmiertne. „Biuletyn Historii Sztuki” 1977, R. XXXIX, nr 4.

Identifiers

ISSN

0029-8247