Wpływ szkoly Romerowskiej na oblicze PPWK

Powołanie w 1951 roku Państwowego Przedsiębiorstwa Wydawnictw Kartograficznych w Warszawie oznaczało zasadniczą zmianę organizacyjną w polskiej kartografii cywilnej. Ustalona wówczas centralna jednostka kartografii wydawniczej, poza jedną zmianą polegającą na upaństywowionej Książnicy-Atlas S.A. we Wroclawiu w 1955 roku, przetrwala bez istyotnych zmian czterdzieści lat. W 1991 roku PPWK zostało przekształcone w spółkę pracowniczą, a w roku 1998 przejęte przez większościowych akcjonariuszy. Od tej daty można przyjąć, że powstało nowe przedsiębiorstwo i dlatego nie analizowano już w nim obecności lub wpływu kartografii Romerowskiej. Ponieważ powstanie PPWK wiązało się ściśle z ówczesną polityką państwa, w artykule przedstawiono w zarysie proces tworzenia się przedsiębiorstwa, a także udziału i wpływu, jakie w jego historii miała kartografia Romerowska.

The 50th anniversary of the establishment of the largest cartographic enterprise in the history of Polish cartography - PPWK (Romer Cartographical Publishing House since 1986) prompted the autor to broaden the main content of this paper with an outline of the PPWK history. The PPWK was established by the Head Office of Survey in the course of its reorganization, which resulted in the separation of general cartography labs from the Office's survey and photogrammrtry units, which was initiated in 1949. At the same time, under the administrative decision, the PPWK was taking over and incorporating within its structure various specialized cartographic laboratories from another institution and enterprises. The last (and by fact the largest) cartographic firm taken over by the PPWK was the Książnica-Atlas, which was nationalized in 1952 which was followed by the decision of cutting down its editing program. Eventually, it was fully incorporated within the structure of PPWK in 1955. Książnica-Atlas, established before the World War II in Lwow (L'viv) was reacted shortly after the war in Wroclaw. In the years 1946-1954 Książnica-Atlas achieved the dominant position in the field of school cartography. Its rapid development would not have been possible without the original maps of E. Romer, which were transferred from Lwow. This way, the majority of items from the company's map and atlas collection as well as the library of both the E. Romer Cartographic Institute and the company itself were relocated to Wroclaw. Also, the closest collaborators of E. Romer settled down in Wroclaw, as did his colleagues from the Jan Kazimierz University in Lwow. The fact thet the pre-WWII maps and atlases with cartography by E. Romer have been re-issued after the war caused that despite the nationalization of the publishing house, the maps by E. Romer remained almost unchanged or modified by their author for many years. The popularity of the Romer cartography resulted from the fact that the map readers became accustomed to that particular kind of maps. Another reason to continue the E. Romer map series under the PPWK brand was that these maps had vital influence on the PPWK economic condition and development. The fact that the PPWK took over the whole staff of the former Książnica-Atlas and the establishment of cartography as a major within the geography department at the Wriclaw University in 1953 (with J. Wąsowicz as Head) resulted in the fact that new employees starting their career in the Wrocla branch of the PPWK were already under the influence of the Romer cartography. The original school maps and atlases prepared in the PPWK in many cases were the continuation of the map series initiated by E. Romer. Very often, the Romer cartographic style was censequently used, as it was considered to be the most appropriate. Historical maps and atlases can serve as perfect examples, as they were cinsequently styled after E. Romer until the 1980s. The romer cartographic style managed to survive despite that fact that its basic material were lost during the war. The author is of the opinion that instead of the Romer cartographic school or style it would be fully justified to name it the Polish cartographic school. This period would include the first 50 years following the end of the World War II and not just the period after the PPWK had been established. If we tried to trace the roots of the Polish cartographic school, it would prove evident that this scjhool was initied by E. Romer himself and his stident, who worked in almost all important geographic and cartographic centers in Poland after the war. The notion of 'the Romer cartography' is not just a historical category, as it also describes the theoretical basis and specific cartographic style that each map and atlas intended as an educational tool should posess.