The author considers a substantiation of the term „Polish conservation
school” and describes stages of the development of the
concept of conservation in Poland from the 18th century. He gives
examples o f intentional damages and depreciation o f Polish historic
monuments during annexations and also o f initiatives taken
by conservators and historians. At that time one could see various
trends to emerge in conservation methods displaying features of
school, to mention only Viollet-le-Duc in France and A. Riegel
in Austria. The methods met also a vivid response in Poland,
which can be seen in the reconstruction o f the cathedral at Włocławek
and of the Cloth Hall in Cracow. Of particular importance
were the ideas o f A. Riegel, who showed moderation and tried
to find compromise solutions. Such a rational restraint in establishing
the direction of monuments conservation adjusted to the
conditions and fate of historic monuments in Poland displayed,
already at that time, features o f the Polish school favouring, first
and foremost, care for a proper form and durability o f monuments
o f the national culture and not ambitions o f architectural creativity.
In 1918, after the regaining o f independence by Poland conservation
services were established and the law on the protection of
monuments was enforced in 1928. The definition o f a monument
covered all kinds o f human activity and was not time-restricted.
It was also then that works on the rebuilding o f monuments destroyed
during the war were undertaken, with the main emphasis
put to restore the splendour o f royal castles in Warsaw and in
Cracow. The operative principle was „to preserve and not to restore”
, although the majority o f European projects consisted in
restoration. The Conservation Congress in Athens (1931) recommended
to avoid the reproduction of destroyed monuments but
it did not repudiate the process totally in view o f some inevitable
events. The period of People’s Poland II came to an end in 1938
with the statement made by A. Lauterbach, a Polish art historian,
who said that the fate o f Polish monuments during the war of
1914—1918 made it impossible to apply the principle „to preserve
and not to restore” in its pure form and that restoration and even
reproduction o f monuments was a must. After the World War II
this statement assumed the form of a concrete work programme
(the execution o f old town complexes in, i.a., Warsaw, Gdańsk,
Poznań). In the opinion of renowned historians o f architecture
(R. Pane) and theoreticians of conservation (W. Frodl) the rebuilding
o f monuments in Poland after 1945 was an exceptional
and political task. According to the author o f this article, because
o f its exceptionality and particular conditions in which monuments
were rebuilt, one can hardly talk about „the Polish school o f conservation”
, as this is not a doctrine but an exception. A similar
method was also used by the French to reconstruct the destroyed
town o f Saint Malo.
Polish monuments conservation boasts a long tradition of great
efforts put into their protection, restoration and reconstruction.
One could mention at this point (1) comprehensive studies accompanied
by broad inventory works and monographic elaborations,
(2) training o f personnel in various fields o f monuments conservation,
(3) works on the revival of historic town centres, (4) the establishment
in 1950 of the State Enterprise for Conservation of
Art, and (5) permanent and active participation o f Polish representatives
in international works (e.g. in ICOMOS).
The author concludes that each school is linked with a definite
philosophical doctrine which the Poles have not created but only
applied the methods o f monuments conservation necessary in
a given situation.
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