O polskiej szkole odbudowy i konserwacji zabytków

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.