Problemy konserwatorskie odbudowy i adaptacji zamku w Rydzynie

The Castle at Rydzyna that was burnt out at the end of hostilities in 1945 has, after many years, found its new owner. The main parts of its shell are dating as far back as to the eighties of the 17th century when it has been built for the Voivode Raphael Leszczyński With a simultaneous adaptation of me dieval layout coming from the early years of the 15th century. The modern castle erected prior to 1965 basing on architectural design prepared by the royal architect Giuseppe Simone Belotti as a four-wing building with an internal court and four corner towers formed probably the last in Poland link in the evolution chain of the Pcggio Reale version of Serliani. About 1700 the architect Pompeo Ferrari of Rome reconstructed the northern wing providing it with an oval-shaped vestibule; at the same time he rearranged the Ball Room situated in the first floor just above the vestibule. After the fire in 1707 and the abdication of the King Stanisław Leszczyński his land estates were, in 1738, purchased by Aleksander Józef Sułkowski. It was namely at that time that an architect invited from Silesia has rebuilt the burnt out western and southern portions of Castle, added the northern wall break with a stair case, shaped the roofs and partly also the facades. More representative and monumental as to their character forms to the outhouses designed by that Silesian architect were given in the 1780’s by the royal architect Ignatius Graff. In the great fire in 1945 totally demolished were the roofs and nearly all the ceilings with their most rich within the area of Great Poland seventeenth-century decorations executed by artists formerly working for the King John IHwhile adorning his summer residence at Wilanów near Warsaw. As a result of restoration the castle shell has been brought to the raw building condition in the 1950’s whereas the floors, windows and doors were provided a few years later. For many years no user could be found for the Castle as its adaptation to modern uses, in view of its enormous volume, was both too expensive and difficult. In 1969 the Association of Polish Mechanical Engineers declared their readiness to organize here a training centre and a home for the Association members devoting themselves to creative work. The basic design which was prepared by „Miastoprojekt” Designing Office, Poznań has been approved by all instances of the state conservation service and also by a commission assessing inv e stment projects. In the further phases, however, quite considerable changes were introduced to design, aimed at safeguarding of relics preserved from the medieval castle and at preparing of such an architectural solution of interiors that it could be possible, with more favourable conditions prevailing in the future, to carry out the full reconstruction of their decorations. The author of the present report has prepared a set of conservator’s outlines that in the form of architectural drawings were elaborated by the architect Witold Milewski. The new user has gradually approved the proposals presented to him and by his resigning of many modern audio-visual installations and equipment planned for the main representative rooms he provided the possibility of their full reconstruction according to 1:25 scale drawings which were prepared by the architect J. Filipiak. As a basis for that reconstruction served the pre-war photographs of interiors of the Castle and greatly helpful, too, proved the preserved drawing by J. Le Pautre of whose decorative motifs and patterns a broad use was made by the seventeenth-century designer of decorations in the Rydzyna Castle; to some extent as auxiliary and comparative materials were used also the photographs and drawings of architectural and decorative details to be found in the royal residence at Wilanów. However, it has been resigned of restoring of the eighteenth-century additions made by I. Graff who in place of paintings by Palloni has introduced the stucco and plaster of Paris adornments. The walls in the castle rooms w ill be covered with decorative style-patterned tapestries. Only in the so called Crystal Study the walls w ill be covered with wainscots and mirrors in accordance with old descriptions of that Castle. In Ball Room the ancient wooden colonnade, will be rebuilt however, with the use of new materials and techniques. The new user has also decided that the ancient park layout is to be recovered within the first, nearer to the Castle, part of devasted and deserted park; the other part, i.e. that on the other side of the transversally running fosse will be maintained in the form of a landscape park with its rich tree groupings that were formed here during the first half of the 19th century. While preparing the reconstruction of the park it was decided to adopt general forms created in the 18th century; the bastion-like outline w ill be restored to the island on which the Casttle is situated and on its western side it will be connected with the town of Rydzyna by means of a new, simple in its shape bridge which the connection w ill be in full accordance with an old townplanning concept of the King Stanisław Leszczyński. The reconstruction of park has been designed by the architect J. Szymański who prepared its outlines in a specialized division of the Ateliers for Conservation of Cultural Property, Wroclaw. All the historical surveys and studies serving as the basis for designing were prepared to order of J. Pic, the voivodship conservator, Poznań who approved all the until now prepared stages of design.