Discovery of the Oldest Construction Phases of the Convent of the Order of St. Dominic in Sandomierz—Research and Technical Conditions of Their Conservation and Restoration

Abstract

Following the ages-old trade route from Western Europe through Krakow and Lviv towards the Kievan Rus’, when nearing Sandomierz—one of the Piast dynasty's sedes regni principalis—the traveller's attention will first be drawn towards the brick, compact massing of the monastery of the Order of Saint Dominic and, in the background, the monumental massing of a church, dominating in the skyline of the Hill of St. Jacob. The convent of the Order of St. Dominic in Sandomierz is indeed a striking documentation of the perfection of architectural technique and proof of cultural links and contacts with the northern and western circles of European construction and artistic schools. Adam Milobedzki, a well-known scholar of Polish architecture, stated outright: “The church in Sandomierz belongs to some of the best cases of early Dominican architecture in Europe”, describing its remarkable ceramic decoration as “sophisticated” and bearing the marks of northern Italian buildings. Similarly, Jan Zachwatowicz, in his synthetic publication entitled Architektura Polska, published in 1966 but written much earlier, characterised the rich ceramic decoration of the Dominican complex as being of the Lombard type, simultaneously pointing towards the archetypical alternation of architectural and decorative forms. Zygmunt Świechowski noted the stylistic and technical diversity of the presbytery and the nave, parts that some scholars consider uniform in terms of their spatial proposal. The building technique of the first section was observed to operate using simpler means of expression, which can be seen in its bonding, the manner of the laying of the arcaded frieze, with diagonally placed bricks, while in the other—the nave—we can see a more sophisticated and technologically improved ceramics. In the literature we can find a well-entrenched view—based on surviving plans of the convent from 1864, drafted just before its partial dismantlement—which assumes that the initially planned complex did not differ substantially from the shape that survived up to the middle of the nineteenth century. Meanwhile, archaeological research conducted in the years 2016–2018 brought a series of surprising discoveries, casting a completely new light on the beginnings of the Dominican monastery, confirming the stylistic and technical diversity of its individual parts, while also showing the mission of the Order of St. Dominic in Poland at the time, which combined religious goals with political ones, in a completely new light, revealing the crucial role of the monastery in Sandomierz. It was meant to be a coordination centre for the Order's initially broad operations in the territory of the Kievan Rus’, which ceased because of the destructive Tartar invasions in 1241 and 1259. Traces of the initial layout were discovered in the remains of the southern wing, which was demolished in the nineteenth century, and which had initially been located further southwards, enclosing a larger, square-shaped cloister garth, as well as in the bonding of the so-called Romanesque cellar with a single column, located in a corner of the eastern and southern wing, which remained after the reduction of the functional and spatial programme of the two-segment chapterhouse. The area where the southern wing and the south-western corner of the monastic complex were located is a strategic site, both from an academic point of view and in the aspect of the spatial recomposition and conservational renovation of this exceptional site of Polish Medieval architectural heritage. The archaeological and architectural research that has thus far been performed, despite its limited extent, enables the delineation of strict protection zones and areas where further research should develop, in addition to initiating design work on restoring the historical spatial composition based on contemporary conservation doctrine, using innovative technical solutions. The chief premise of these solutions is to obtain a synergic effect as a result of the harmonious combination of existing sections and new architectural forms, along with a non-invasive technical intervention aimed at the necessary securing and preservation of heritage substance. In light of the findings that have proven crucial to the history of the Convent and medieval Polish architecture, the definition of directions and conditions for building a model of the restitution of its southern wing—which is to be programmed so as to minimise or even eliminate construction-related interference in surviving authentic historical substance—becomes paramount. Based on contemporary architectural heritage theory and an analysis of the structure's primary research nodes, the proposed technical, technological, functional and spatial solutions were based on the doctrinal priority of the historical layout's landscape recomposition and making the most precious relics that document the beginnings of the Convent accessible to the public.