Wawel Castle Research Articles

Musealization of Wawel Castle 1945–61 – Royal heritage and political legitimacy in early socialist Poland

ABSTRACT This article’s aim is to analyse why Poland’s socialist authorities decided to transform Wawel Castle into a historic house museum and how they took advantage of its new role in order to bolster their political legitimacy during their rule’s initial period. My argument is that Wawel Castle’s transformation into a historic house museum was motivated by the building’s status as the ultimate national symbol and its specific geopolitical situation. Situated in Cracow, far from the capital city, it could have played only a marginal role as an official residence in Poland’s highly centralised political life. Therefore, the socialist state ventured to exploit this heritage’s symbolic potential differently. The establishment of the historic castle museum demonstrated the regime’s attachment to national heritage, serving also to adapt the castle to its socialist vision. The castle’s musealization could legitimize the regime in the eyes of non-socialists without sacrificing its ideological agenda.

Działalność kulturotwórcza konserwatystów wschodniogalicyjskich na przykładzie fundacji Leona Pinińskiego i Dawida Abrahamowicza

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES OF EASTERN GALICIAN CONSERVATIVES ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF LEON PINIŃSKI AND DAWID ABRAHAMOWICZThe activity of eastern Galician conservatives is generally assessed only negatively and on the political field. Their perception in historiography has been influenced by the work of Wilhelm Feldman entitled Parties and Political Programs in Galicia. Indeed, Podolacy sought to maintain the status quo in matters of large land ownership. However, some of them undertook numerous pro-social initiatives. Among the most spectacular were the foundations of Dawid Abrahamowicz and Leon Piniński, whose aim was to rebuild the Wawel Royal Castle during the interwar period. The first was founded by the Abrahamowicz couple who donated almost all of their wealth to charity (mainly benefitting children of landowners who can’t afford education) and to cultural purposes. The funds received by Wawel Castle were used to purchase paintings by the best masters from Poland and abroad. By 1937 they had gathered 91 objects for its reconstruction. The second foundation was established in 1927 by art historian and former governor of Galicia Leon Piniński, who donated over 300 objects by artists such as Juliusz Kossak, Jacek Malczewski, Artur Grottger and Józef Chełmoński. As an outstanding collector, Piniński took an active part in the foundation’s work until the end of his life. In the 1930s, as a result of economic crisis, he was forced to sell almost 50 paintings from the Wawel Castle. The article presents the cultural activity of Eastern Galician conservatives, which should not be limited only to political aspects, especially the Polish-Ukrainian conflict.

Od Wełtawy pod Wawel. Korespondencja ks. Václava Štulca z księstwem Lubomirskich z Krakowa i Przeworska w latach 1837-1885

From the Vltava to the Wawel Castle. The correspondence between Rev. Václav Štulc and the Princes Lubomirski from Kraków and Przeworsk in the years 1837-1885 Polish-Czech relationships have long been a subject of thorough research. Rev. Václav Štulc, equally with the poet Zygmunt Krasiński, was Prince Jerzy Lubomirski’s friend until the latter’s death. They had known each other since university and used to visit each other for many years . With time their contact became very close and the Czech became almost a member of the princely family. This paper indicates the nature of their correspondence and its themes. The author emphasizes the important role Rev. Štulc played in the Lubomirski family. We learn about the personal problems of the Princes Lubomirski, their economic plans and political views. The article analyzes the correspondence between the Lubomirskis and Štulc and aims to partially reconstruct the social contacts in the salons of Kraków and Przeworsk. Besides, it allows us to look at Polish-Czech relations from the point of view of microhistory.

Prusacy podchodzą pod Wawel – plany obrony Krakowa z wiosny 1793 roku

The Prussians are attacking the Wawel castle – plans of Cracow defence in the spring of 1793 At the beginning of 1793, the Prussian army marched onto the territory of the western provinces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, executing the plan of the Second Partition of Poland signed in Saint Petersburg. Due to the lack of information concerning the maximum range of the annexation in the early spring, the Confederate authorities started to fear that Cracow might be taken too – by Prussia or by Austria. Thus, general Józef Wodzicki was tasked with securing the city. However, he had to face the fact that there was no possibility of planning his actions around the fortifications and that he had only modest forces at his disposal.

O okolicznościach narodzin królewskich dzieci w świetle itinerarium Kazimierza Jagiellończyka i Elżbiety Rakuskiej

O okolicznościach narodzin królewskich dzieci w świetle itinerarium Kazimierza Jagiellończyka i Elżbiety Rakuskiej

Vegetation on the Wawel Hill, Cracow (Poland) in the early Middle Ages based on the fragmentary pollen record. Archaeological research excavation in the basement of building No. 9

Palynological research was carried out on layers archaeologically dated to the early Middle Ages in the basement of the former Austrian hospital at Wawel. The interpretation was based on the sparse number of sporomorphs presented in the samples, not on the percentages.At the end of the first millennium, on the Wawel Hill and in its vicinity, an open landscape developed with a mosaic of plant communities, including ruderal ones, fields, pastures, and meadows, as well as bushes and forests. Sporomorphs reached the analysed area partially naturally, with pollen rain from plants growing at sites in the Wawel Castle itself and from the immediate or further surroundings of the Wawel Hill. Some sporomorphs reached the examined layers because of human activity: partly accidentally during normal life activities, and partly with material goods brought to Wawel for utility purposes. The interpretation is consistent with the results of palaeobotanical studies from other analysed sites in Wawel (Wasylikowa et al. 2006; Nalepka 2009).

The Characteristics of Italian Collections of Gilt Leather as an Element of the Research into the Provenance of the Gilt-Leather Wall Hangings in Wawel Royal Castle

The Wawel Royal Castle is home to a large collection of gilt-leather upholstery from the Baroque period (1720s). They were not part of the original furnishing of the Wawel Caste, but were acquired in 1930s from the castle in Moritzburg, the seat of Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, Augustus II the Strong. In the course of complex studies on these wall hangings, the question of their provenance has not been investigated yet. Knowing that the king was interested in gilt leather from Venice, I am focusing on the collections found in several regions of Italy. The largest assemblage of gilt leather in Europe can be found in Palazzo Chigi in Ariccia. Thanks to the preserved archival materials of the Chigi family, their provenance has been linked to Roman workshops, even the names of craftsmen, and the dates of origin have been established, which is an extraordinarily rare exception. When it comes to other collections found in Rome, Umbria, Tuscany and Bologna, there is no data concerning the provenance of the pieces of art, nor the palce and source of their purchase. The largest collections of gilt leather can be found in two museums: the Stefano Bardini and the Stibbert museums, which constitute the embodiment of the collecting passion characteristic of the late 19th century. When compared with the leathers from Kraków, the Italian ones are earlier, as most of them are dated to the 17th century, they also differ in their decorative patterns and character respectively. Their decorations (the arrangement and motifs) echo the patterns used on fabrics. Unfortunately, in the archival material investigated and presented here there are no examples of gilt wall hangings that are decoratively analogous to the ones found in the collection of the Wawel Castle. In regards to the techniques used, the gilt leathers from Kraków feature those with a flat surface, variegated with the aid of punching, and with patterns highlighted with paint, which were most often manufactured in Italy. The technological aspects, however, cannot confirm where a given piece was made, as flat gilt leather was produced in other European countries. Similarly the place of origin cannot be determined by the analysis of the type of punching used. On account of that, the topic requires further investigation, with emphasis on the study of Venetian workshops.

Kopiec Kościuszki w Krakowie – pomnik historii. Konserwacja, zarządzanie, promocja

Kopiec Kościuszki zbudowany w l.1820-1823 przez Naród Polski jako symboliczna mogiła za pomnik dla Tadeusza Kościuszki jest drugą obok Wawelu znacząca subdominantą w krajobrazie kulturowym Krakowa. W poł. XIX w. wokół Kopca zbudowano fort cytadelowy o cechach neostylowych, uznany za arcydzieło architecturae militaris. W r. 1936 Kopiec został wpisany do rejestru zabytków a w 2017 r. rozporządzeniem Prezydenta RP wraz z otoczeniem został uznany za pomnik historii. Jako budowla ziemna Kopiec podlega nieustannym procesom destrukcji, powodowanym siłami natury. Stałą pieczę konserwatorską nad nim sprawuje Komitet Kopca Kościuszki ustanowiony w 1820 r. Komitet też troszczy się o otoczenie Pomnika restaurując podległe mu części fortu. Sukcesem konserwatorsko-adaptacyjnym jest przekształcenie kurtyny południowej (czyli wału ziemnego umocnionego murem, z pochylnią do wytaczania dział) w wielokubaturowe, dwukondygnacyjne centrum konferencyjno-wystawowe. Wpływa też Komitet na prześwietlenie samosiewnego lasu, wokół Kopca i na przedpolu fortu, w celu odsłonięcia tego zabytkowego zespołu. W pozostałych, podległych Komitetowi częściach fortu organizowane są wystawy kościuszkowskie a docelowo ma tu powstać muzeum Kościuszki. Pośród przedsięwzięć mających promować Kopiec Kościuszki z otoczeniem, jako obiekt o wartościach historycznych, architektonicznych i krajobrazowych – materialnych i niematerialnych są liczne publikacje polsko i obcojęzyczne, wykłady głoszone w Polsce, ale też w Stanach Zjednoczonych, Francji, Szwajcarii i Australii. Najlepszym świadectwem ugruntowanego miejsca Mogiły Kościuszki w polskiej przestrzeni i w geografii Globu oraz w świadomości Polaków i wielu cudzoziemców jest ogromna i systematycznie wzrastająca frekwencja.

Misja Sędziwoja z Szubina do Zadaru. Epizod z czasów bezkrólewia w Polsce 1382-1384

Artykuł dotyczy jednego z najbardziej tajemniczych i sensacyjnych epizodów z czasu bezkrólewia po śmierci Ludwika Andegaweńskiego. Wojewoda kaliski Sędziwój z Szubina pojechał na Węgry po królewnę Jadwigę przeznaczoną na tron polski, lecz nie zdołał zrealizować celu swojej misji. Został zatrzymany w Zadarze wraz ze swymi towarzyszami, natomiast królowa Elżbieta Bośniaczka wysłała do Polski młodego Jana z Tarnowa, syna kasztelana sandomierskiego z zadaniem zajęcia zamku wawelskiego. Autor dowodzi, że wyjazd Sędziwoja z Krakowa, jego feralne spotkanie z królową Elżbietą w Zadarze i jego ucieczka do Polski miały miejsce w 1383 r. Ma to zasadnicze wpływ na postrzeganie charakteru misji i jej znaczenia w kontekście relacji polsko-węgierskich w tym okresie.

SFS 1-85 (1973-2001) Available

216 SCIENCE FICTION STUDIES, VOLUME 46 (2019) currency. Sometimes publishers had to pay in foreign currency, which was always scarce in the communist economy; but science-fiction rights were not high on a list of commodities to be bought for hard currency. If Dick had insisted on a payment in dollars, Ubik simply would not have appeared in a Polish translation in 1972. But Lem got enough money from other socialist countries—at official exchange rates. If he traveled to Prague and Bratislava (in the 1950s and 1960s it must have been), it was presumably on shopping sprees. In Poland itself, with its economy of dearth, many things simply were not available. Czechosovlakia was a relatively rich country, its cities had not been destroyed by the war, and stores were well stocked, much better than in Poland; so his Czechoslovak income was valuable there, but pretty worthless in Poland, for lack of goods to be bought. Although printings were large in Communist times, books were cheap, and the money not worth much. And in the 1970s, when Lem’s books took off in the German Federal Republic (where he got more royalties than in the rest of the world combined), he earned millions of German marks, which he could dispose of in Poland at blackmarket rates. Then Lem’s income from Communist countries became simply negligible and irrelevant. In Poland, the US dollar was the unofficial currency; its value was excessively high, and for German marks or dollars you could buy in Poland things that were not available otherwise. In this way, Italian marble intended for the renovation of Wawel Castle turned up in the bathrooms of Lem’s luxurious new house, which he had built in the late 1970s. And with his mounting success abroad (while he was neglected at home), his position became in reality unassailable. If Lem often traveled (in the 1970s and early 1980s) to (West)Berlin, it was because the city could be easily reached by car and the East German border-guards, unlike the Polish ones, knew and liked Lem’s books and did not search his car. In addition, because of the special political status of Berlin, Poles could enter the city without needing visas for the German Federal Republic, so there was no red tape to be overcome.—Franz Rottensteiner, Vienna SFS 1-85 (1973-2001) Available. Here is an opportunity for some lucky SFS reader to acquire all the issues from the first, in 1973, up until the end of 2001. All 85 issues are in at least good condition and almost all of them are like new. The SFS website offers the issues from 1980 on. But 20 numbers from 1980 to 2001 are no longer available there, and all issues prior to that date are sold out. Furthermore, the price at that source is $20 each. At $20 each, my holding would come to $1,700. My price, $475, is therefore less than 30% of what you would have to pay if all 85 issues were available from SFS itself. Moreover, my asking price includes shipping (but only to US and Canadian addresses). I also have a number of post-2001 issues available if you can send me a wantlist at .—RMP Call for Essays on “Intersectional Automations: Robotics, AI, Algorithms, and Equity.” This collection will explore a range of situations where robotics, biotechnological enhancement, artificial intelligence (AI), and algorithmic culture collide with intersectional social-justice issues such as race, class, ...

<em>SFS</em> 1-85 (1973-2001) Available

216 SCIENCE FICTION STUDIES, VOLUME 46 (2019) currency. Sometimes publishers had to pay in foreign currency, which was always scarce in the communist economy; but science-fiction rights were not high on a list of commodities to be bought for hard currency. If Dick had insisted on a payment in dollars, Ubik simply would not have appeared in a Polish translation in 1972. But Lem got enough money from other socialist countries—at official exchange rates. If he traveled to Prague and Bratislava (in the 1950s and 1960s it must have been), it was presumably on shopping sprees. In Poland itself, with its economy of dearth, many things simply were not available. Czechosovlakia was a relatively rich country, its cities had not been destroyed by the war, and stores were well stocked, much better than in Poland; so his Czechoslovak income was valuable there, but pretty worthless in Poland, for lack of goods to be bought. Although printings were large in Communist times, books were cheap, and the money not worth much. And in the 1970s, when Lem’s books took off in the German Federal Republic (where he got more royalties than in the rest of the world combined), he earned millions of German marks, which he could dispose of in Poland at blackmarket rates. Then Lem’s income from Communist countries became simply negligible and irrelevant. In Poland, the US dollar was the unofficial currency; its value was excessively high, and for German marks or dollars you could buy in Poland things that were not available otherwise. In this way, Italian marble intended for the renovation of Wawel Castle turned up in the bathrooms of Lem’s luxurious new house, which he had built in the late 1970s. And with his mounting success abroad (while he was neglected at home), his position became in reality unassailable. If Lem often traveled (in the 1970s and early 1980s) to (West)Berlin, it was because the city could be easily reached by car and the East German border-guards, unlike the Polish ones, knew and liked Lem’s books and did not search his car. In addition, because of the special political status of Berlin, Poles could enter the city without needing visas for the German Federal Republic, so there was no red tape to be overcome.—Franz Rottensteiner, Vienna SFS 1-85 (1973-2001) Available. Here is an opportunity for some lucky SFS reader to acquire all the issues from the first, in 1973, up until the end of 2001. All 85 issues are in at least good condition and almost all of them are like new. The SFS website offers the issues from 1980 on. But 20 numbers from 1980 to 2001 are no longer available there, and all issues prior to that date are sold out. Furthermore, the price at that source is $20 each. At $20 each, my holding would come to $1,700. My price, $475, is therefore less than 30% of what you would have to pay if all 85 issues were available from SFS itself. Moreover, my asking price includes shipping (but only to US and Canadian addresses). I also have a number of post-2001 issues available if you can send me a wantlist at .—RMP Call for Essays on “Intersectional Automations: Robotics, AI, Algorithms, and Equity.” This collection will explore a range of situations where robotics, biotechnological enhancement, artificial intelligence (AI), and algorithmic culture collide with intersectional social-justice issues such as race, class, ...

Classical and Modern Design Solutions in Conceptual Design of a Pedestrian Bridge over Vistula River in Cracow

In the paper the design concept of the steel pedestrian bridge over Vistula river in Cracow, Poland has been characterised. The footbridge was designed as a truss structure with steel pipes, Warren truss configuration, arched bottom chord and spans 15.5+120.0+15.5 m. Intensive tourist traffic around the Wawel Castle in Cracow, directed towards the historic Kazimierz district, Wawel Hill and the Old Town Market Place requires the creation of a bridge structure over the Vistula River that will meet both the communication and recreation functions. An additional aim was to design a structure which architectural form will not unduly and negatively interfere in the environment and will join the technical capabilities of the XXI century with the charm of nearby historic buildings.

Stanisław Rey’s “Manor House” and “Palace” in Sieciechowice, Investigations into The Cultural Heritage of Poland

The historic manor house - park complex is located in the centre of a village called Sieciechowice. It lies not far from Cracow, at a distance of approximately 30 km from the Wawel Castle hill. It is one of the most interesting architectural and urban objects found in the krakowski country district and in Małopolska region. The spatial development of the built-up features was closely related to the urban layout of villages. The special arrangement was characterised by a great diversity of historic residences, backup facilities and greenery. The original estate, containing several buildings and engineering structures, constituted a vital part of Sieciechowice. The buildings provided vivid illustrations of manor house and palace architecture. The estate was in the hands of the Rey family. The war events, makeshift repairs, lack of ideas on the management of the estate and permanent lack of funds, however, resulted in the decline of this once splendid estate.

WAWEL AND WARSAW – THE BIGGEST POSTWAR REPOSITORIES FOR RELOCATED CULTURAL GOODS IN POLAND. CONTRIBUTION TO BROADER ELABORATION

The article continues the text Post-war repositories for relocated cultural goods in Poland, published in 2016 in the 57th issue of “Museology”. It is based on unpublished archival sources, as a result of basic research. It refers to the first two main repositories, i.e. at the Royal Castle State Art Collections at Wawel Castle and in the National Museum in Warsaw including its branches founded in 1945 in Wilanów, Nieborów and Łowicz. This is the first and preliminary description of the theme. It covers the results of the so-called requisition campaign, enumerates the transports and the directions from where they came, and the number of chests with cultural goods transported to Wawel and to the National Museum in Warsaw. It examines the complexity of problems then faced by museum professionals who salvaged cultural goods in opposition to the activities of the state administration, and it describes their consequences. It describes the registration activities in repositories. The issues treated still require further elaboration. The author does not tackle the legal aspects of moving cultural goods, such as the aspect of their ownership. The article may serve as an incentive to other researchers to investigate the problem in greater depth.

Medal na pamiątkę wręczenia papieżowi Innocentemu XI sztandarów tureckich zdobytych pod Parkanami, autorstwa Giovanniego Martino Hameraniego z 1684 roku. Uwagi ikonograficzne

Autor artykułu opisuje szczegółowo cztery zabytki z epoki mające związek z opisywanym medalem. Autor zauważa, iż mamy w tym wypadku do czynienia unikatowym artefaktem pochodzącym z epoki Sobieskiego, który ponad wszelką wątpliwość został odwzorowany przez medaliera na krążku. Przypuszczać należy, iż przebywający w interesującym nas okresie w Rzymie Giovanni Martino Hamerani miał możliwość osobiście studiować wspomnianą chorągiew turecką typu zulfikarowego lub korzystał z wcześniejszej grafiki, której autor ze szczegółami skopiował wygląd tureckiego trofeum. Niemniej wartym podkreślenia pozostaje sam fakt, iż wzmiankowany obiekt zachował się do dnia dzisiejszego w zbiorach Zamku Królewskiego na Wawelu w Krakowie. Niewątpliwe w pełni świadoma decyzja dysponenta, którego zlecenie wykonywał medalier, podyktowana była przede wszystkim względami propagandowymi. Potencjalny odbiorca po pobieżnym nawet kontakcie z medalem nie mógł mieć wątpliwości, iż przeciwnik turecki zagrażający nie tylko Wiedniowi, lecz również całemu kontynentowi europejskiemu został pokonany podczas bitew pod Wiedniem i Parkanami. Zaś świadectwem triumfu militarnego stały się porzucone przez ewakuującego się wroga chrześcijaństwa znaki wojskowe.

Madonna in trono col Bambino di Bernardo Daddi nella collezione Lanckoroński del castello di Wawel

Madonna and Child Enthroned in the Lanckoronski family collection in the Wawel castle (inv. No. 7908) along with the quarters with St. Bartholomew, St. Lawrence, St. Catherine and St. Cecilia that are preserved in other collections as well as with the panels that present the blessing Christ and the Evangelists used to be an essential part of a retable that can currently be found in various places across the world. The retable was made by Bernardo Daddi around 1340. It was intended to be a part of St. Bartholomew and St. Lawrence Chapel in the Carmelite church of Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence. After being divided into parts around 1750, the panel had become a part of the Viennese collection of Karol Lanckoronski (1848-1933) by the end of 1903. In 1994, the collection, including the previously mentioned panel, was placed in the Wawel Royal Castle, where it is held today. The composition and the ideological content of the quarter are closely related to an earlier confraternal altar panel from the church of Santa Maria del Carmine that includes Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels as well as Christ Blessing between Two Angels placed at the top and originally separated with a frame. The altar panel, credited to Maestro della Sant’Agata (around 1270) is currently stored in the Brancacci chapel. The Wawel quarter is in line with Tuscan Madonnas that are defined in the iconography as the Regina Coeli or Maesta. A thorough analysis of ideological content presented on the Daddi panel based on source materials as well as an attempt to reconstruct the whole panel leads us to the conclusion that the retable made in Daddi’s workshop presented the vision of Heavenly Jerusalem, based on the Revelation to St. John. Through the Madonna and Child Enthroned with Two Angels panel the artist referred to the truth about the royal dignity of Mary and her participation in the mystery of the Incarnation and Redemption whereas Christ Himself was presented as the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. Therefore, the patron saints of the chapel worship Him. A holistic view of the Wawel panel and the way it is connected with the art of Tuscany shows that it is the object that, in artistic and formal terms as well as in content, is one of the most valuable examples of Italian Trecento that can be found in Polish collections.

Assessment of the Conditions that Determine the Reclaiming of Stone Materials and their Use in the Revalorisation of Historical Buildings

The paper focuses on the problem of the effective management of materials obtained from demolition in the scope of the revalorisation of historical structures. The conditions that influence the reclamation and reuse of materials were analysed. The entirety of the discussion was based on the practical example of the revalorisation of the Outer Courtyard of Wawel Castle, for which the importance of these conditions has been determined, as well as the relationships between them.

Tekla z Wodzickich Małachowska jako protektorka Towarzystwa Dobroczynności w Krakowie. Przyczynek do biografii

Bohaterką tekstu jest Tekla z Wodzickich Małachowska (1764–1829), córka Eliasza, starosty krakowskiego, i Ludwiki z Wielopolskich. Tekla była drugą żoną Piotra Małachowskiego (ok. 1730–1799), wojewody krakowskiego. Po śmierci męża zamieszkała w Stopnicy pod Krakowem. Do życia publicznego powróciła w okresie Księstwa Warszawskiego. Wtedy przeniosła się do Krakowa. Włączyła się w działania przy organizacji Towarzystwa Dobroczynności. W lutym 1817 roku została pierwszą prezeską Towarzystwa. Troszczyła się o swoich podopiecznych, organizowała koncerty charytatywne, bale, na których zbierała pieniądze dla Towarzystwa. Walory osobiste i działalność społeczno-charytatywna zyskały jej powszechny szacunek. Do grona przyjaciół zaliczali ją nie tylko przedstawiciele rodów magnackich osiadłych w Krakowie, ale także czołowi intelektualiści epoki, m.in. Jan Śniadecki. Testamentem zapisała 12 tys. złp na edukację dzieci w Niedźwiedziu. Zmarła 22 grudnia 1929 roku, pochowana obok męża w Niedźwiedziu. Towarzystwo było bardzo wdzięczne protektorce za opiekę, dlatego 11 lutego 1821 roku uchwaliło, aby malowane na blasze portrety jej i Stanisława Mieroszewskiego zawiesić w kaplicy ubogich na Wawelu. Portrety te, odbite na miedzi, później rozpowszechnione zostały wśród członków towarzystwa. Po śmierci Małachowskiej 16 stycznia 1830 roku w kaplicy ubogich odprawiono żałobne nabożeństwo za jej duszę. Wygłoszone na nim wtedy kazanie ku czci Tekli Małachowskiej kilka lat później wpisano do pamiątkowej Księgi zmarłych dobroczyńców Towarzystwa.

Piec jako nośnik idei?

Since the turn of 12th century, gradual civilization transformations, which also had significant impacts on house living conditions were observed in the area of Polish grounds. Fire places and furnaces of hypocaustum type came into use from 13th century, and from 14th century – tile stoves. The last mentioned, except for heating functions, served also as typical element of interior decoration, particularly from the moment of introducing stoves with flat tiles. First designers of this type of stove may have been recruited from builders and architects in later periods. All its construction process involved work of wood-carvers – makers of patrixes and moulds and potters of course – tile makers and stove builders.Rich gothic tiles ornamentation from the territories of Polish grounds was presented to us thanks to archaeological explorations, among the others, in: Jankowo Dolne, Jarocin, Gniezno. Motifs, as a rule, repeat the same thematic groups; tiles presenting coat of arms, religious elements and symbols, court life scenes, illustrating literary subjects, architectonic motifs, animals and plants. Similar elements can also be found in single and fragmentarily preserved polychrome of that period. Both – stoves and painting may have been a part of common iconographical program for interiors in residences and patriciate houses, which was supposed to be a kind of territorial, group and cultural membership manifestation.In Renaissance period, ornamentation and subjects of tile images changed. Exceptional objects of that time include, e.g. the stove designed for Wawel castle interior made at order of Sigismund I, placed in the apartments of Queen Elisabeth. In the reconstructed stove we identify portrait tiles of the old and young king, to manufacturing of which images of the kings: Casimir the Jagiellon and John I Albert served as models. Erecting such a stove, additionally decorated in the crown frieze with angles holding shields with the Eagle – the national symbol, and placing it in apartments designed for the Queen, could have been the homage for Queen the Mother from Sigismund’s part.Another example of a Renaissance stove expressing in this case political and religious matters can be a stove erected in Gdańsk Artus Court at the turn of 1545. Placing on tiles portraits of Catholic and Lutheran rulers depicted the situation of not only Gdańsk, but also a huge part of Europe under Habsburg Dynasty reigning.Next stove presenting by its ornaments current problems of 17th century is the reconstructed stove from Tykocin castle. Tiles obtained during excavations, decorated with family coat of arms of the starost Krzysztof Wiesiołowski and symbols displaying bravery, wealth and Christianity, refer directly to spiritual and intellectual culture of gentry sarmatism of 17th century Polish Republic.These few stove instants presented herein create the base for rather positive answer to the question placed in the article’s title, although they still require further research.

Book Review: Irresolute Heresiarch: Catholicism, Gnosticism and Paganism in the Poetry of Czeslaw Milosz

Irresolute Heresiarch: Catholicism, Gnosticism and Paganism in the Poetry of Czeslaw Milosz. By Charles S. Kraszewski. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars, 2012. ISBN 9-781443-837613. Pp. 277. $67.99. The 1980 winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Czeslaw Milosz, influenced literature far beyond his native Poland. Although most of his poetry was written in Polish, it was so widely translated and admired that those who otherwise might not have nodded toward that region heard his voice and took notice. As Charles S. Krawzewski of King's College in Pennsylvania notes early on, Milosz is one of the few peers ofT. S. Eliot among contemporary poets (13). In 2004, Milosz died at the age of 93, having returned at last from being an emigre in the United States to his homeland. Upon his death, controversy ensued that serves as the framework for this study. The poet had wished to be buried in his family's plot in Lithuania (which at the time of his youth had been within the borders of Poland). However, powerful voices in Krakow insisted upon an elaborate funeral and then burial at church near Wawel Castle. More to the point, however, one detractor published the charge that Milosz was not enough, much to the dismay of the many who venerated him and nevertheless gave him grand funeral. The question that unsettled others and haunted Milosz himself--as his works demonstrate--was not so much if he was Polish enough, but if he was Catholic enough. To resolve the latter question, telegram from John Paul II was read at the funeral and countered the belief of some that Milosz was thoroughly heterodox. The Archbishop as well sought to defend the great poet from attack. The question concerning Milosz's worldview and personal faith brings us to the sound approach of Professor Kraszewski: by considering Milosz's poetry in chapters arranged chronologically, Kraszewski seeks to map the spiritual journey of this serious seeker--his struggles, his stumbling questions, his confusion, and his triumphs Gnosticism and despair. The inner orthodoxy, it seems, informs even his rebellious outcry against God and the Church, and the outer orthodoxy finds its philosophical expression in later years. At the outset, Chapter One: Youth and War: 1933-1945 demonstrates why the chronological approach to Milosz's poetry and to questions about his worldview makes sense. Growing up in Wilno (Vilnius), Lithuania (also Poland, due to shifting borders), Milosz witnessed the tragedy of wars, revolution, and fifty years of occupation. As he does in later chapters, writer Kraszewski quotes sections of one poem after another, each followed with some explication and commentary, not to mention copious endnotes. In this chapter, for example, he assesses Milosz's ideas of that period--whether Gnostic, or metaphysical, or dualistic--by employing selected lines; he also locates these ideas within the cultural context of Milosz's peers. As poet, translator, and critic who specializes in Polish, Czech, and Slovak texts, Kraszewski is eminently qualified to do so, and has much to offer researchers who are knowledgeable in his specialized field as well as those who are new to it. All in all, chapter one praises Milosz's personal strength in creating characters who dig their heels firmly into the shelf just short of the abyss, and will not be toppled over adding, It will not always be thus (50). On the other hand, Chapter Two: The Atlantic Milosz: 1946-1960 demonstrates the effects of Milosz's wide-ranging professional experience that informed his work, and the resultant inner conflicts. As cultural attache in New York City and Washington, he served the communist-led Polish People's Republic who did not completely trust him, while he was also disliked by anti-communist Poles. Eventually he defected to make the West his home, through Rome and eventually to New York. During this period, he embraced the role of poet-prophet, showing in his verses a sober assessment of the new, threatening reality of the communist world, and his consistent rejection of the same, on behalf of human dignity (58). …