Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: RESCUING ST GILES AND KRZYSZTOFORY: FROM THE HISTORY OF THE WAR WITH KRAKÓW’S ‘DEMOLITION MEN’ The paper revives the history of the struggle of the “guardians of old Kraków”, i.e. a group of artists, conservators, art historians, writers and poets to rescue from demolition the historical buildings mentioned in the title: the houses standing next to St Giles’ Church (kościół św. Idziego) and Krzysztofory Palace. Using archival materials and findings from his preliminary research on the Kraków press published at the turn of the 19th and the 20th centuries, the author attempts to reconstruct the stages of the great campaign to save the abovementioned monuments. In the case of the houses neighbouring on St Giles’ Church, the opponents of the “guardians of old Kraków” were the Dominican friars – the erstwhile owners of these properties. In the battle over Krzysztofory Palace, Kraków’s artists and conservators fought against entrepreneur Gustaw Gerson Bazes – a locally famous personage in those days – who had bought the mansion in 1911 with the intention of tearing it down and building a hotel and a commercial centre in its place. It is noteworthy that in both cases the “guardians” had to face the hostility of the majority of members of Kraków’s City Council who remained deaf to their matter-of-fact arguments. The major aim of this paper is to present the phenomenon of the consolidation of Kraków’s artistic and academic elites standing up for the preservation of architectural monuments. Fighting for a good cause, as many as 11 local artistic and cultural associations united under one banner. Most importantly, the monument defenders used not only verbal weapons (public notices, appeals, press articles, etc.), but also money to support their cause (e.g. they managed to collect a considerable sum to finance the restoration of the aforementioned buildings near St Giles’ Church). It was thanks to the stubbornness and consistency of the “guardians of old Kraków” that the monuments in question were eventually saved from demolition, and today they please the eye of local residents and the thousands of tourists visiting the city alike.
Author: Franciszek Ziejka
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7225614147