THE VILLAGES OF ŁOMNICA AND WOJANÓW AS REPRESENTATIVES OF THE POSITIVE CHANGES IN THE RURAL CULTURAL LANDSCAPE

Renata Gubańska, Janusz Gubański
Institute of Landscape Architecture, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Poland

ABSTRACT

Residence and farm establishment is one of the elements that have been forming the landscape of Polish countryside for centuries and nowadays it is a historic heritage. Around 30 of such architectural and landscape units with distinctive and interesting composition as well as rich architectural detail were built in the Jelenia Góra Valley. After the end of World War II they were nationalised, as most of such objects, and they have been gradually degrading ever since.

Key words: heritage, Jelenia Góra Valley, positive conversion, residence, restoration.

INTRODUCTION

Since their inception, the manor and farm complexes had a considerable impact on the rural composition, forming a part of the cultural landscape of the village, in which they were established. Not only are the existing manors the surviving remains of the bygone material fortunes, but also, and perhaps above all, an unappreciated cultural heritage [4].

In the past, at the base of the Karkonosze Mountains, in the area of not more than 100 km², approximately 30 unique manors with park and farm facilities were established, in most cases designed by the prominent designers of the period. The former court parks, often in a very smooth, almost imperceptible way pass into the nearby forests of Rudawy Janowickie and Karkonosze Mountains, thus creating unique landscapes. Both the architectural and landscaping virtues of these residences were appreciated by the hosts and fans of Jelenia Góra Valley. Due to their passion and determination, it was possible to establish a protected area, which was called the Valley of Palaces and Gardens. While in September 2011, the President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski entered 11 selected mansion and park complexes <footnote 1>, located in the area of Jelenia Góra Valley, to the official list of Polish Historic Monuments [10].

The manors with parklands in Łomnica <footnote 2> and Wojanów <footnote 3> [2, 6, 8, 11] are among those comprised by this list, and together with the accompanying farm facilities, they will be presented in more detail in the following parts of this work.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The subject of this research comprises two manor and farm complexes in Łomnica and Wojanów, which in administrative terms belong to the Mysłakowice Municipality, Jelenia Góra District of the Lower Silesia Province [9, 12]. The selected estates are unusual, not as much due to the spatial composition or architectural character and design of buildings forming part of the manor, but mainly due to their current use. The current owners have managed to add new functions to the historic features – the ones, which are expected by today's customers.

The objective of this work is to show that even in the present times, the age of frenzied lifestyle, the historic manors with farm complexes can be adapted to the contemporary needs in such a way that they are able to earn for their maintenance.

The research methods were based on purely theoretical work, which mainly consisted in obtaining the source materials, iconography, literature, as well as planning materials. Then, the field studies were conducted, including local inspections, basic descriptive and photographic inventories. Finally, in-house studies were conducted, primarily consisting in the analysis of collected material and then drawing conclusions.

Case I – Łomnica: Research results

Case I – Location of the village of Łomnica
Łomnica is a chain village situated approximately 8 km south-east from the centre of Jelenia Góra, along the river Łomnica. Its attractiveness is enhanced by both picturesque location in Jelenia Góra Valley at the foot of Rudawy Janowickie (in the Western Sudetes) [1, 12], as well as, and perhaps above all, the former manor and farm complex situated in the northern part of the village by the split of roads to Kowary and Wojanów.

Case I – Outline of the history of the manor and farm complex in Łomnica
The first historical mention about Łomnica dates back to the year 1305, therefore it can be concluded that the village is one of the oldest in Jelenia Góra Valley. It is known that from the 15th century to about 1650, the village belonged to von Zeidlitz family, and then to von Thomagini family <footnote 4>, who managed the estate until 1738. In the following years, the manor often “changed hands” <footnote 5>. It was not until 1835, that the landed estate in Łomnica was acquired by Ernst von Küster <footnote 6>, who in the years 1837–1844, had commissioned the architect Albert Tollberger to rebuild the palace in the classical style and as is believed– Peter Lenné to set up approximately 8-hectare large landscape park on the banks of the river Bóbr (the park was available to the public) [8, 9].

The farm buildings were situated on the other side of the road leading to Wojanów and date back to the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries (Fig. 1). They comprise 8 buildings, including stable-cowshed, two-storey residential outbuilding, one-storey residential outbuilding, granary, one-storey livestock building, a barn and blacksmith’s shop. These buildings had undergone a complete reconstruction at the end of the 19th century and after 1945. Von Küster family owned the estate in Łomnica to the end of World War II [6, 8].

After 1945, the Łomnica mansion had been nationalized and used by the State Agricultural Enterprise. The palace was used as a school building and the Widow's House as an office building of the State Agricultural Enterprise. In the post-war period, the buildings, which were utilized, used to be subjected to ongoing repairs and renovations, while the facilities gradually excluded from the operation, systematically fell into growing ruin. However, it is curious why in the 1980s. of the 20th century, the roof had collapsed in the historical palace, which was used for educational purposes, the school was moved to a new building then and the ruined palace was left without care [6, 8, 10].

In 1991, the supervision over the complex was taken over by the Agricultural Property Agency of the State Treasury. While in 1992, a company, whose partner is Ulrich von Küster (a descendant of the former property owners), bought the palace from the Agricultural Property Agency, then the Widow's House in 1994, and several years ago – the other farm buildings. After the lengthy restoration work, at the moment, the palace is the seat of the German and Polish Association for Promotion of the Silesian Culture and Art as well as the Dominium Łomnica Foundation, the Widow's House provides accommodation and catering facilities and the post-farm buildings have been opened to the public for educational purposes and catering services [2, 10].

Case I – Functional and spatial composition and the present use of the complex
The manor and farm buildings in Łomnica are situated in the northern part of the village, on both sides of the road leading to Wojanów: a residential and parkland subcomplex was founded on the east side, and the farm buildings – on the west.

The manor comprises two buildings: the palace and the so-called Widow's House. The present look of the palace (Fig. 2) refers to its appearance acquired during the reconstruction carried out in 1838–1844. This is a three-storey building with a square layout, habitable attic covered with hipped dormer roof and the main body. While the corner breaks, flanking the front façade had been covered with a sort of flattened helmets. A Baroque, stone portal leads into the building; its slender columns support the balcony on the second floor (which is some kind of roofing of the entrance area). Some fragments of the Baroque and classical wall paintings have been preserved inside the building.

In the years 1803–1804, a classical building called Widow's House (Fig. 3) was constructed to the east of the palace. This is a two-storey building with a rectangular layout and covered with a high gable dormer roof. Relatively modest, stone portal leads inside. Firstly, going along the front elevation of the palace, and then along the Widow's House, we enter the mansion park set up in the second half of the 18th century, and redesigned in the middle of the 19th century into the park using the natural landscaping (Fig. 4), on the riverside of Bóbr. This river forms an ecological border with the park of the Wojanów estate.

The mansion and park complex described in this work was particularly fortunate, because in spite of the considerable damage, it found a new owner, who not only renovated the buildings and carried out the restoration work of the park and the circulation system, but above all, managed to add a new accommodation, catering and leisure feature to it, compatible with the contemporary expectations of the local community and the tourists needs.

The typical farm facilities (Fig. 5), situated on the opposite side of the road, were purchased a bit later by the same company. After many years, this allowed to re-integrate the entire estate. The renovation of the individual structures started at the beginning of the 21st century, and in some of the buildings, even today, there are still signs of the restoration and adaptation work. Most of them have been made available to the public as educational and training base and catering facilities.

At the moment, the manor attracts visitors and tourists offering interesting cultural events, as well as attractive open-air meetings in the summer.

Case II – Wojanów: Research results

Case II – Location of the village of Wojanów
Wojanów is a chain village, and similarly to the previously discussed Łomnica, it is situated approximately 8 km to the south-east from Jelenia Góra. The buildings are situated mainly along the river Bóbr, which at the same time constitutes a natural, landscaping boundary between the mansion and park complexes: on the west side in Łomnica, and on the east – in Wojanów [1, 9, 12]. Typical rural buildings extend to south east from the residential and farm complex in Wojanów. Both, the old manor and picturesque location in the Jelenia Góra Valley, make this village an attractive place. A part of the village is located within the Rudawski Landscape Park and the Cultural Park of Jelenia Góra Valley.

Case II – Outline of the history of the manor and farm complex in Wojanów
Wojanów is one of the oldest villages in Jelenia Góra Valley, since its first written mentions date back to the end of the 13th century. Initially, the history of the manor and the village of Wojanów was closely connected with von Zedlitz family that managed the estate until the beginning of the 18th century <footnote 7>. Then, Johann Frantz von Karwath, who was a Hungarian, acquired the complex. Over the subsequent decades, the owners of Wojanów were changing dynamically. Among them, a merchant from Jelenia Góra and his family – von Buchs, a secret counsellor of justice – Baron von Ike, who in the years 1832–1834, commissioned conversion of the contemporary mansion, which received a new appearance with the neo-gothic and classic style elements <footnote 8>, known to us today. The farm buildings received their present appearance or were built from the scratch between 1825–1839. In 1839, Frederick William III, the King of Prussia, bought the manor in Wojanów from von Ike family, for his beloved daughter Louise. Louise's husband – Prince Frederick commissioned another reconstruction of the residence in 1839–1840. Most probably, the construction work was supervised by Friedrich August Stüler - the student of Schinkel. At the same time, the design of the park surrounding the palace was commissioned to Joseph Peter Lenné, the director of the Prussian royal gardens. It is known that Maria, the daughter of Louise, sold the estate to the family of factory owners from Dąbrowica in 1881, which in 1927, resold the entire complex to Kurt Effenberger from Wrocław. After two years, he in turn, resold a part of the estate to Wilhelm Kammer, a newspaper publisher from Wrocław. Both of them remained the owners of Wojanów to the end of World War II [6, 8, 9].

During the war, forced labour camp was established in the Wojanów palace, and when the war was finished, it was plundered.

After 1945, the mansion in Wojanów had been nationalized and a State Agricultural Enterprise was set up there. The residence was adapted for apartments of the State Agricultural Enterprise workers and its historical interior was destroyed. It was used until its so-called “technical death”. After the socio-political transformations, the State Agricultural Enterprise in Wojanów was liquidated and in 1991, supervision over the former estate was taken by the Agricultural Property Agency of the State Treasury. Unfortunately, since then, the process of destruction and degradation of the buildings and surrounding areas was even faster.

In the case of the presented complex, one may say that it was particularly fortunate, because already in 1995, it was purchased from the Agricultural Property Agency of the State Treasury by the Polish-Italian company “C.S.T.” sp. z o.o., which immediately started the protection and renovation work. The new owners intended to open a hotel and accommodation centre in this place. This objective had not been reached, since in 2002, as a result of the fire, the palace was almost entirely destroyed again. In order to save the facility, a company named Wojanów Palace was established, which in 2004 repurchased the entire complex from the previous owner, and already in 2005, proceeded on with the building and preservation works. A flourishing, exclusive hotel with conference and leisure facilities (Fig. 6), which can be admired today, is the effect of these activities [6, 8].

Case II – Functional and spatial composition and the present use of the complex
The manor and farm complex in Wojanów is situated in the eastern part of the village. On north-east, it is limited by the main road and on the south-west by the river Bóbr. It consists of two parts, which are closely interconnected: former farm surrounded by the post-farm buildings and the residential part with the mansion surrounded by the impressive park on the south.

The main entrance to the site leads directly from the main road through the grand gate designed nowadays, whose form refers to the towers of the palace. After crossing the ornamental gate columns, you enter a large-size courtyard, which served typical agricultural functions in the past and currently performs a representative function. A 19th-century fountain (made of sandstone) <footnote 9>, situated in the central part of the yard, is a true decoration of this place (Fig. 7). Carefully designed vegetation completes the entire composition. The courtyard is surrounded by the farm buildings, which have been completely renovated and adapted to the contemporary needs, first and foremost, for the hotel and conference purposes. Thus, in the oldest building – the granary built in the middle of the 18th century, conference and seminar rooms were placed on the ground floor and the hotel rooms on the upper floor. The rooms were also arranged in the old cowshed, which is directly adjacent to the granary. While in the barn, situated at a right angle to the cowshed and closing the courtyard from the eastern side, there is the main reception area, as well as SPA, fitness centre, swimming pool, minor catering facilities and several guest rooms on the first floor. To the east, at the back of the reception area, the unused land was managed as sports and leisure facilities (including a pitch, tennis courts, a children's playground). On the opposite side of the yard (on the west side) there is a former livestock building, which was adapted to serve as a restaurant and hotel rooms. At the back of this building, to the west, a summer garden restaurant was created, which resembles a maze in its form. Guest rooms have been also arranged in the residential outbuilding combined with the carriage house. Despite the fact that these two structures vary in height, they stand out among the farm buildings due to their architectural design, i.e. architectural frills developed in more detail (Fig. 8).

The magnificent palace (Fig. 9) indisputably dominates over the entire complex and simultaneously forms a “boundary” between the farm part and the parkland. Greenhouses have been added on both sides of the palace, they are connected to the main structure by means of the link buildings. At present, the palace is used as the hotel and conference centre. This is a three-storey mansion with rectangular layout (similar to the square), which has towers in its four corners with the circular layout. It is founded on a high pedestal. The main volume of the building is covered with a hipped roof. The external walls are covered with rustication and finished with the characteristic arcaded frieze. The front elevation stands out due to an impressive central break finished with a terrace, from which you can admire the modern greenery and landscaping features on the courtyard as well as the nearest surroundings. A large-size terrace is also a distinctive feature of the garden elevation, to which impressive stairs lead on both sides [6, 8, 11].

These stairs lead directly to the 16-hectare park complex (Fig. 10) founded by the Princess Louise and her husband Frederick, Prince of Orange-Nassau. The Princess and the Prince commissioned the design of the park to Peter Joseph Lenné <footnote 10>, the director of the Prussian royal gardens, who set up an impressive landscaped park. The designer ensured that from the selected spots of the park one could admire the beautiful panoramic view of the Karkonosze Mountains with its highest peak Śnieżka [6]. In the recent years, careful restoration of the park complex has been conducted which recovered its former splendour and made it possible to enjoy the picturesque view of the Karkonosze Mountains again. The newly designed park alleys and paths encourage walking, in addition to the landscaping features, and most of all, beautifully composed park interiors and thoughtful compositions of greenery (Fig. 11).

At the moment, the presented palace in Wojanów, due to the restoration and preservation work and giving it a new function in conformity with the tradition and contemporary expectations, is an undeniable pride of the Valley of Palaces and Gardens in Jelenia Góra Valley.

CONCLUSION

Interest in the rest and relaxation taken close the nature, in silence, far from the city noise and pollution, which is growing each year, particularly among the residents of the urban agglomerations – creates a real chance, not only for survival, but also for return to the former glory of the mansions situated in Jelenia Góra Valley, the more so, that the adaptation potential is considerable: starting from the accommodation and catering facilities, through leisure and educational centres for young people and children, and ending with the specialized training and leisure features or conference, hotel and sports complexes [3, 5, 7].

The manor and farm complexes in Łomnica and nearby Wojanów, presented in this work, provide real examples of positive transformations and evidence of merging and reconciling the contemporary needs with historic values and cultural virtues of the village in which they are situated. Due to the persistent efforts, they have been entered in the official list of the Polish Historic Monuments by the President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski in 2011. Hopefully, the other mansions and manors with park and farm complexes, which are situated in the Valley of Palaces and Gardens in Jelenia Góra Valley, will regain their former glory in the near future and it will be possible to make efforts in order to enter the entire area in the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.

1. In September 2011, the President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski entered 11 from Jelenia Góra Valley to the official list of Polish Historic Monuments, these are as follows: 1) mansion and park complex in Bukowiec (Mysłakowice Municipality), 2) “Paulinum” mansion and park complex in Jelenia Góra, 3) Schaffgotsch family mansion and park complex in Cieplice (Jelenia Góra), 4) mansion and park complex in Karpniki (Mysłakowice Municipality), 5) “Oak Manor” Villa in Karpniki (Mysłakowice Municipality), 6) mansion and park complex in Ciszyca (Kowary), 7) mansion and park complex in Łomnica (Mysłakowice Municipality), 8) mansion and park complex in Mysłakowice (Mysłakowice Municipality), 9) mansion and park complex in Staniszów Górny no. 100 (Podgórzyn Municipality), 10) mansion and park complex in Wojanów (Mysłakowice Municipality), 11) mansion and park complex Wojanów–Bobrów (Mysłakowice Municipality) [10].
2. The manor and farm complex in Łomnica is entered in the register of monuments: palace (27.08.1980 r., reg. no.: 653/J), “Widow House” (14.08.1987, reg. no.: 896/J), park (01.12.1977, reg. no.: 501/J); farm complex (09.11.1994, reg. no.: 1179/J).
3. The manor and farm complex in Wojanów is entered in the register of monuments: palace (24.08.1950, reg. no.: 240); park (24.08.1950, reg. no. 241); cowshed with residential area, residential outbuilding, carriage house and a cowshed (10.05.2005, reg. no: 592/A/05/1-5).
4. At the command of one of the owners from von Thomagini family, in 1720, the renowned architect Martin Frantz had rebuilt the old manor house in the Baroque style.
5. It is known that at the beginning of the 19th century, on the initiative of one of the contemporary owners – Christian Menzel (merchant from Jelenia Góra), a classical building was constructed to the east of the palace, commonly known as the Widow's House.
6. At that time, August Ernst von Küster held the office of the Prussian royal secret counsel and an envoy at the court of the Kingdom of Sicily.
7. It is known, however, that in the first half of the 16th century, Wojanów was split between two powerful Silesian families: von Zedlitz and von Schaffgotsch [10].
8. For many years, it was believed that the design for the palace reconstruction had been created by the prominent architect of that time – Karl Friedrich Schinkel. However, the recent studies show that it was developed by one of his students [8, 10].
9. The fountain is a new element in the structure of Wojanów complex. It comes from a grand courtyard of the manor and farm complex in Rybarzowice, which no longer exists today [10].
10. Peter Joseph Lenné, is considered one of the best landscape architects of the 19th century. He was involved in, among other things, establishment of the park in the nearby Mysłakowice and it is also believed that he participated in the implementation of the adjacent park in Łomnica.

Accepted for print: 7.10.2015

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