Scholarly record

THE ROYAL SUMMER PALACE IN LOBZOW IN POLAND. CONSERVATION AND REASERCH PROBLEMS BEFORE AND AFTER ADAPTATION A HISTORICAL BUILDING TO THE NEW FUNCTION

K. Stala

Abstract

The summer residence of Polish kings was built in Lobzow, a small village located in a previous neighboring Cracow city, former capital of Polish Kingdom. Nowadays Lobzow is a popular district situated close to the old historical center. The main aim of the paper is to present some research and design difficulties in the palace, connected with the specifics of the place, as well as the complicated stratigraphic situation, being the result of several transformations which took place in a residence during its long history. The very poor condition of the building was the first huge problem for the researchers and conservators. The interiors were seriously destroyed, among them were beautiful wooden painted ceilings, historical stone details, etc .In that circumstances the most important was to start architectural research and archeological excavation before conservation and designing works. The excavations and all required research also historical and archival started in 1999. Thanks to preserved written sources we know about early history of the royal palace. The beginnings of the residence date from XIV century when a small castrum was built. Next it was transformed into a huge Mannerist palace at the end of XVI century and rebuilt in a Baroque style a little bit later. Then it was demolished by Swedish army to be reconstructed and expanded in XIX century as cadetsВ’ high school. Because of its reach history with so many architectonical transformations, the palace is a true challenge for scientists and the reconstruction of its historical changes and following phases is like a puzzle. The results of the research gave some new information about this complicated but fascinating building. They confirmed mostly the information we had from historical sources but they allowed also to recognize some unknown phases and discovered some architectural solution applied here which we hadnВ’t expected before. Although they became a base for the conservation designing and modernization actions leading to the final adaptation of the building. In a future one should take into account the revaluation of the surrounding park with the royal gardens and archaeological researches on the court yard. Nowadays the building belongs to Cracow University of Technology and it is a main seat of Faculty of Architecture.

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