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DOI Artikel:Grauer, Elise F.: Bridging the gap: Count Athanazy Raczyński and his galleries in Poland and Prussia
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.28199#0039
BRIDGING THE GAP - COUNT ATHANAZY RACZYŃSKI AND HIS GALLERIES IN POLAND AND PRUSSIA
37
According to a memorial plate under the Raczyński arms in the
central staircase the ensemble was ‘built 1803 by General Raczyński,
enlarged 1845 and adorned 1862 by Athanasius. Restored 1903 by
Sigismund R.’ These dates, however, are not totally correct since they do
not mention the addition of the towers. The building commissioned by
General Philip Raczyński is the small manor house which now
constitutes the Eastern part of the ensemble. To its west, Athanazy built
a small palace as new manor in 1845. He further added a building for
the family gallery in 1865 attached to the palace and accessible only
through a tower. Finally, the count connected the palace with the old
house by a gate tower in 1767.128 [ill. 9] None of the architects of the
buildings is known.129
The architect of the simple and functional house from 1803 must
have been familiar with English and French trends and their realization
in the Berlin area. Presumably he came from the circle around Friedrich
Gilly. The manor house is one of the earliest examples for the recourse to
the architecture of Prussian suburban villas in the Poznań region.130
Only the mansard roof is a traditional Polish architectural element and
helps to add a sophisticated air to the building.
In 1845, Athanazy made Gaj Maly the ancestral seat of his entail.
This decision presumably led him to add the palace to the estate in the
same year. Philip Raczyhski’s mansion was then turned into a quarter
for servants. The palace, now forming the central part of the ensemble,
has a rectangular ground measuring more than double size of the old
manor. The two storey building with a simple body stands on a high
socle. Its facade is structured regularly by windows decorated with neo-
Rococo terracotta elements since the 1860s. [ill. 10] The palace has a
high hipped roof with dormers crowned by a central turret with a clock
and an onion-shaped cupola. Access to the building was from the east
side where the staircase is situated but the building could also be
entered via a two arm staircase from the garden side. Inside, the rooms
in the two wings of the building are joined together by enfilades. Traces
of any interior decoration of the palace are lost.
Through an archway connecting the gate tower to the palace, there
ran a road which no longer exists. The gate tower has an almost
quadratic ground. Its high socle is escarped, thus conveying a fortified
character. The two storey building is sheltered under a hipped roof,
which is even steeper than the one of the palace. Originally, the roof was
128 Alexander Duncker (1878-80), op. cit. fn. 128.
129 Jan Skuratowicz, Dwory i palace w Wielkim Księstwie Poznańskim, Poznań 1981,
2nd edition, p. 66.
130 Zenon Palat, Rezydencja Raczyńskich w Gaju Małym, manuscript at Wojewódzki
Oddział Służby Ochrony Zabytków w Poznaniu, Poznań 1985, p. 3.
37
According to a memorial plate under the Raczyński arms in the
central staircase the ensemble was ‘built 1803 by General Raczyński,
enlarged 1845 and adorned 1862 by Athanasius. Restored 1903 by
Sigismund R.’ These dates, however, are not totally correct since they do
not mention the addition of the towers. The building commissioned by
General Philip Raczyński is the small manor house which now
constitutes the Eastern part of the ensemble. To its west, Athanazy built
a small palace as new manor in 1845. He further added a building for
the family gallery in 1865 attached to the palace and accessible only
through a tower. Finally, the count connected the palace with the old
house by a gate tower in 1767.128 [ill. 9] None of the architects of the
buildings is known.129
The architect of the simple and functional house from 1803 must
have been familiar with English and French trends and their realization
in the Berlin area. Presumably he came from the circle around Friedrich
Gilly. The manor house is one of the earliest examples for the recourse to
the architecture of Prussian suburban villas in the Poznań region.130
Only the mansard roof is a traditional Polish architectural element and
helps to add a sophisticated air to the building.
In 1845, Athanazy made Gaj Maly the ancestral seat of his entail.
This decision presumably led him to add the palace to the estate in the
same year. Philip Raczyhski’s mansion was then turned into a quarter
for servants. The palace, now forming the central part of the ensemble,
has a rectangular ground measuring more than double size of the old
manor. The two storey building with a simple body stands on a high
socle. Its facade is structured regularly by windows decorated with neo-
Rococo terracotta elements since the 1860s. [ill. 10] The palace has a
high hipped roof with dormers crowned by a central turret with a clock
and an onion-shaped cupola. Access to the building was from the east
side where the staircase is situated but the building could also be
entered via a two arm staircase from the garden side. Inside, the rooms
in the two wings of the building are joined together by enfilades. Traces
of any interior decoration of the palace are lost.
Through an archway connecting the gate tower to the palace, there
ran a road which no longer exists. The gate tower has an almost
quadratic ground. Its high socle is escarped, thus conveying a fortified
character. The two storey building is sheltered under a hipped roof,
which is even steeper than the one of the palace. Originally, the roof was
128 Alexander Duncker (1878-80), op. cit. fn. 128.
129 Jan Skuratowicz, Dwory i palace w Wielkim Księstwie Poznańskim, Poznań 1981,
2nd edition, p. 66.
130 Zenon Palat, Rezydencja Raczyńskich w Gaju Małym, manuscript at Wojewódzki
Oddział Służby Ochrony Zabytków w Poznaniu, Poznań 1985, p. 3.