DOI issue:
Nr. 4
DOI article:Michałowski, Maciej Piotr: The Raczyński of Rogalin
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.18940#0129
M. Piotr Michałowski
THE RACZYŃSKIS OF ROGALIN:
THE HISTORY OF THE FAMILY AND THEIR COLLECTION
If we take tlie road south from Poznań, we come to the village of Rogalin some thirty kilo-
metres away. This village has an unusually picturesąue setting high on the bank of the Warta
River valley, surrounded by beautiful woods containing the remains of a primeval oak forest
which once covered all this region and which, even today, still constitutes the largest protected
agglomeration of oak-tree in Europę.
The oldest reference to this place comes from the end of the thirteenth century when Ro-
galin belonged to the noble house of the Łodzią Rogalińskis; it was to remain in their possesion
until the beginning of the sixteenth century. During the next two hundred and fifty years the
estate was to change owners several times as a result of successive beguests and sales, until
it finally passed into hands of the Raczyńskis in the second half of the eighteenth century. We
might mention in passing that Krzysztof Arciszewski, who was later to gain fame as admirał
of the Dutch fleet, was born here in 1592.
In 1768 Kazimierz Raczyński (1739—1824) bought the estate with a view to building a
family residence here. For nearly two hundred years after that Rogalin was to play a leading
role as a centrę of cultural and intellectual life in Great Poland (Wielkopolska). The fortunes
of the representatives of four generations of Raczyńskis are bound up with it to a greater or
lesser extent, and their work as collectors and patrons in both the cultural and political spheres
made its mark in a very real way not just in this region, but also contributed to Polish culture
in generał, and even extended to other parts of Europę.
The house of Raczyński, one of the oldest in Poland with a genealogy going back to the
fifteenth century, became more prominent during the reign of Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski,
and from that time on its wealth increased considerably.
Kazimierz, the son of Wiktor and Magdalena nee Działyński, is the first famous figurę in
łhe family. As his descendant Edward Bernard was to characterize him years later, he was
"a man who distinguished himself by a sober reason, sharpness of mind, administrative talents,
and finally, by his pleasant appearance and manner".1 He began his career during the election
of Stanislaus Augustus, campaining for him in Great Poland in his capacity as marshal of
the Confederacy of that region and a delegate to the Convocational Seym.
Kazimierz began to build an imposing barocpie palące of the type called entre cour et jardin
Before it was finished, it was modernized in the classicist style. The young royal architect
from Warsaw, Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer2, with whom Kazimierz Raczyński established close
■contacts at this time3, was hired for this work in the 1780's.
1. E. Raczyński, Rogalin i jego mieszkańcy, London, 1964, p. 57.
2. Cf. Z. Ostrowska-Kębłowska, Architektura pałacowa drugiej polowy XVIII wieku w Wielkopolsce, Poznań, 1969; M. Pawla-
czyk, ,,Ze studiów nad ikonografią zespołu pałacowego w Rogalinie",I, Studia Muzealne, XII, 1977, pp. 79—90.
3. Kamsetzer's name is associated with the design of the Guards buildingin Poznań (1786—87), which was built with funda
provided by Kazimierz Raczyński, and the new dome of the tower of the Poznań town-hall (1781—83).
110
THE RACZYŃSKIS OF ROGALIN:
THE HISTORY OF THE FAMILY AND THEIR COLLECTION
If we take tlie road south from Poznań, we come to the village of Rogalin some thirty kilo-
metres away. This village has an unusually picturesąue setting high on the bank of the Warta
River valley, surrounded by beautiful woods containing the remains of a primeval oak forest
which once covered all this region and which, even today, still constitutes the largest protected
agglomeration of oak-tree in Europę.
The oldest reference to this place comes from the end of the thirteenth century when Ro-
galin belonged to the noble house of the Łodzią Rogalińskis; it was to remain in their possesion
until the beginning of the sixteenth century. During the next two hundred and fifty years the
estate was to change owners several times as a result of successive beguests and sales, until
it finally passed into hands of the Raczyńskis in the second half of the eighteenth century. We
might mention in passing that Krzysztof Arciszewski, who was later to gain fame as admirał
of the Dutch fleet, was born here in 1592.
In 1768 Kazimierz Raczyński (1739—1824) bought the estate with a view to building a
family residence here. For nearly two hundred years after that Rogalin was to play a leading
role as a centrę of cultural and intellectual life in Great Poland (Wielkopolska). The fortunes
of the representatives of four generations of Raczyńskis are bound up with it to a greater or
lesser extent, and their work as collectors and patrons in both the cultural and political spheres
made its mark in a very real way not just in this region, but also contributed to Polish culture
in generał, and even extended to other parts of Europę.
The house of Raczyński, one of the oldest in Poland with a genealogy going back to the
fifteenth century, became more prominent during the reign of Stanislaus Augustus Poniatowski,
and from that time on its wealth increased considerably.
Kazimierz, the son of Wiktor and Magdalena nee Działyński, is the first famous figurę in
łhe family. As his descendant Edward Bernard was to characterize him years later, he was
"a man who distinguished himself by a sober reason, sharpness of mind, administrative talents,
and finally, by his pleasant appearance and manner".1 He began his career during the election
of Stanislaus Augustus, campaining for him in Great Poland in his capacity as marshal of
the Confederacy of that region and a delegate to the Convocational Seym.
Kazimierz began to build an imposing barocpie palące of the type called entre cour et jardin
Before it was finished, it was modernized in the classicist style. The young royal architect
from Warsaw, Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer2, with whom Kazimierz Raczyński established close
■contacts at this time3, was hired for this work in the 1780's.
1. E. Raczyński, Rogalin i jego mieszkańcy, London, 1964, p. 57.
2. Cf. Z. Ostrowska-Kębłowska, Architektura pałacowa drugiej polowy XVIII wieku w Wielkopolsce, Poznań, 1969; M. Pawla-
czyk, ,,Ze studiów nad ikonografią zespołu pałacowego w Rogalinie",I, Studia Muzealne, XII, 1977, pp. 79—90.
3. Kamsetzer's name is associated with the design of the Guards buildingin Poznań (1786—87), which was built with funda
provided by Kazimierz Raczyński, and the new dome of the tower of the Poznań town-hall (1781—83).
110