DOI Artikel:
Störtkuhl, Beate: Interactions between the Imperial and Royal Central Commission for the Preservation of Monuments and the Conservator Milieus in Galicia
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.73804#0079
78
In 1856, the Central Commission appointed the first
honorary conservators for Western and Eastern Galicia
in Cracow and Lviv, respectively. Since the staff propos-
als came out of the respective crown lands, the positions
in Galicia were always filled by Poles until the end of the
monarchy.6 This did not mean that the preservation of
synagogues, or of the characteristic wooden churches of
the Greek Catholic Church, whose believers mostly be-
longed to the Ukrainian population group, would be ne-
glected - this was precisely what the system of the Central
Commission was supposed to take care of.
Undoubtedly, however, the 'Polish'-coded cultu-
ral heritage was in the foreground. In 1889, at the latest,
when both Western and Eastern Galicia were merged
into a Board of Conservators (Grono Konserwatorów),7
the Polish conservators began to pursue an autonomous
course vis-a-vis the Viennese Central Commission. Polish
publications on the subject, for example by Marzena Woź-
ny and Leszek Sobol on the West Galician Board,8 and the
recent study on the Lviv Conservator Mieczysław Potocki
by Agnieszka Gronek,9 keep stressing the achievements of
the Boards for the preservation of the national cultural
heritage. Their attempts at emancipation are presented as
necessary steps for the safeguarding of their own interests
vis-a-vis 'Vienna'.
Based on archival records in the Austrian State
Archives,10 I would like to contrast this with the perspec-
tive of the Viennese leadership of the Central Commis-
sion, where the Polish activities were critically observed
from the very beginning: 'Galician conservators have
a plan to break away from the Central Commission, and
form their own Galician Board of Conservators under the
part II: Vom Vielvolkerstaat Osterreich-Ungarn zum neuen Euro-
pa der Nationalstaaten, ed. H. Rumpler, Wien 2016, pp. 813-851;
H. Binder, 'Die Ukrainer - von enttauschter Staatstreue zum
Kampf um Selbstandigkeit', in: ibidem, pp. 853-885.
6 See TH. Bruckler, Zur Geschichte der osterreichischen Denkmal-
pflege, pp. 465-479 (as in note 1).
7 The founding idea emerged in May 1888; elections to the respec-
tive boards took place in November and December 1889; see
M. Woźny, 'Początki Grona Konserwatorów Galicji Zachodniej
w świetle krakowskich materiałów', Rocznik Krakowski, 77, 2011,
pp. 77-88, here p. 82.
8 Ibidem; L. Sobol, 'Zarys głównych kierunków działań Grona
Konserwatorów Galicji Zachodniej z lat 1888-1905', Wiadomości
Konserwatorskie, 24, 2008, pp. 95-102.
9 A. Gronek, Mieczysław Potocki. W służbie przeszłości. Z dziejów
konserwacji zabytków w Galicji Wschodniej, Warszawa 2023.
10 In the records of the Viennese Osterreichisches Staatsar-
chiv, Allgemeines Verwaltungsarchiv [OeStA/AVA], Unter-
richt, Bundesdenkmalamt, Karton 20: Galizien, Gemalde Rest.,
Kunst, Karnten, bundle 37 'Konservatoren Galizien, and bundle
40 'Kunsttopographie Galizien, there are extensive files from the
years 1889 to 1-914, documenting the conflict between the Central
Commission for the Preservation of Monuments and the Polish
'Grono Konserwatorów'.
authority of the Diet,' commented Heinrich von ZeiEberg
(1839-1899), a member of the Central Commission and
a specialist on Polish history, who had spent several years
in Lviv, on the news of the Galician Board founding.11 My
reflections will extend to the aftermath of the First World
War; the Kunstschutz activities during the War will play
a special role here.
'CONSERVATION INSTEAD
OF RESTORATION'
In the context of the restoration of the Royal Castle on
the Wawel Hill in Cracow, tensions grew in particular
between the West Galician Board of Conservators and
the Central Commission under Conservator General
Max Dvorak (1874-1921).12 The Wawel area, which had
been misused as barracks by the Austrian military, was
acquired as a symbol of the unity of the nation through
a fundraising campaign in all three partition territories of
Poland. In 1908, the plans for the restoration of the Royal
Castle, which had been developed under the leadership
of the architect Zygmunt Hendel (1862-1929), a member
of the Board of Conservators, were presented.13 The aim
was to restore the castle to the condition of the first half
of the 16th c., the heyday of the Polish Jagiellonian dynas-
ty. For this purpose, the changes of the 19th c. were to be
reversed: The characteristic, disproportionately long col-
umns of the upper floor in the chateau courtyard, which
were walled in for structural reasons, were to be uncov-
ered and the original roof shape reconstructed according
to historical views. About two thirds of the columns were
to be replaced by reconstructions because the originals
had become brittle; this also concerned some of the win-
dow and portal frames of the early Renaissance - this his-
tory is well known from the research on the restoration
history of the Royal Castle.14
Nevertheless, in our context it is important to recall
Max Dvorak's public objection to the Polish plans in the
1908 yearbook of the Central Commission.15 Dvorak fol-
lowed the line of his predecessor in office, Alois Riegl,
11 Ibidem, bundle 40: Kunsttopographie Galizien, P Nr. 349 CC, let-
ter draft by ZeiRberg, commenting on the plans of the Polish con-
servators, 02.12.1889. On the stance of the Central Commission
see also M. Woźny, 'Początki Grona Konserwatorów', p. 84 (as in
note 7).
12 P. Dettloff, M. Fabiański, A. Fischinger, Zamek Królewski na
Wawelu. Sto lat odnowy (1905-2005), Kraków 2005, passim.
13 The journal Architekt dedicated two issues to the presentation of
the projects: [several authors] 'Z Wawelu', Architekt, 9, 1908, nr 11,
pp. 119-134, pl. 31-34; [several authors]: 'Wzgórze Wawelskie', Ar-
chitekt, 9, 1908, nr 12, pp. 137-152, pl. 35f.
14 P. Dettloff, M. Fabiański, A. Fischinger, Zamek Królewski na
Wawelu (as in note 12).
15 M. Dvorak, 'Restaurierungsfragen. II. Das KonigsschloR am
Wawel', Kunstgeschichtliches Jahrbuch der k. k. Zentralkommission
In 1856, the Central Commission appointed the first
honorary conservators for Western and Eastern Galicia
in Cracow and Lviv, respectively. Since the staff propos-
als came out of the respective crown lands, the positions
in Galicia were always filled by Poles until the end of the
monarchy.6 This did not mean that the preservation of
synagogues, or of the characteristic wooden churches of
the Greek Catholic Church, whose believers mostly be-
longed to the Ukrainian population group, would be ne-
glected - this was precisely what the system of the Central
Commission was supposed to take care of.
Undoubtedly, however, the 'Polish'-coded cultu-
ral heritage was in the foreground. In 1889, at the latest,
when both Western and Eastern Galicia were merged
into a Board of Conservators (Grono Konserwatorów),7
the Polish conservators began to pursue an autonomous
course vis-a-vis the Viennese Central Commission. Polish
publications on the subject, for example by Marzena Woź-
ny and Leszek Sobol on the West Galician Board,8 and the
recent study on the Lviv Conservator Mieczysław Potocki
by Agnieszka Gronek,9 keep stressing the achievements of
the Boards for the preservation of the national cultural
heritage. Their attempts at emancipation are presented as
necessary steps for the safeguarding of their own interests
vis-a-vis 'Vienna'.
Based on archival records in the Austrian State
Archives,10 I would like to contrast this with the perspec-
tive of the Viennese leadership of the Central Commis-
sion, where the Polish activities were critically observed
from the very beginning: 'Galician conservators have
a plan to break away from the Central Commission, and
form their own Galician Board of Conservators under the
part II: Vom Vielvolkerstaat Osterreich-Ungarn zum neuen Euro-
pa der Nationalstaaten, ed. H. Rumpler, Wien 2016, pp. 813-851;
H. Binder, 'Die Ukrainer - von enttauschter Staatstreue zum
Kampf um Selbstandigkeit', in: ibidem, pp. 853-885.
6 See TH. Bruckler, Zur Geschichte der osterreichischen Denkmal-
pflege, pp. 465-479 (as in note 1).
7 The founding idea emerged in May 1888; elections to the respec-
tive boards took place in November and December 1889; see
M. Woźny, 'Początki Grona Konserwatorów Galicji Zachodniej
w świetle krakowskich materiałów', Rocznik Krakowski, 77, 2011,
pp. 77-88, here p. 82.
8 Ibidem; L. Sobol, 'Zarys głównych kierunków działań Grona
Konserwatorów Galicji Zachodniej z lat 1888-1905', Wiadomości
Konserwatorskie, 24, 2008, pp. 95-102.
9 A. Gronek, Mieczysław Potocki. W służbie przeszłości. Z dziejów
konserwacji zabytków w Galicji Wschodniej, Warszawa 2023.
10 In the records of the Viennese Osterreichisches Staatsar-
chiv, Allgemeines Verwaltungsarchiv [OeStA/AVA], Unter-
richt, Bundesdenkmalamt, Karton 20: Galizien, Gemalde Rest.,
Kunst, Karnten, bundle 37 'Konservatoren Galizien, and bundle
40 'Kunsttopographie Galizien, there are extensive files from the
years 1889 to 1-914, documenting the conflict between the Central
Commission for the Preservation of Monuments and the Polish
'Grono Konserwatorów'.
authority of the Diet,' commented Heinrich von ZeiEberg
(1839-1899), a member of the Central Commission and
a specialist on Polish history, who had spent several years
in Lviv, on the news of the Galician Board founding.11 My
reflections will extend to the aftermath of the First World
War; the Kunstschutz activities during the War will play
a special role here.
'CONSERVATION INSTEAD
OF RESTORATION'
In the context of the restoration of the Royal Castle on
the Wawel Hill in Cracow, tensions grew in particular
between the West Galician Board of Conservators and
the Central Commission under Conservator General
Max Dvorak (1874-1921).12 The Wawel area, which had
been misused as barracks by the Austrian military, was
acquired as a symbol of the unity of the nation through
a fundraising campaign in all three partition territories of
Poland. In 1908, the plans for the restoration of the Royal
Castle, which had been developed under the leadership
of the architect Zygmunt Hendel (1862-1929), a member
of the Board of Conservators, were presented.13 The aim
was to restore the castle to the condition of the first half
of the 16th c., the heyday of the Polish Jagiellonian dynas-
ty. For this purpose, the changes of the 19th c. were to be
reversed: The characteristic, disproportionately long col-
umns of the upper floor in the chateau courtyard, which
were walled in for structural reasons, were to be uncov-
ered and the original roof shape reconstructed according
to historical views. About two thirds of the columns were
to be replaced by reconstructions because the originals
had become brittle; this also concerned some of the win-
dow and portal frames of the early Renaissance - this his-
tory is well known from the research on the restoration
history of the Royal Castle.14
Nevertheless, in our context it is important to recall
Max Dvorak's public objection to the Polish plans in the
1908 yearbook of the Central Commission.15 Dvorak fol-
lowed the line of his predecessor in office, Alois Riegl,
11 Ibidem, bundle 40: Kunsttopographie Galizien, P Nr. 349 CC, let-
ter draft by ZeiRberg, commenting on the plans of the Polish con-
servators, 02.12.1889. On the stance of the Central Commission
see also M. Woźny, 'Początki Grona Konserwatorów', p. 84 (as in
note 7).
12 P. Dettloff, M. Fabiański, A. Fischinger, Zamek Królewski na
Wawelu. Sto lat odnowy (1905-2005), Kraków 2005, passim.
13 The journal Architekt dedicated two issues to the presentation of
the projects: [several authors] 'Z Wawelu', Architekt, 9, 1908, nr 11,
pp. 119-134, pl. 31-34; [several authors]: 'Wzgórze Wawelskie', Ar-
chitekt, 9, 1908, nr 12, pp. 137-152, pl. 35f.
14 P. Dettloff, M. Fabiański, A. Fischinger, Zamek Królewski na
Wawelu (as in note 12).
15 M. Dvorak, 'Restaurierungsfragen. II. Das KonigsschloR am
Wawel', Kunstgeschichtliches Jahrbuch der k. k. Zentralkommission