DOI Artikel:
Skibiński, Franciszek: Uwagi na temat gdańskiego budownictwa publicznego drugiej połowy XVI i pierwszej połowy XVII w. pod kątem zaopatrzenia w materiał kamieniarski
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.52466#0032
Franciszek
Skibiński
Notes on the Public Building Industry in Gdańsk in the Second Halfofthe 16th
and the First Half of the 17*'' century in the Context ofStone Importation
Works of architecture and stone sculpture would never have been created without
the existence of a supply network enabling access to assets crucial for their production,
including stone. Based on archive ąuarries and analysis of existing works of architec-
ture and stone sculpture, this article focuses on the importation of stone for the building
and stonecutting industry in early modern Gdańsk. In the second half of the 16th and
the first half of the 17th century the city was experiencing an era of economic prosperity
and became a major center of architecture and stone sculpture in the Baltic region and
the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Gdańsk authorities put much effort into
securing suitable stone necessary to carry out their ambitious projects. Builders and
sculptors based in the Baltic metropolis applied various kinds of stone imported from
abroad, including limestone from Oland and Sweden, sandstone ąuarried in Buckeburg
and Bentheim, Belgian marble, and English alabaster. The kind of stone most com-
monly used in local architecture and sculpture was, however, the sandstone from the
Isle of Gotland. To obtain this materiał the city authorities often approached the Danish
king, as revealed by numerous letters preserved in Gdańsk and Copenhagen archives.
Each year several shipments of Gotland stone would arrive in the city, the amount of
stone reaching up to 10,000 cubic feet. Some of the materiał destined for the public
building works was then prepared by workers supervised by the ‘Bauknecht’. He was
an official appointed by the city authorities to support the public building industry and
to facilitate the work of specialized building and sculpting workshops by overlooking
low-skilled workers and supply of materials. Some of the local builders and stonecut-
ters were also involved in the importation of stone from Gotland. Besides carrying out
major architectural and sculptural works, at least some of the guild masters running
large workshops were engaged in the supply of necessary materials. For this reason, they
had to maintain a network of professional contacts within the Baltic region and beyond.
The most prominent among them was Willem van der Meer, called Barth, a stonecutter
from Ghent established in Gdańsk. Between roughly 1590 and 1610, he supplied the city
with a large amount of Gotland stone, including that used for the building of the Great
Arsenał. Other important members of the local milieu engaged in the stone trade were
Willem and Abraham van den Blocke as well as Wilhelm Richter, continuator of Van
den Blockes enterprise often engaged by the city authorities. These findings broaden our
understanding of the professional practices of builders and stone sculptors in Gdańsk
and the Baltic region in the late 16th and in the 17th centuries.
Skibiński
Notes on the Public Building Industry in Gdańsk in the Second Halfofthe 16th
and the First Half of the 17*'' century in the Context ofStone Importation
Works of architecture and stone sculpture would never have been created without
the existence of a supply network enabling access to assets crucial for their production,
including stone. Based on archive ąuarries and analysis of existing works of architec-
ture and stone sculpture, this article focuses on the importation of stone for the building
and stonecutting industry in early modern Gdańsk. In the second half of the 16th and
the first half of the 17th century the city was experiencing an era of economic prosperity
and became a major center of architecture and stone sculpture in the Baltic region and
the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Gdańsk authorities put much effort into
securing suitable stone necessary to carry out their ambitious projects. Builders and
sculptors based in the Baltic metropolis applied various kinds of stone imported from
abroad, including limestone from Oland and Sweden, sandstone ąuarried in Buckeburg
and Bentheim, Belgian marble, and English alabaster. The kind of stone most com-
monly used in local architecture and sculpture was, however, the sandstone from the
Isle of Gotland. To obtain this materiał the city authorities often approached the Danish
king, as revealed by numerous letters preserved in Gdańsk and Copenhagen archives.
Each year several shipments of Gotland stone would arrive in the city, the amount of
stone reaching up to 10,000 cubic feet. Some of the materiał destined for the public
building works was then prepared by workers supervised by the ‘Bauknecht’. He was
an official appointed by the city authorities to support the public building industry and
to facilitate the work of specialized building and sculpting workshops by overlooking
low-skilled workers and supply of materials. Some of the local builders and stonecut-
ters were also involved in the importation of stone from Gotland. Besides carrying out
major architectural and sculptural works, at least some of the guild masters running
large workshops were engaged in the supply of necessary materials. For this reason, they
had to maintain a network of professional contacts within the Baltic region and beyond.
The most prominent among them was Willem van der Meer, called Barth, a stonecutter
from Ghent established in Gdańsk. Between roughly 1590 and 1610, he supplied the city
with a large amount of Gotland stone, including that used for the building of the Great
Arsenał. Other important members of the local milieu engaged in the stone trade were
Willem and Abraham van den Blocke as well as Wilhelm Richter, continuator of Van
den Blockes enterprise often engaged by the city authorities. These findings broaden our
understanding of the professional practices of builders and stone sculptors in Gdańsk
and the Baltic region in the late 16th and in the 17th centuries.