DOI Artikel:
Mac̨zyński, Ryszard: Warszawskie biblioteki księży pijarów
DOI Seite / Zitierlink:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14246#0143
138
RYSZARD MĄCZYŃSKI
remaining comers of the library room were occupied by spiral stairs and a stove, concealed by faux bookcases. The outfitting also
included three work tables and four ladders, enabling access to higher placed tomes.
In the course of building the opulent Collegium Nobilium boarding school palace, initiated in 1743 and continued even after
the ceremonious move into the new résidence in 1754, Jakub Fontana considerably modified his initial design of the library room.
Ultimately, it was located on the second floor of the main corps of the palace (in the school this storey was intended for scientific
rooms), behind the central three-axes projection. The shape of the room resembled a square (19 x 15 ells). A représentative
staircase, located towards the back of the building, led to the library. Information about décoration and outfitting is scarce, and we
know only that the interiors were „beautifully panelled" in wood.
In 1811. historical circumstances forced the Piarists to sell the Collegium Nobilium palace and create a permanent seat of the
boarding school in a sizable suburban lot known as Żoliborz. Having met the most indispensable housing requirements, the order
sought a separate location for the book collection and decided to adapt a brick mili, built in 1778. Work was commenced in 1813
but the initially insufficient funds meant that progress remained slow. Basic repair and adaptation were conducted as late as 1815-
1816, and in 1817 the library was decorated and outfitted. The entire undertaking was probably designed by the rector of the
Żoliborz boarding school, Kajetan Kamieński, an amateur architect.
The main corps of the building, which previously contained mill-stones, now housed a two-storey library room (20 x 20 ells),
illuminated by Windows situated in the eastern wali, enclosed on three sides; three high window were built lower down and three
smaller semicircular ones - above. The room was encircled by a wooden gallery halfway up the walls. Wide, représentative stairs
led from the hallway to the western entrance. The carefully designed lavish décoration and outfitting of the interior was made of
wood varnished so as to accentuate the grains. The thirty nine bookcases standing below and the thirty four along the gallery were
made of ash and had glass pane doors. In order that no element would disturb the harmonious compositions, efforts were made
to hide the stove and stairs leading to the galleries by resorting to imitation doors of library bookcases. The two cut-off corners
of the Żoliborz library room wali containing the entrance doors granted the interior the central shape of an octagon.
The Collegium Regium library hall was used for school exams, held publicly and attended by parents and invited guests. In
1800-1806, the order made the room available for sessions of the newly established Society of Friends of Sciences. The library
also served assorted cérémonies in the Piarist convent. In 1816. such an event was the présentation by Stanisław Kostka Potocki,
Minister of the Religion and Public Education Commission, of a specially minted medal to the Piarist Onufry Kopczyński, in
récognition of his monumental Gramatyka języka polskiego (Grammar of the Polish Language). Upon certain occasions, also the
Żoliborz boarding school library was used for the purposes of examinations.
Piarist emphasis on the aesthetic form of the library interiors was connected with an intentional accentuation of their role and
the création of a sui generis sacri sapientiae space. Already the very ground plan of the hall, referring to traditions universally
legible in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, could contribute essential contents. The central nature of the almost square shape
of the Collegium Nobilium library or the octagonal shape of the Żoliborz interior distinctly imposed a feeling of harmony and the
proportion of an ideał figure, and best expressed the idea of perfect wisdom. In the rectangular plan of the Collegium Regium
boarding school library, at first glance devoid of more profound meaning, we may perceive a référence to the basie disposition of
Solomon's Temple, made by the location of the hallway with the imposing portal and the elongated hall on a joint axis.
The différent nature and functions of the Collegium Regium and Collegium Nobilium libraries were accentuated at the very
entrance. The patron of the first library was St. Joseph, founder of the Scholarum Piarum order; the placing of his wooden statue
in 1766 vividly underlined the monastic nature of the book collection. On the other hand, both boarding school libraries were
embellished with a wooden inscription plaque containing a quotation from a speech given by Stanisław Konarski and founded
about 1754 by Augustyn Orłowski. This praise of knowledge won by reading learned books comprised a credo of sorts, especially
addressed to the young people benefiting from the „seat of wisdom".
The library interiors, filled with bookcases, did not permit a wider display of figurai depiction, with the exception of space
available on the vault. Nonetheless, both Collegium Regium and Collegium Nobilium attempted to create portrait galleries of the
uomini famosi type. In the first case, such a gallery was composed of ten „various busts", which. presumably, portrayed the most
distinguished wise brethren of the Scholarum Piarum. In the second instance, a mere substitute of a gallery was limited to two
marble plaques, executed in 1821 and commemorating eminent Piarists. former Collegium Nobilium lecturers: Stanisław Konarski
and Onufry Kopczyński.
As far as it is possible to ascertain upon the basis of gathered sources, Piarist libraries were modern ventures but, at the same
time, typical for their period. The composition of the rooms and the designs of the outfitting emulated the best European patterns
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The libraries could contrast with their monastic counterparts in the Bénédictine and
Augustinian abbeys in Melk (1731-1732: Jakob Prandtauer), Seitenstetten (1741-1742: Gotthard Hayberger) or St. Florian (1744-
1750: Jakob Prandtauer, Gotthard Hayberger) as regards opulence and dimension. The European models were frequently adapted
indirectly, via earlier domestic réalisations.
It is possible to discern numerous far-reaching concurrences not only between the Piarist and Jesuit organisation of book
collections but also between buildings constructed for library purposes. As a rule, the library rooms of both orders were situated
within larger monastic buildings, on a higher storey outfitted with numerous Windows allowing unhampered ventilation. Wood
panelling protected the books against the impact of damp walls. The threat of mold was feared much more than that of fire,
especially sińce the libraries were frequently situated near the refectory (and thus also the kitchen). Représentative functions
imposed embellishments (stucco, freseoes) as well as décorative and grand bookcases, a feature to which both the Jesuits and the
Piarists attached considérable importance.
RYSZARD MĄCZYŃSKI
remaining comers of the library room were occupied by spiral stairs and a stove, concealed by faux bookcases. The outfitting also
included three work tables and four ladders, enabling access to higher placed tomes.
In the course of building the opulent Collegium Nobilium boarding school palace, initiated in 1743 and continued even after
the ceremonious move into the new résidence in 1754, Jakub Fontana considerably modified his initial design of the library room.
Ultimately, it was located on the second floor of the main corps of the palace (in the school this storey was intended for scientific
rooms), behind the central three-axes projection. The shape of the room resembled a square (19 x 15 ells). A représentative
staircase, located towards the back of the building, led to the library. Information about décoration and outfitting is scarce, and we
know only that the interiors were „beautifully panelled" in wood.
In 1811. historical circumstances forced the Piarists to sell the Collegium Nobilium palace and create a permanent seat of the
boarding school in a sizable suburban lot known as Żoliborz. Having met the most indispensable housing requirements, the order
sought a separate location for the book collection and decided to adapt a brick mili, built in 1778. Work was commenced in 1813
but the initially insufficient funds meant that progress remained slow. Basic repair and adaptation were conducted as late as 1815-
1816, and in 1817 the library was decorated and outfitted. The entire undertaking was probably designed by the rector of the
Żoliborz boarding school, Kajetan Kamieński, an amateur architect.
The main corps of the building, which previously contained mill-stones, now housed a two-storey library room (20 x 20 ells),
illuminated by Windows situated in the eastern wali, enclosed on three sides; three high window were built lower down and three
smaller semicircular ones - above. The room was encircled by a wooden gallery halfway up the walls. Wide, représentative stairs
led from the hallway to the western entrance. The carefully designed lavish décoration and outfitting of the interior was made of
wood varnished so as to accentuate the grains. The thirty nine bookcases standing below and the thirty four along the gallery were
made of ash and had glass pane doors. In order that no element would disturb the harmonious compositions, efforts were made
to hide the stove and stairs leading to the galleries by resorting to imitation doors of library bookcases. The two cut-off corners
of the Żoliborz library room wali containing the entrance doors granted the interior the central shape of an octagon.
The Collegium Regium library hall was used for school exams, held publicly and attended by parents and invited guests. In
1800-1806, the order made the room available for sessions of the newly established Society of Friends of Sciences. The library
also served assorted cérémonies in the Piarist convent. In 1816. such an event was the présentation by Stanisław Kostka Potocki,
Minister of the Religion and Public Education Commission, of a specially minted medal to the Piarist Onufry Kopczyński, in
récognition of his monumental Gramatyka języka polskiego (Grammar of the Polish Language). Upon certain occasions, also the
Żoliborz boarding school library was used for the purposes of examinations.
Piarist emphasis on the aesthetic form of the library interiors was connected with an intentional accentuation of their role and
the création of a sui generis sacri sapientiae space. Already the very ground plan of the hall, referring to traditions universally
legible in the eighteenth or nineteenth century, could contribute essential contents. The central nature of the almost square shape
of the Collegium Nobilium library or the octagonal shape of the Żoliborz interior distinctly imposed a feeling of harmony and the
proportion of an ideał figure, and best expressed the idea of perfect wisdom. In the rectangular plan of the Collegium Regium
boarding school library, at first glance devoid of more profound meaning, we may perceive a référence to the basie disposition of
Solomon's Temple, made by the location of the hallway with the imposing portal and the elongated hall on a joint axis.
The différent nature and functions of the Collegium Regium and Collegium Nobilium libraries were accentuated at the very
entrance. The patron of the first library was St. Joseph, founder of the Scholarum Piarum order; the placing of his wooden statue
in 1766 vividly underlined the monastic nature of the book collection. On the other hand, both boarding school libraries were
embellished with a wooden inscription plaque containing a quotation from a speech given by Stanisław Konarski and founded
about 1754 by Augustyn Orłowski. This praise of knowledge won by reading learned books comprised a credo of sorts, especially
addressed to the young people benefiting from the „seat of wisdom".
The library interiors, filled with bookcases, did not permit a wider display of figurai depiction, with the exception of space
available on the vault. Nonetheless, both Collegium Regium and Collegium Nobilium attempted to create portrait galleries of the
uomini famosi type. In the first case, such a gallery was composed of ten „various busts", which. presumably, portrayed the most
distinguished wise brethren of the Scholarum Piarum. In the second instance, a mere substitute of a gallery was limited to two
marble plaques, executed in 1821 and commemorating eminent Piarists. former Collegium Nobilium lecturers: Stanisław Konarski
and Onufry Kopczyński.
As far as it is possible to ascertain upon the basis of gathered sources, Piarist libraries were modern ventures but, at the same
time, typical for their period. The composition of the rooms and the designs of the outfitting emulated the best European patterns
of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The libraries could contrast with their monastic counterparts in the Bénédictine and
Augustinian abbeys in Melk (1731-1732: Jakob Prandtauer), Seitenstetten (1741-1742: Gotthard Hayberger) or St. Florian (1744-
1750: Jakob Prandtauer, Gotthard Hayberger) as regards opulence and dimension. The European models were frequently adapted
indirectly, via earlier domestic réalisations.
It is possible to discern numerous far-reaching concurrences not only between the Piarist and Jesuit organisation of book
collections but also between buildings constructed for library purposes. As a rule, the library rooms of both orders were situated
within larger monastic buildings, on a higher storey outfitted with numerous Windows allowing unhampered ventilation. Wood
panelling protected the books against the impact of damp walls. The threat of mold was feared much more than that of fire,
especially sińce the libraries were frequently situated near the refectory (and thus also the kitchen). Représentative functions
imposed embellishments (stucco, freseoes) as well as décorative and grand bookcases, a feature to which both the Jesuits and the
Piarists attached considérable importance.