Zygmunt Gorgolewski
Encyclopedia
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
architect, renowned for his construction of the Grand Theatre
Lviv Opera and Ballet Theater
The Lviv Theatre of Opera and Ballet is an opera house and theatre located in Lviv, Ukraine. The building was built between 1897 and 1900. The Lwów Opera was originally called the Grand Theatre until it was renamed in 1939 by the Soviet authorities....
in Lwów (Lviv)
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
.
Gorgolewski was born in Solec (Schulitz)
Solec Kujawski
Solec Kujawski is a town with 15,505 inhabitants and an area of 176 km², situated 14 kilometres southeast of Bydgoszcz in Poland at . Solec Kujawski belongs to the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship...
, Province of Posen
Province of Posen
The Province of Posen was a province of Prussia from 1848–1918 and as such part of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The area was about 29,000 km2....
, Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
. Between 1866 and 1871 he studied in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in the Royal Academy of Construction. During his studies, Gorgolewski also supervised the construction of Hanover Train Station in Berlin. After graduating, for six years he worked as an assistant in his alma mater. After that he became an advisor at the German Ministry of Public Works, official royal palace architect and architecture inspector in Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
. Gorgolewski was one of the most notable supporters of historicism in architecture in the Kingdom of Prussia
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia was a German kingdom from 1701 to 1918. Until the defeat of Germany in World War I, it comprised almost two-thirds of the area of the German Empire...
and then the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
.
Among his projects were two versions of the future Reichstag
Reichstag (building)
The Reichstag building is a historical edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Reichstag, parliament of the German Empire. It was opened in 1894 and housed the Reichstag until 1933, when it was severely damaged in a fire. During the Nazi era, the few meetings of members of the...
building, which he proposed in 1872 and then in 1882. His projects were among merely 20 chosen by the committee out of more than 100. However, in the end his ideas for these projects were refused. At the same time, Gorgolewski was awarded with the construction of Kaiser Wilhelm's Bridge. Other, more successful, projects include the plans of refurbishment of royal palaces in Berlin and Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, expansion of University Hospitals in Halle and Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, expansion of Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen
Bad Oeynhausen is a spa town in the Minden-Lübbecke district, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.- Geography :Bad Oeynhausen is located on the banks of the Weser river, which runs along the eastern edges of the town. Bad Oeynhausen has the world's highest carbonated, thermal saltwater fountain,...
spa in Westphalia
Province of Westphalia
The Province of Westphalia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia and the Free State of Prussia from 1815 to 1946.-History:Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Kingdom of Westphalia, which was a client state of the First French Empire from 1807 to 1813...
. In addition, he was the main architect of the Protestant cathedral in Berlin, Belle Vue palace, courthouses in Opole (Oppeln)
Opole
Opole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
and Olsztyn (Allenstein)
Olsztyn
Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...
, as well as prisons in Świdnica (Schweidnitz)
Swidnica
Świdnica is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. It has a population of 60,317 according to 2006 figures. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh largest town in that voivodeship. From 1975–98 it was in the former Wałbrzych Voivodeship...
and Chorzów (Königshütte)
Chorzów
Chorzów is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central districts of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union - a metropolis with a population of 2 million...
.
In the Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
region, Gorgolewski conducted the construction of many notable palaces both in and around Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...
. His works include:
- refurbishment of a church in WrześniaWrzesniaWrześnia is a town in central Poland with 28,600 inhabitants . It is situated in the Września County, Greater Poland Voivodeship , previously in Poznań Voivodeship , on the Wrzesnica River.- History :...
- refurbishment of Działyński family palace in Gołuchów
- refurbishment of Działyński family library in KórnikKórnikKórnik is a town with about 6,800 inhabitants , located in western Poland, approximately south-east of the city of Poznań. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the Wielkopolska region....
- construction of TwardowskiTwardowskiTwardowski is a Polish surname, it may refer to:* Pan Twardowski, mythical Polish sorcerer* Jan Twardowski , Polish priest and poet* Kasper Twardowski, Polish poet...
family palace in Kobylniki - enlargement of Kwilecki palace in Oporów
- RadziwiłłRadziwillThe Radziwiłł family is an noble family of Lithuanian origin. The descendants of Kristinas Astikas, a close associate of the 14th century Lithuanian ruler Vytautas, were highly prominent for centuries, first in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, later in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the...
family romantic castle Bagatela near Ostrów WielkopolskiOstrów WielkopolskiOstrów Wielkopolski is a town in central Poland with 72,360 inhabitants , situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; the seat of Ostrów Wielkopolski County.-History:Recently, a small fortified dwelling dating from the 10th century was discovered on the north-east side of... - construction of a new church tower as well as a Czapski family chapel in Smogulec
- construction of the headquarters of the Poznań Society of Friends of Arts and SciencesPoznan Society of Friends of Arts and SciencesThe Poznań Society of Friends of Learning is a learned society in Poznań, Poland, established in 1857, of scholars and scientists in all branches of learning...
(1874–79), as well as houses in Berlińska street in front of it.
He was also appointed as the main architect of the refurbishment of the palace of Ferdynand Radziwiłł in Ołyka, Volhynia
Volhynia
Volhynia, Volynia, or Volyn is a historic region in western Ukraine located between the rivers Prypiat and Southern Bug River, to the north of Galicia and Podolia; the region is named for the former city of Volyn or Velyn, said to have been located on the Southern Bug River, whose name may come...
. During his stay there, Gorgolewski for the first time visited Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
and Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
. The latter city enjoyed a period of fast expansion and in 1875 Gorgolewski took part in the contest for the project of the future Galician Sejm
Sejm
The Sejm is the lower house of the Polish parliament. The Sejm is made up of 460 deputies, or Poseł in Polish . It is elected by universal ballot and is presided over by a speaker called the Marshal of the Sejm ....
. His project was the most disputed and highly praised, but it was finally turned down, mostly due to financial reasons.
In 1879, Gorgolewski married Helena née Hulewicz. He was also an active member of many architectural juries across partitioned Poland. Among others, he was the member of the jury during the contest for the project of Kraków Old Theatre (1889), the bank in Czerniowce and St. Elisabeth's Church in Lviv
Lviv
Lviv is a city in western Ukraine. The city is regarded as one of the main cultural centres of today's Ukraine and historically has also been a major Polish and Jewish cultural center, as Poles and Jews were the two main ethnicities of the city until the outbreak of World War II and the following...
. In 1893 he moved to Lviv, where he was chosen as the main architect of the Grand Theatre (1897–1900). To avoid being accused of using his well-established position in society, Gorgolewski prepared his winning project of the theatre in secret and then sent it under a false name
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
from Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. Other notable building of his authorship was the Industrial School in the same city.
Gorgolewski died in Lwów and was buried in the Łyczaków Cemetery.