Rozwój monumentalnej architektury Warszawy na przełomie XVIII i XIX wieku a modernizacja przestrzeni publicznej

Abstrakt

The Development of the Monumental Architecture of Warsaw at the Turn of the 18th and 19th Centuries and the Modernization of the Public Space The subject of this work is the impact of the modernization of the public space on the development of the monumental architecture of Warsaw at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, beginning with the Saxon era and ending with the constitutional Kingdom of Poland. The author defines the concept of the public space as those places that serve to integrate social life (universal, from the Latin adjective publicus, that is belonging to society, not only in a strict, legal and economic but also metaphorical sense; it is the opposite of private space, i.e. belonging to individuals) in the city, that is, building bonds between residents and at the same time internalhierarchies.Theproposedchronologicalperspectiveallowsustoobservethe fundamental transformation that took place over several decades in the Warsaw architectural landscape — a transformation that can be described as modern: the process of expanding the public space both as a result of bureaucratization and centralization of state structures, as well as the development of independent (albeit supervised by the state) social organizations. The modern bureaucracy not only administered a society consisting of legal persons equal before the law (including peasants) and was an expression of the new, non-noble idea of the state-common good. For it itself represented an ideal of equality through an army of officials who, despite their diverse social backgrounds, constituted a cohesive, clearly defined group selected according to a substantive key (at least in theory), guarding the supra-state interest. On the other hand, independent social organizations, such as associations, complementing government administration activities in various fields, additionally contributedto thedisruption of traditional statedivisions carried out by private individuals (although sometimes also performing state functions, providing authority, influence, as well as the guarantee of the rule of law and —intheeyes of thegovernment—patriotism), thuscontributingtothedevelopment of a modern civil society. The urban architectural landscape was in a constant state of confrontation with these changes, for the reason that it was in the cities, especially in the central parts of the region, not to mention monarch residential towns, that the modernization process intensified. Here, the strengthening of state power was perhaps the most explicit, and (due to the concentration of appropriately wealthy and therefore free-standing individuals), the democratizing public life was experiencing the most prosperous prosperity. It was written by Barry Bergdoll, an American historian of architecture, referring to the situation of great European metropolis, such as Paris and London attheturnof the18th and19th centuries: “monumentaltheatres,marketplaces, schools and academies, building for administration, and grand city squares were to provide the stage for a new public life, one in which citizens, or at the very least a bourgeoning administrativeclass and urban bourgeoisie, mightassume roles rivalling the aristocracy, clergy, and royalty who had traditionally made the city in their own image.” In the case of Warsaw, this modern volte consisted primarily in undermining the traditional spatial domination of the magnate elite, although, to a lesser extent, it also took place at the expense of the Church and the court.