Analysis of the original functional layouts of neo-Gothic sacral architecture 33
neo-Gothic architecture in the Lublin region, in the form of
monographs on the buildings as well as the architects asso-
ciated with this trend. Various authors have written about
churches in Łopiennik [10], Garbów [11] or Mokrelipie
[12] as well as St. Adalbert basilica in Wąwolnica [13]. In-
complete information on selected neo-Gothic buildings of
the Lublin Voivodeship can be found in Monograa ilu stro -
wana kościołów rzymskokatolickich w Królestwie Pol skim
[The Illustrated Monograph of Roman Catholic Churches
in the Kingdom of Poland] [14]. One author of valuable
studies on neo-Gothic was Henryk Wiercieński Parae,
kościoły i klasztory w diecezjach Podlaskiej i Lubelskiej
w latach 1861–1917 [Parishes, Churches and Monaster-
ies in the Dioceses of Podlachia and Lublin in 1864–1917]
and Jan Wadowski presented Dzieje diecezji chełmskiej
i lubelskiej [The History of the Lublin and Chełm Dioceses
and their Temples] (after: [8]). In 1987, Andrzej Majdows-
ki described and characterised 11 religious structures from
the Lublin Voivodeship. Detailed research on the entire
neo-Gothic architecture in this area was carried out in 1998
in his doctoral thesis by Józef Żywicki, entitled Architek-
tura neogotycka na Lubelszczyźnie [Neo-Gothic Architec-
ture in the Lublin region] [8].
The 19
th
century marked the beginning of partitions for
what was then the Kingdom of Poland, which was of con-
siderable importance for building development during this
period. In the 19
th
and 20
th
centuries, until the regaining
of independence, the most important laws were the Gene-
ral Regulations of the Construction Police for Cities in the
Kingdom of Poland of 26 September 1820 [15] and many
regulations supplementing or developing these provisions.
The development of sacral construction in the Russian
partition was conditioned by the current socio-political
situation and an additional set of regulations [16]. In the
following years, there were many new regulations that stip-
ulated how buildings should be designed and what design-
ers should be paid. The legal provisions on sacral building
during this period were more restrictive, as the legal sit-
uation of the Church was directly related to the political
and social code in the Kingdom. During the whole period
in-between the uprisings, the situation did not change and
was governed by the laws from 1817 [17]. As a result of
Russication in Poland, despite the intensive demographic
growth, few new Roman Catholic parishes were established
at that time. Only the release of the Decree of Tolerance on
30 April 1905 contributed to their increase. Between 1890
and 1914, 59 neo-Gothic churches and chapels were built
in the Lublin diocese, of which 41 were built between 1905
and 1914 [18]. Neo-Gothic religious architecture from this
period was inspired by the Gothic style, which was consid-
ered suitable for Christian buildings at that time. Stylistic
references were visible mainly through the introduction of
details, ogival window openings, vaults or building mate-
rial, creating a kind of eclectic style, which became partic-
ularly popular in this region in the late 19
th
and early 20
th
centuries. At that time, churches were built from brick and
stone, because they were among the most popular materi-
als used in construction due to their qualities.
In the years 1890–1905, only 11 of 59 temples had
been built, and in the period 1905–1914 as many as 48
were constructed, of which 41 were maintained in the
neo-Gothic style [19]. In the late 19
th
and early 20
th
cen-
turies, the Lublin Voivodeship was mainly inuenced by
one strong architectural centre, i.e. Warsaw (especially the
church of St. Florian in the Praga district 1888–1894). The
leading representatives of the Warsaw style were archi-
tects Józef Pius Dziekoński and Stefan Szyller, who used
forms of neo-Gothic sacral architecture from this region
in their designs. The largest accumulation of Gothic-in-
spired buildings, both secular and sacral, was then in Lub-
lin. In the 1
st
decade of the 20
th
century, Catholic churches
in the Lublin Voivodeship were built only thanks to the
generosity of parishioners and the decision to construct
them was taken during parish meetings, where the source
of nancing, size, style or materials were determined.
Among the designers of the neo-Gothic temples of the
region, some well-known Warsaw architects and local
creators can be distinguished. The most famous and re-
spected Warsaw architects employed to design temples
in the region included Dziekoński, Jan Olearski, Szyller,
Władysław Wołodko and Ksawery Dionizy de Ma ko wo-
Makowski (Fig. 1a). Other architects such as Władysław
Kononowicz, Piotr W. Łaszkiewicz, who contributed to
the creation of more than half of the 20
th
-century churches
in the region, were also widely respected. The vast ma-
jority of churches were built on sites of previous temples
or nearby. At that time, excessively large temples were
built to accommodate as many believers as possible. Most
churches during this period had a typical form in terms of
spatial layout, construction and decoration, which did not
dierentiate them signicantly from other churches in the
country. The rst Neo-Gothic temples, such as the church
in Frampol, were marked by a highly elongated form with
a single front tower and an elongated presbytery with
a three-sided apse. Plastered on the outside, with a bar-
rel vault, ogival openings or decorative blind windows,
it gave the impression of a building more attuned to the
Renaissance than neo-Gothic. More distinctive features
of the neo-Gothic style can be seen in the later completed
projects of Roman Catholic temples. These are three-nave
brick basilicas with the Latin cross layout, such as churches
in Małgiew or Wojcieszków from the outside, unplastered,
with butresses, butress arches, ogives, traceries, pinnacles,
multi-leaf blind windows or ribbed vaults. The buildings
followed a unied and simplistic style, distinguished by
large accents, rhythm of buttresses, gradations of window
openings and ne architectural decoration.
The originality of the Vistula-Baltic style characteris-
tic for this region is illustrated by churches in Garbowo,
Mokrelipie, Ryki, Dołhobycz, Komarówka or Wąwolni-
ca. Three of the aforementioned churches were designed
by Dziekoński, who authored as many as nine of the 40
neo-Gothic churches in the region today. The work of the
architect was a kind of creation of national architecture.
He drew on patterns from outside the borders of the King-
dom of Poland, but at the same time remained faithful to
national motifs. Dziekoński was recognised as one of the
main representatives of historicism, the so-called national
style, which was recorded in the history of Polish archi-
tecture. He specialised mainly in sacral architecture and
