MONASTERY OF THE BAREFOOT CARMELITES IN ZAGÓRZ

Paulina Maria WIDOMSKA

ERASMUS WINTER SEMESTER 2021/2022
UNIVERSITY OF PARMA
DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE

CORE RESTORATION AND REUSE OF ARCHITECTURE STUDIO + WORKSHOP

INTEGRATED CONSERVATION OF BUILT HERITAGE
The teacher: prof. SANTANA QUINTERO Mario
Identification of the object
The subject of my work is the late Baroque incarcerated monastery of the Discalced
Carmelites from the 18th century.
Zagórz - is a small town located in the Podkarpackie voivodeship, in the Bieszczady
Mountains. It has only 5 thousand inhabitants and until recently it was a part of neighbouring
Sanok. The complex is located 3 km from the town centre, on the top of Mariemont mountain
with an altitude of 345 m and is the biggest tourist attraction of the area. The hill is
surrounded on three sides by a bend of the Oslava river and the slope is steep. The whole
complex covers an area of 1.75 ha.

Foto 1. Top view currently, Google Maps

It’s believed that on the site of the ruins stood a castle earlier. In 1700 Ensign Jan F.
Stadnicki founded the Incastle Monastery there. It was a thanksgiving for saving his life in
the Northern War. The monastery is well visible from afar, and a comfortable path leads to it
from the northern side.Until 1772 the monastery flourished, but during the Bar Confederation
the Poles hid there, and the siege of the Russian army led to a fire and serious destruction of
the whole complex. With great effort the monastery was rebuilt, but never managed to
restore its former glory.With the advent of the partitions of Poland and Josephinism, the
monastic life declined, shaken by the arrival of other monks from Przemyśl, Lviv and Milatyń.
In 1822 another fire broke out, this time leading to the ruin of the monastery. The Carmelites
were relocated and the monastery was dissolved by the Austrian authorities in 1831. Since
then the monastery has deteriorated, but it was not forgotten by the local people and with the
advent of the "October thaw" in 1957 there was hope for reconstruction. However, the joy
did not last long, because already in 1962 the permission was withdrawn and then came the
next sad years for this wonderful monument. The last attempt to save the Zagorze Carmel
was made in 2000, when the ruins were handed over to the community.
Since then, constant renovation and protection works have been carried out, and in 2017 the
idea of adapting the complex for the Cultural Centre appeared. The vicinity of the
Bieszczady Mountains makes the building a very popular point on the route of mountain
trips. It is one of the few fortified monasteries in Poland and in the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth, which makes it a huge historical potential.
Legal status
The object was entered into the register of immovable monuments. The protection
covers the church, monastery, gatehouse, coach house, obelisk, defensive walls and the
surroundings of the ruins - the area of the former monastery gardens.
Since 2000, the ruins remain in the hands of the Zagórz Commune, which systematically
since then conducts conservation work in them. In 2017 there was also an idea, together
with the Bieszczady European Forum, to adapt the monastery into a cultural centre.

History of the monastery

The monastery was founded in 1700 by Crown Chamberlain Jan Franciszek
Stadnicki, from 1697 Voivode of Volhynia. It was a form of thanksgiving for the lives saved in
the Northern War. It was designed by Dutch architect Tylman of Gameren, or Tylman
Gamerski. It is a fortified monastery, but what is interesting, at the moment of construction it
was already outdated both in terms of war technology and fortification art. Moreover, the
monastery was of little strategic importance - the threat from Transylvania and Turkey was
over after the relief of Vienna in 1683. There is a road leading to the monastery from the
north side and a semicircular entrance gate with loopholes. The whole is surrounded by a 5
m high stone wall with stone towers. Already in 1714 the first Carmelites moved in, and the
construction was completed 16 years later, in 1730. It was then that the construction of the
defensive walls began. Even before the construction work was finished, in 1726, the order
was elevated to the rank of priory. The founder's daughter Anna Stadnicka donated her
jewels and silver to equip and beautify the monastery. One of the conditions of the
foundation was to establish a hospital for 12 disabled soldiers who survived the relief of
Vienna. It was located outside the walls on the eastern side; the building no longer exists.

Photo 2: A bird's eye view from the north.

Location plan of the monastery complex:
1. church
2. monastery
3. foresteries
4. hospital
5. coach house and stables
6. main gate and cordegard
7. pedestal of the patron saint of the church
8. Well

Photo 3: Site plan with terrain relief.

In the complex, apart from the church and monastery, there were many other
buildings: a two-storey collegiate building with 12 guest rooms at the entrance gate,
outbuildings with a stone well to the west, a warden's building and a building of unknown
purpose to the northeast. Besides, there was a park to the north and a vegetable garden to
the east. A triangular pillar with a statue of Our Lady of the Scapular - patroness of the
Carmel - stood in front of the church entrance. As for the church itself, yellow sandstone
from a nearby quarry and bricks for smaller structural elements and arched vaults were used
in its construction. It had a three-bay façade without a tower. The middle bay was decorated
with a portal and a choir window. The side bays were enriched with niches with sculptures
(nowadays they are placed in the Historical Museum in Sanok). The whole was crowned with
a tympanum with a round window. On both sides of the presbytery there were towers,
square at the base and octagonal at the top, covered with helmets. It is a central temple on
the plan of a Greek cross. It contained a porch, a four-bay chancel with a barrel vault with
lunettes. On the axis of the transept we have two shallow chapels. The main nave is
peculiar, built on an octagonal plan, covered with a flat dome, additionally the church was not
oriented - the altar was placed unusually on the western side, and not, as it usually is, on the
eastern side.
The interior walls were decorated with illusionistic "al fresco" polychromies of the altars. The
wall fresco of the main altar depicted the scene of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin
Mary with an angel against the background of a red curtain. The side altars were dedicated
to St. Joseph and the Scapular, St. Theresa and St. John of the Cross and St. Tecla. The
vaults were also covered with frescoes. The author of the polychromies is an unknown
Italian; they were made before 1730.
Photo 4. Frescoes on the wall of the main church altar.

Photo 5. 1924. , Floor plan of the Carmelite church in Zagórze

 A two-storey monastery building with cloisters adjoined the temple from the south. It
housed 22 cells, a refectory, a kitchen and a library. Unfortunately, it has not survived to the
present day. In 1772, the first partition of Poland took place, then Zagórz found itself on
Austrian territory. It was the era of the suppression of religious orders and Josephinism - the
Church supervised by the state. It was also the year of the dissolution of the Bar
Confederation. In the Zagorze monastery the last battle of this union with the Russian army
took place. During the siege the Carmelites were fired upon, which led to the first fire. The
complex was rebuilt with great effort and difficulty, but unfortunately it never regained its
former splendour and glory. During the annexations, monastic life also declined, effectively
suppressed by the partitioners. The Carmelites were considered a threat and aroused
independence-patriotic sentiments among the inhabitants. In order to disturb the monks,
brothers from Przemyśl, Lviv and Milatyń were brought to Carmel. This led to the
overcrowding of the monastery. Constantly rising maintenance costs, endless debts,
extreme poverty - the material situation of the Carmelites and their hospital charges was
dramatic. At the beginning of the 19th century, a decree was issued to reform the monastery,
but with little result. On 26.09.1822, the second fire in the history of the monastery occurred,
this time determining its further fate. The official version of the Austrian police says that the
arson occurred during a serious argument between the prior, Fr Leonard Umanski, and Fr
Jan Wlodzimierski. This is, however, a doubtful course of events, because the damage was
too enormous to have been caused only by an overturned lamp. It is presumed that the
invaders did this in order to solve their problem with the Order. As a result of the fire, the roof
trusses of both the monastery and the church were burnt down. Although the fire caused a
lot of damage over several days, enough rooms survived to enable the Order to continue
functioning if there was the will and money for reconstruction. However, Bishop Gołaszewski
was not interested in this, and the pressure from the Austrian authorities also did its work.
The inhabitants were moved to other places, and the Order itself was liquidated in 1831. The
property went to the state treasury and to a religious fund. Some of the surviving paintings
were placed in the neighbouring parish church, where they remain to this day. Since then,
the Zagorze Carmel has been falling into increasing disrepair.

Photo 6. 1905 view of the church ruins

 Hope did not appear until over 100 years later, during the 'October Thaw'. Stalin's
death led to an explosion of citizen activity.Primate S. Wyszyński returned from internment,
students and professors founded discussion clubs at universities, the seeds of
self-government were formed. This euphoria is also felt in Zagórze, where the inhabitants,
feeling great gratitude to the former monastery, want to rebuild it. The General Conservator
of Monuments, an archaeologist at the Ministry of Culture and Art this year led to obtaining
permission from the provincial conservator to begin restoration work. The frescoes in the
monastery church have been inventoried, the well has been decontaminated, and the
defensive walls have been cleared of plants and trees. The funeral of the Zagorze monks
was also re-established, as the monastery and its tombs had fallen victim to robbery and
treasure hunters over the years. There is also a memorial plaque on the monastery walls
with the names of the monks who were once buried here.
The whole project was funded, among other things, by the generous and enthusiastic
inhabitants and the small funds of the Order. During the reconstruction, the monks produced
postcards on festive occasions. This did not generate much income, but it did inform the
community. They decided to travel to the USA and Canada to organise fundraising among
the Polish community there. Despite his advanced age, Fr Joseph went on the journey.
Unfortunately, soon after his return he fell suddenly ill and on 5 April 1962 he died. In the
autumn of the same year the Presidium of the Voivodship Council in Rzeszow issued an
order revoking the permission to rebuild and the Carmelites were forced to stop work and
leave the hill. During the following years the monastery fell into increasing ruin. The eastern
part of the tower collapsed and the illusionistic frescoes started to disappear.

The situation changed in 2000, when the object took over the municipality Zagórz.
Since then, there have been systematic repair and reconstruction works. The area was tidied
up and cleared of rubble, bushes and trees growing over the buildings were removed. The
defensive walls, the eastern and northern elevations were protected and the crown of the
walls and the inner walls of the church were conserved. The cloister garden was also
revitalised, with fruit trees, bushes and herbs planted, and a rosarium established.

Photo 7. View of the monastery from the cloister garden in 2011.

 Between 2012 and 2013 a 22 m high observation tower was built. It was placed in
one of the church towers. The wooden staircase can be reached through the deconstructed
sequence of rooms of the temple. In 2012, a very interesting Way of the Cross - a gallery of
Bieszczady sculpture - was created along the road to the monastery. Each of the stations
was made by a different local artist. Between 2011 and 2017, 2.7 million PLN was spent on
these purposes, of which 500 thousand was spent by the Municipality. In 2017, the idea of
creating a cultural centre in the former foresterium building was also born. In addition to the
extension, there will be rooms for the promotion of regional products, a tourist information
point, a restaurant with catering facilities, a virtual reality room, a projection and film room,
an exhibition and conference room, art studios, social rooms with sanitary facilities, storage
facilities and toilets.

Photo 8: One of the Stations of The Cross.

Reconstruction phases
The monastery went through two fires in its history, after the first one it was rebuilt,
but after the second one it fell into ruins and remains so today. In the 20th century an
attempt was made to rebuild it and a lot of restoration and conservation work was carried out
in a short period of time. However, during the next 40 years the monastery was again
forgotten.
The tower collapsed and the beautiful polychromes of the temple were lost. In 2000,
when the ruins came into the hands of the municipality, the situation improved and since
then systematic conservation work has been carried out. There is even an idea to adapt a
part of the complex for a cultural centre.

Phase I - 1714-1772
Period of splendour, first years of functioning
❏ construction of the monastery
❏ arrival of the first monks
❏ construction of monastery
❏ construction of defensive walls
Phase II - 1772-1822
Rebuilding after the first fire
❏ Bar Confederation; First Partition of Poland
❏ 1st fire after Russian siege
❏ rebuilding of damage
❏ growing debts, overcrowding of monastery; extreme poverty
❏ falling into disrepair - no roof over church, decaying farm buildings
❏ decree of reform, gradual recovery; roofing of church

Phase III - 1822-1957

Second fire, last years of monastery functioning and falling into ruins
❏ argument between the Prior and Fr. Vladimierski; outbreak of the second fire
❏ fire lasting several days destroyed a large part of the complex, including the roof
over the temple and monastery
❏ dissolution of the monastery, confiscation of the property to the state treasury and
the church fund; part of the furnishings transferred to parish church in Zagórz

Phase IV - 1957-1962
First attempt to rebuild the monastery
❏ deconstruction of the well and the church surroundings on the west side.
❏ begin restoration of masonry up to ground floor level in the presbytery
❏ start restoration of the cordegarde at the main gate, covering it with a roof with
prior placement of crowning cornices
❏ removal of vegetation from the walls, creation of a vegetable garden
❏ improving the pathway

Phase V - 1962-2000
Recommence of decay
❏ part of the tower on the eastern side is destroyed
❏ most of the illusionistic polychromy is disappearing

Phase VI - 2000 to date

Attempts at reconstruction, conservation, efforts at adaptation
❏ improved visitor safety
❏ Trees and bushes have been removed from the church and monastery walls
❏ Temporary covering of gables has been carried out
❏ Cleaned up the surrounding area
❏ The Scapular statue has been returned to its pedestal
❏ two partly ruined towers have been rebuilt, but without the upper octagonal parts
❏ the walls of the main gate have been protected
❏ restored the front elevation of the foresterium, cordon house walls and parts of the
defensive walls
❏ a 22m high observation tower was constructed
❏ the cloister garden has been revitalised to resemble that of the period
❏ footpaths have been marked out
❏ renovated the front and east facade of the church
❏ the eastern courtyard has been tidied up
 ❏ crown walls and interior walls of the church were conserved

Photo 9: A bird's eye view of the monastery from the southern side.

Overview of historical elements

➔ Church

Photo 10. and 11. View of the main altar wall of the former church in 1905 and 2011

The best preserved part of the foundation. It was built of yellow sandstone quarried
from a nearby quarry and supplemented with bricks in place of vaults and smaller structural
elements. The walls were finished with lime plaster. A comparison between a photo of the
church from 1905 and the present shows the progressive destructive effects of time. The
vaulted arches have collapsed and the plaster and polychrome are gradually disappearing
from the walls.
 ➔ monastery
Only the outer walls up to the middle of the second storey have survived. The
building is overgrown with trees and only the remains of the brick inner walls are visible. In
the picture below, it is visible on the left side. The building can be admired from the top of a
wooden observation tower located in the church tower.

Photo 12: View of the ruins of the monastery and the church.

➔ cordegarde, gatehouse, coach house

From the buildings only the ground floor walls remain
➔ obelisk - statue of Our Lady of the Scapular - patron of the church and the order
➔ fortification walls
Made of stone, equipped with two towers and loopholes.
➔ surroundings of the ruins - area of the former monastery gardens
The cloister garden has been revitalised and opened to the public

Conclusions
The monastery, due to its location on the Bieszczady hiking route, is very popular
and increasingly visited. After carrying out the above analysis, the conclusion that emerges
is that the situation of the monastery improves every year. Systematically performed
subsequent conservation measures help to protect what is still left of the Zagórskie Carmel.
A lot of hope is raised by the plan to create a cultural centre in the foresterium building
together with a monk's cell and a café. The investment would increase interest in the site
and attract even more tourists.
References
● Cztery wieki Karmelitów Bosych w Polsce 1605-2005 , Wydawnictwo Karmelitów Bosych,
Kraków 2005 - https://archive.is/20121209174112/www.karmel.pl/pobierz/smagacz.doc
● Benignus Józef Wanat, Zakon Karmelitów Bosych w Polsce , Kraków 1979
● Kadłuczka A., Wieś i miasteczko polskie w Niepodległej i po 100 latach
NAUKA, Wydawnictwo PK, 2018
● Kadłuczka A., Ochrona najnowszej architektury historycznej [w:] NAUKA,
Wydawnictwo PK, 2009
● http://www.parafia-zagorz.pl/dzieje_karmelu.html
● http://www.twojebieszczady.net/warto/karmel.php
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smNeFxMihUs&list=TLPQMjAwNTIwMjDSBwL54iu-2
A&index=3 - Zagórz buduje Centrum Kultury w ruinach klasztoru
● https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuGjwcRugEQ&list=TLPQMjAwNTIwMjDSBwL54iu-
2A&index=5 - Klasztor Karmelitów Bosych w Zagórzu.
●
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icouHaa2kdM&list=TLPQMjAwNTIwMjDSBwL54iu-2A&in
dex=
9 - Trwa rewitalizacja zagórskiego klasztoru na wzgórzu Mariemont - Esanok.pl
● https://www.karmel.pl/zagorz-jak-feniks-z-popiolu/

Illustrations
Foto 1. Google Maps
Foto 2. Google Maps
Foto 3. https://fotopolska.eu/Zagorz/b8061,Klasztor_Karmelitow_Bosych.html
Foto 4. https://resfoto.pl/architektura/174-ruiny-klasztoru-karmelitow-bosych-w-zagorzu
Foto 5. https://fotopolska.eu/Zagorz/b8061,Klasztor_Karmelitow_Bosych.html
Foto 6. https://fotopolska.eu/Zagorz/b8061,Klasztor_Karmelitow_Bosych.html
Foto 7. Google Maps
Foto 8. https://fotopolska.eu/Zagorz/b8061,Klasztor_Karmelitow_Bosych.html
Foto 9. Google Maps
Foto 10. https://fotopolska.eu/Zagorz/b8061,Klasztor_Karmelitow_Bosych.html
Foto 11. https://resfoto.pl/architektura/174-ruiny-klasztoru-karmelitow-bosych-w-zagorzu
Foto 12. Google Maps