Tadeusz Sadkowski LOG HOUSES AT THE OPEN AIR MUSEUM IN WDZYDZE KISZEWSKIE, POLAND An analysis of traditional folk culture in Poland shows The co-existence of log and timber frame structures the existence of two distinct zones: the northwest and in the countryside with the continuing retreat of the southeast. The two zones reflect to a certain extent former technique in favour of timber frame and brick the division between former Russian and Prussian houses was part of the cultural pluralism seen in occupation zones after the partitions of Poland. This Central Pomerania (Gdańsk Pomerania). separation is also the result of former and current It is quite characteristic that timber frame struc- cultural events penetrating from the west. The Kaszubi, tures both in residential houses and in farm build- who are a distinct ethnic group in Poland, are members ings can be seen east of the Vistula River. But only of the northwestern group. in the areas which once belonged to German-owned One such event, typical for the northwest of East Prussia and West Prussia following the division Poland, was the replacement of log houses with timber between former Prussian and Russian monarchies, frame houses at the end of the 18th century. Up to established in the 18th century. They can therefore 1772 the spread of timber framed houses had all the be found in Żuławy, Warmia, Mazury and Ziemia characteristics of a so-called diffusion of cultural Chełmińska. elements; the major landowners encouraged such The structural concept of the Kaszuby Ethnogra- constructions in contrast to traditional log houses. phical Open Air Museum in Wdzydze takes the After 1772, Prussian law supported this process, with above mentioned facts into account. The Museum an edict issued in 1779, which banned “quoin and has acquired and plans to acquire additional typical pole” constructions, due to the need to save timber. regional examples of all types of buildings: log houses, The ban was not strictly observed and therefore log timber frame houses and brick houses built of sun- houses, although increasingly rare, were still being dried bricks. built until the beginning of the 20th century. The church in Szczodrowo; type of corner joint made by carpenters. The church (its nave) was built in 15th century. 136 The church in Swornegacie. The old and new church in a village The manor house in Luzino. The wooden single storey building in the southern part of Kashubia. The wooden church was built was erected at the end of the 17th century. It was first the seat of about 1700 (between 1695 and 1702), after fire destroyed the the steward in a convent property. Then it belonged to kashubian former church on the site. The belfry was added in 1740. It was nobilities, after the secularization of ecclesiastical estate made decided to protect the old church as a monument of wooden church by Prussia in 1773. At the end of the 19th century it belonged architecture from the beginning of the 20th century. The church to a Prussian officer. The Museum bought the house from the belongs to a group of 37 traditional wooden churches on the Kashubian family. Half of house was made of horizontal oaken territory of Pomerania (Gdańsk Pomerania). Among them there logs (hewed logs); the second half from half-timbered wall (brick are eight churches made solely of wood. The rest of the churches nogged timber-wall). have a framework construction (half – timber construction). The church was rebuilt by the museum at Wdzydze in 1985 and after consecration in 1987 performs its former duties. Luzino, gable-end frame work wall. The church in Swornegacie. The church before dismantling; without Luzino, detail of corner construction (Quoin). exterior boarding. 137 A recent comprehensive ethnographic investiga- tion of traditional folk buildings has confirmed that the Kaszuby region can also be divided into two zones depending on the dominating building technique. It is worth nothing that ethnographers managed to complete their studies almost at the last moment, because about 40 years ago the rural areas in Poland turned away from their old traditions. Irrespective of the reasons of this process, which shall not be discussed here, one should be aware that as its result, wooden houses rarely appear in contemporary Poland and in fact have become unique. The research undertaken showed that the northern and central parts of Kaszuby The yeomanry farmstead in Czarna Dąbrowa with buildings from region are dominated by timber frame structures with the 18th and 19th centuries. very few log houses, most of which were built before the end of the 18th century. Log houses remained popular in the southern and western part of Kaszuby, similarly to eastern Gdańsk Pomerania, where they were still being erected in the mid-20th century. The spatial arrangement of the Ethnographic Museum in Wdzydze has been based on the above simplified description of housing traditions in Kaszuby. The Park has sectors for housing constructions from Southern and Western regions where log houses prevail, and sectors for buildings from Central and North Kaszuby, where timber frame houses dominate. Researchers specializing in the folk culture of Northern Kaszuby emphasize that the introduction of The farmstead in Czarna Dąbrowa. The gable-end of the barn. On timber structure, which was a new solution in country the left a stone pigsty and a byre. building, did not mean a departure from traditional techniques of the past. A good example of this is the construction of arcades, which are found both in log, timber frame and sun-dried brick houses in Kaszuby. A multiple pillared arcade was an inherent element of the majority of residential houses built in the countryside between the 17th and early 19th century. Carpenters who used the technique in building houses commissioned by town investors introduced this tradition in rural houses. Market places of towns and cities in the Pomerania region were surrounded by arcade houses made of timber, as can still be seen in some surviving buildings or on pictures or photographs. Czarna Dąbrowa, detail of the quoin construction. The arcades of rural houses, although protecting the entrance against wind and rain, did not have much practical significance. They served as a decorative element, which increased the prestige of the house owner and added splendour to the building. In the 18th century arcade houses were built by farmers who managed to buy themselves out of serfdom or were able to pay their obligations towards the landowner in cash. They were the owners of small forest glass factories, owners of sawmills in the forests, new settlers who developed new plots of lands, parish priests and noblemen. The basic material for house building in the Kaszuby region was pine timber hewed with axes to produce logs that were rectangular on cross-section. Czarna Dąbrowa, the wicket gate in the middle of the barn. In the oldest surviving buildings, the logs were placed 138 The house in Loryniec. The house with arcades; remodelled in 1930. The house in Zdrojno, one of the prettiest arcaded Pomeranian houses, We are going to show its original form at the museum. The walls are originally with five pillars. Remodelled at the beginning of the 20th of horizontally set pine beams, dove-tailed at the corners. century. Zdrojno, arcades. Zdrojno, detail of the arcade’s construction. The house in Wdzydze Kiszewskie. This is a copy of an 18th century farmhouse which was made into a museum in 1906. From 1906 the museum had existed in Wdzydze Kiszewskie in one of the arcaded cottages typical of the region; purchased from a local farmer. The museum was organized by Izydor Gulgowski. Gulgowski was a teacher in Wdzydze. He was deeply interested in the indigenous Kashubian folk culture and the author of many valuable works on the subject. In 1932, the cottage and the ethnographic collections were burnt during a fire in the village. Thanks to the initiative of Teodora Gulgowska, the widow of the founder, the building was reconstructed and equipped with original implements and utensils in 1936. In 1969, a planned, large scale expansion of the Museum was undertaken in connection with the organisation of the Kashubian Ethnographic Park, at present the Gulgowskis’ Museum. 139 matching the thinner top part of the original trunk with the thicker bottom part of the next one. In the 17th century and in rare cases at the beginning of the 18th century oak timber was used, but later it was replaced with pine. With the passage of time the quality of timber steadily worsened. More and more houses were built of log processed in sawmills or sawed with saws. Parameters of logs such as their thickness, width and length were also changing. In the oldest building, without wall plaster made of clay, the logs are approximately 20 cm thick. Houses built at the turn of the 19th and 20th century have logs of 10-20 cm or even 6-8 cm. Thinner logs required inside plastering for proper insulation. The clay insulation layer would be up to 10 cm thick. Deteriorating timber quality The house from Skorzewo. A corner arcades house built in the forced different structural solutions, for example with second quarter of the 19th century. shorter logs interconnection poles had to be used. Poles were used also to incorporate more windows, with shapes and proportions different to those used in the 18th century. The length of available logs limited the size of the oldest log houses, because the oldest houses in Kaszuby did not have any interconnecting poles. Characteristic examples are log barns, combined of two or three separate constructions or so-called bays, arranged in a square.