The Manor in Niećkowo in Podlasie and the Palace in Kiełczyn in Lower Silesia won Our Monument Competition pilot organized by Most the Most Foundation. Congratulations to the winners and special thanks to the applicants and the owners of the monuments for their commitment. Now is the time for II Competition in which the inhabitants of those towns and surrounding areas can submit their ideas for the social function of the winning monuments. After selecting the best ideas and signing contracts with their owners, the Foundation will grant the financing for their restoration and adaptation to the social functions chosen in the competition. The amount of financing may reach even PLN 1 000 000.
Most the Most Foundation is currently running Our Monument competition pilot in Lower Silesia and Podlasie. During the 4 weeks of the call for entries (June 7 – July 5, 2021) for I Competition we received over 320 applications of historical buildings. There were 68 monuments among them – 56 from Lower Silesia and 12 from Podlasie. 53 monuments passed the formal evaluation (15 buildings did not meet the criteria of the competition – they were the private property or necropolis).
You can see the submitted buildings on the monuments map on the Most the Most Foundation website.
The Foundation contacted the owners of the monuments that met the competition criteria to confirm the will of cooperation with the Foundation and obtain the information necessary for further evaluation of the applications. The will of cooperation was declared by 22 owners of the monuments submitted in the competition – 17 from Lower Silesia and 5 from Podlasie.
Lower Silesia
- The Palace in Kiełczyn
- The ruins of Piast Castle on the island in Jelcz-Laskowice
- The water tower in Góra
- The Palace complex in Goszcz
- The building of a former mill in Ząbkowice Śląskie
- Post-evangelical larch church in Kuźniczysko
- Chojnowska fortified tower in Legnica
- Opatka House in Lubomierz
- Church ruins with a tower in Miłków
- Former school (today a library) in Miłocice
- Transformer station in Polanica Zdrój
- Municipal Cultural Center in Święta Katarzyna
- Queen Carola Bridge in Szczodre
- Książ Castle in Wałbrzych
- “Pod Misiami” building – The Centennial Hall in Wrocław
- Administrative building of Popowice depot in Wrocław
- Manor ruins in Zaborów
Podlasie
- The Manor in Niećkowo
- The wooden house from the 19th century in Białystok
- House – an iron in Białystok
- Stable building in Grajewo
- Hunting lodge in Turośnia Kościelna
The selection board chose the winners from among those monuments.
The winners of the I Competition
The Palace in Kiełczyn – Lower Silesia
The palace is located on the European cycle route EUROVELO and by the St. Jame’s route. This is a magnificent building in the Baroque style erected at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. In the 19th century the Palace underwent total reconstruction and such remained until today.
t is a rectangular-shaped, brick building. It is a part of a park and palace complex with a manor that also includes: a park, garden pavilion, barn and cowshed. The owner of the monument, Dzierżoniów municipality, has actively run restoration activities for years. Thus the society will be able to discover the historical, cultural and architectural value of the palace anew.
In 2021 Dzierżoniów municipality with the support from the funds from the Rural Development Programme has exchanged the roof and renovated the ground floor. Moreover, at the end of 2020 they obtained the subsidy from the Government Fund for Local Investments in the amount of PLN 350 thousand. Those funds were allocated for construction works. Financial contribution from the budget of Lower Silesia Voivodeship has enabled to exchange another 7 windows together with window sills on the first floor. Thanks to this the renovation works can be continued in those rooms.
Currently, first and second floor, façade, windows exchange and the landscape around the building and part of the park owned by the municipality remain to be renovated.
Thanks to further restoration and conservation works it will be possible to restore and expose the historical and architectural values of the palace construction and make it available for the citizens.
The Manor in Niećkowo – Podlasie
Scenically located Manor in Niećkowo, Szczuczyn municipality, Grajewski district, was erected at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The manor is a variation of magnate residences stemming from Baroque and created in the 18th century.
The Manor was rebuilt in 1912. Before it had representative and housing function. Currently it is adapted for the needs of the school that runs there gastronomic classes for the youth from the faculty of nutrition techniques and gastronomical services organization.
For the inhabitants of Niećkowo the Manor is the carrier of remote history, symbol of Polishness and memory of our ancestors. First and foremost it is the reason to be proud of and hope that the time will not be able to destroy it, so that the generations to come may enjoy its view. After planned restoration is completed, the manor will have new social functions and will be actively used by the local society.
Idea time now
Following the announcement of I Competition winners, it is time for II Competition – choosing the social functions of the winning monuments. Now local societies shall speak again. Just like in the first stage of the competition, the organizer is counting on the inhabitants’ initiative.
For three weeks (from September 27 till October 18, 2021) the foundation will collect ideas from the inhabitants as to how they would like to use the restored monuments. You can submit your idea via the electronic form available on the foundation’s website or via the phone (22 47 55 111 or +48 517 884 088).
What’s next?
The Foundation will analyze the submitted ideas taking into consideration the answers to the questions in the submission form. The opinion of the winning monument Owner will be crucial and the approval from the monuments conservator – essential. After choosing the best ideas for the social use of the winning monuments and signing contracts with their owners, the Foundation will grant the financing for the monuments restoration and adjusting them to the functions selected in the competition.
Distinctions
“Our Monument” Competition Regulations allow for choosing one winner in a voivodeship. Most the Most Foundation has received over 300 applications with great descriptions and photos. That is why we decided to distinguish the authors of the most interesting applications (descriptions of the historic sites) and the applications with the greatest social commitment (places/objects that have received the biggest number of applications).
The Train Station in Augustów was chosen as the most beautifully and interestingly described monument from Podlasie. Whereas in Lower Silesia the Foundation was thrilled with the descriptions of: a former school in Miłocice, the palace complex in Krzyżowice, monastery park in Lubomierz and wooden windmill in Lubiąż. The authors of the abovementioned descriptions will receive small gifts from the Foundation.
The distinctions for the greatest social involvement go to the objects that have received the biggest number of applications. These are – in Lower Silesia: the Palace in Oleśnica Mała, the church ruins with the tower in Miłków and the Palace in Kiełczyn, and in Podlasie: the Manor in Niećkowo. You will read about those places in regional newspapers and in a dedicated article on the Foundation’s social media and website.