Gerard Antoni Ciołek

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Gerard Ciołek (1909-1966), a Polish architect, and the leading European historian of parks and gardens.

Gerard Ciołek, Tatra Mountains, Poland, mid 1950s, a photo from the collection of Dr T. Matthew Ciolek.

1 Biography
2 Publications about the work & life of Gerard Ciołek
3 Main publications by Gerard Ciołek
4 Posthumous publications
5 See also

[edit] Biography

Gerard Antoni Ciołek was born on 24 September 1909 in Wyżnica, a small town in Bukovina territory of the Austro-Hungarian empire (now Western Ukraine). His Polish parents, Adolf and Ludwika (nee Melz), were landless, impoverished nobility (i.e. landless szlachta) from Galicia and Bukovina. His father was a middle-ranking official at the Austrian Tax Office, first in Kuty, then in nearby Wyżnica, in the Carpathian ranges. Following the end of World War I, and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire, Wyżnica was incorporated into Romania. Consequently, in 1920, the Ciołeks and their children: Gerard and Irma, left Bukovina for the newly established Republic of Poland, and settled in the southern city of Lublin. There Gerard attended school and practiced sport (track and field, kayaking, skiing, and hikes in the Carpathian mountains).

In 1927, on completing high school at the Stanisław Staszic Lycee, Gerard Ciołek embarked on tertiary studies in the country's capital, Warszawa. Initially he intended to take up drawing and painting (especially “en plein air” watercolours) at the Warszawska Akademia Sztuk Pieknych (Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts). Eventually, however, he chose to study architecture at the Politechnika Warszawska (Warsaw Technical University). Architecture, in his view, was an ideal discipline as it enabled equal interaction with art, nature, and people.

In the mid-1930s Gerard Ciołek was a research assistant to professor Oskar Sosnowski (1880-1939) at the Politechnika, a man under whom he deepened his studies on Polish folk architecture, and the conservation of architectural heritage. Around 1937 he developed an interest in the history and design of parks and gardens. He was also interested in town-planning, regional planning, and in the harmony between human settlements and their fragile ecologies.

In June 1939 he married Regina (1917-2005), daughter of Tadeusz Najder (d. 1920) and Emilia Połłak (d. 1922), members of an extensive family of aristocrats, landowners, railway and sugar refinery engineers, doctors, and businessmen from Kiev and south-western Ukraine, which was then part of the Russian empire. The family, over the preceding decades, brought together Polish, Austrian, German, Czech, Latvian, Moldavian, and Armenian heritage. The family and its world became almost completely annihilated during the Bolshevik Revolution of the 1917, and Russia's Civil War.

In September 1939, during World War II, Gerard Ciołek served in the Polish Army as a lieutenant in an air-defence unit in Wilno. Between 1940-1944, during the Nazi and Soviet occupation, he lived in German-held Warszawa where he joined the Armia Krajowa ("Polish Home Army"). For his pseudonym, while in the Resistance, he chose Biała: his clan's ancient battle-cry. He was a lecturer in architecture and town planning at the underground (i.e. proscribed by the Nazis) Politechnika Warszawska. In early 1944 he obtained a PhD from that university for his research on the effect of the physical environment on the forms of villages and folk architecture in Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. In August-September 1944 he took part in the Warsaw Uprising, where he was in charge of the defence of the Biblioteka Krasinskich building (The Krasinski Library), and took part in the battle for the SS-held PASTA skyscraper). Following the defeat of the uprising he was interned in POW camps in Pomerania, and near Lübeck, in northern Germany. After the end of WWII in Europe, and a brief service with the Polish parachute brigade stationed in north-western Germany, he returned to war-devastated Poland in December 1945. He was reunited with his wife and son, Krzysztof Oskar (1940-1953) in Olsztyn.

The family returned to Warszawa. Between 1946 and his death in 1966 Gerard Ciołek was a lecturer at the Institute of Architecture at the Politechnika Warszawska. From 1948 he was also professor of Urban Planning and Landscape Design at the Politechnika Krakowska (Kraków Technical University). In the early 1950s he designed (together with Anna Górska, Jan Chmielewski, Jędrzej Czarniak i Jerzy Mokrzynski) a tourist chalet in the Tatra Mountains, the 'Schronisko Górskie PTTK w Dolinie Pięciu Stawów Polskich' (opened in 1954). During those final 20 years of work in Krakow and Warsaw he taught students at both universities, supervised some 14 PhD dissertations, worked on the reconstruction of over 100 historical parks in Poland (including the monumental parks of Arkadia, Baranów Sandomierski, Krasiczyn, Nieborów, and above all, of the Royal Park in Wilanów)), served on the Board of Directors of the Tatra Mountains National Park, and wrote more than 60 research papers and books. He is best known for his ground-breaking work: Ogrody Polskie (Gardens of Poland), published in 1954. Some ten years later, in 1965 he embarked on his largest projects yet: a history of monastic architecture in Poland over 1,000 years; and an encyclopaedia of world gardens and garden design. However, he died the next year, without ever completing the work. These, and other unpublished research materials have been catalogued and archived as the Teki Ciołka (Ciołek Files) at the Krajowy Ośrodek Badań i Dokumentacji Zabytków (KOBIDZ) (National Research and Documentation Centre) in Warszawa.

His friendships were extensive, and long-lasting. A partial list of his close colleagues and friends includes: Hanna Adamczewska-Wejchert (1920-1996), Warszawa/Tychy; Piotr Bieganski, Warszawa; Wojciech Biskot, Warszawa; Jan Bogusławski, Warszawa; Beata Maria Branicka (1926-1988), Warszawa; Stefan Bryła, Warszawa; Stanisław Bylina, Warszawa; Janusz Bogdanowski, Kraków; Jan Olaf Chmielewski (1895-1974), Warszawa; Tadeusz Dobrowolski, Kraków; Xawery Dunikowski (1875-1964), Warszawa; Wojciech Fijałkowski, Warszawa; Tadeusz Filipczak (???-1966), Warszawa; Jozef Gajek, Wrocław; Marian Gancarczyk, Warszawa; Aleksander Gieysztor (1916-1999), Warszawa; Wanda Genga, Kraków; Walery Goetel (1889-1972), Kraków/Zakopane; Tadeusz Gostyński, Warszawa/Paris; Bohdan (1904-1979) and Anna Guerquin, Warszawa/Wrocław; Romuald Gutt, Warszawa; Małgorzata Handzelewicz, Warszawa; Stanisław Herbst (1907-1973), Warszawa; Jerzy Hryniewiecki, Warszawa; Stanisław Karpiel, Zakopane; Zbigniew Karpinski, Warszawa; Stanisław Kolendo, Warszawa; Maria Konopczanka-Bisping, Kraków; Mieczysław Kucharski, Warszawa; Barbara Lenart, Warszawa; Longin Majdecki, Warszawa; Alfred Majewski, Kraków; Adam Miłobędzki, Warszawa; Stanisław Miłoszewski, Warszawa; Jan Morawinski, Warszawa; Zbigniew Myczkowski, Krakow; Paweł Mystkowski, Warszawa; Zygmunt Novák (1897-1972), Kraków; Wacław Ostrowski, Warszawa; Wanda Pencakowska, Kraków; Ksawery Piwocki, Warszawa; Boghdan Pniewski (1897-1965), Warszawa; Witold Plapis (1905-1968), Warszawa; Jadwiga Protasewicz, Warszawa; Tadeusz Przypkowski (1905-1977), Jedrzejow; Leszek Rybinski (1921-1980), Warszawa; Andrzej Solecki, Kraków; Oskar Sosnowski (1880-1939), Warszawa; Juliusz Starzynski, Warszawa; Zygmunt Swiechowski, Warszawa; Jerzy Szablowski (1906-1989), Kraków; Przemysław Szafer, Kraków; Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, Warszawa; Tadeusz Tołwinski (1887-1951), Warszawa/Kraków; Józef Vogtman, Warszawa; Jan Wegner (1909-1995), Nieborów; Kazimierz Wejchert (1912-1993), Warszawa/Tychy; Andrzej Wyrzykowski, Kraków; Jan Zachwatowicz (1900-1983), Warszawa; Stanisław Zamecznik (1909-1971), Warszawa; Stanisław Zawistowski, Warszawa; Stefan Żychon, Kraków/Zakopane.

Gerard Antoni Ciołek died on February 15, 1966 while skiing in the Tatra Mountains, in Zakopane, Poland. He was survived by his wife Regina, and by their two younger sons, Tadeusz Maciej (since 1972, T. Matthew) (b. 1947) and Tomasz Paweł (b. 1949) Ciołek.

[edit] Publications about the work & life of Gerard Ciołek

Wielka Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN. 1963-1970. Ciołek Gerard. Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe.
Wejchert, Kazimierz and Jan Zachwatowicz. 1966. Gerard Ciołek. Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbanistyki, vol. XI(3) (1966). pp. 233-245.
Miłoszewski, Stanisław. 1966. [title not known, a note about Gerard Ciołek]. Ochrona Zabytków, vol. XIX(1) (1966). pp.6-8.
Gajek, Józef. 1967. Prof. dr. inz. Gerard Ciołek. Lud, vol. LI, pt 1. Wroclaw: Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze (PTL) (1967). pp. 228-230.
Miłoszewski, Stanisław. 1968. Expertyza zbioru materiałów dokumentacyjnych i naukowych pozostajacych po prof. G. Ciołku [Expert evaluation of scholarly and documentary materials left by Prof. G. Ciołek]. (1968). Maszynopis [a manuscript]. Warszawa: Osrodek Dokumentacji Zabytkow.
Szymanski, M. 1969. Profesor dr Gerard Ciołek. Architektura. no 2/3 (1969), pp. 54
Genga, Wanda and Andrzej Wyrzykowski. 1969. Projekty G. Ciołka rekonstrukcji zabytkowych ogrodów. [G. Ciołek's designs for the reconstruction of historical gardens] Architektura no 2/3 (1969), pp.??
[Author at present unidentified]. 1971. Z. Novák, Gerard Ciołek. Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury, XI (1977) [PL ISSN 0079-3450], pp. 167-168.
Kwiatkowski, L. 1971. Materialy dokumentacyjne parków i ogrodów w Polsce zawarte w Tekach Ciołka [Documentation of parks and gardens in Poland - materials contained in the Ciołek Files]. pp. 14-21. w: Konserwacja zabytkowych parków i ogrodów w Polsce. Wrocław.
Lenard, Barbara. 1976. Parki i ogrody Polskie - sesja naukowa poswięcona pamięci Prof Dr Gerarda Ciołka. [Polish parks and gardens - a scientific meeting dedicated to the memory of Prof Dr Gerard Ciołek], Ochrona Zabytków, 1976, no 4, pp. 346-347.
Bogdanowski, Janusz. 1978. Slowo od redaktora wznowienia. w: Ciołek. G. 1978. Ogrody polskie. [A word from the editor of the updated and expanded edition. in: Ciołek. G. 1978. Gardens of Poland]. Warszawa: Arkady. pp. 296. [photographs, plans].
Bogdanowski, Janusz. ?? Ogrody polskie Gerarda Ciołka. [Gerard Ciołek's 'Gardens of Poland']. Sprawozdania z Posiedzen Komisji Naukowych, vol. XX(1), pp. 256.
Jankowska, Marta. 1981. Gerard Ciołek - badacz i konserwator ogrodow zabytkowych. [Gerard Ciolek - researcher and conservator of historic gardens] Warszawa: Osrodek Informacji PP Pracownie Konserwacji Zabytków (PKZ), 97 pp. [incl. bibliog., pp. 70-75].
Rączka, Jan Władyslaw. 1981. Znaczenie pracy Gerarda Ciolka w badaniach budownictwa i osadnictwa wiejskiego w Polsce. pp. 136-155 [The significance of Gerard Ciołek research on folk architecture and settlement patterns in Poland]. w: Materiały pokonferencyjne z II Ogólnopolskiego Sympozjum Architektury Regionalnej PAN, Kraków - Zakopane 1981. [powiel. przez Polit. Krak.] Krakow: Politechnika Krakowska.
Rączka, Jan Władyslaw. 1984. Nota biograficzna. pp. 5-9. [A biographical note] w: Ciołek, Gerard. 1984. Regionalizm w budownictwie wiejskim w Polsce [Regionalism in Polish folk architecture]. Krakow: Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kosciuszki.
Lenard, Barbara. 1986. Gerard Ciołek - w dwudziestą rocznicę śmierci. [Gerard Ciołek - on the 20th anniversary of his death], Ochrona Zabytkow, 1986,no 1, pp. 52-53.
Łuczynska-Bruzda, Maria (red.). 1989. Gerard Ciołek 1909-1966, profesor-architekt: wspomnienia, kontynuacje mysli. [Gerard Ciolek 1909-1966, Professor of Architecture: reminiscences, continuation of the school of thought]. Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kosciuszki, 0860-097X, 90 pp. [incl. bibliog. of the main works by G. Ciołek, pp. 49-56].
Holewinski, Mirosław. 1990. Rozdzial 2 - Życie i naukowa dzialalnośc Profesora Gerarda Ciołek (1909-1966). w: Naukowe podstawy konserwacji zabytkow w Polsce. [Chapter 2 - The life and professional activities of Professor Gerard Ciołek (1909-1966), in: The scholarly basis of conservation of monuments of culture in Poland]. Resortowe Problemy Badań Podstawowych RPBP I/11 (temat C.1.6.3./88-90/). Kraków: Wydzial Architektury, Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kościuszki.
Holewinski, Mirosław. 1996. Profesor Gerard Ciołek (1909-1966) wspołtwórca polskiej szkoły rewaloryzacji zabytkowych załozen ogrodowych [Professor Gerard Ciołek : Co-Creator of the Polish School of Revalorization of Monumental Garden Complexes]. Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury, XXVII (1996) [PL ISSN 0079-3450], pp. 43-60.
Łuczynska-Bruzda, Maria. ??. Od osoby Profesora przez Zespół do Instytutu Architektury Krajobrazu. [From the person of a Professor, via a Research Team, to the Institute of Landscape Architecture]. Kwartalnik Architektury i Urbanistyki, vol. ??(?) (1996?). pp. ??-??
WIEM: Wielka Internetowa Encyklopedia Multimedialna. 2000. Ciołek Gerard. Kraków: Fogra.
Wegner, Jan. ??. O pracy konserwatorskiej Profesora Gerarda Ciołka w Arkadii i Nieborowie. w: ??? [a post-1966 unidentified book, dedicated to history of the Museum in Nieborów and Arkadia, most likely it is "Pamiątkowa Księga. Nieborów 1945-1970." Warszawa, Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie, 1970. 215 p. Phot. b/w. ], pp. 137-139. [On the conservation works of Prof. Gerard Ciołek in Arkadia and Nieborów].

[edit] Main publications by Gerard Ciołek

Ciołek, Gerard. 1954. Ogrody polskie. T. 1, Przemiany treści i formy [Gardens of Poland. Vol. 1, Transformations of form and content]. Warszawa: Budownictwo i Architektura.
Ciołek, Gerard. 1955. Zarys historii kompozycji ogrodowej w Polsce [An outline of the history of garden and park design in Poland]. Materialy do projektowania. No. 4. Łódz-Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawawnictwo Naukowe.
Ciołek, Gerard. 1964. Zarys ochrony i kształtowania krajobrazu. [An outline of principles of landscape formation and conservation. Warszawa: Arkady.

[edit] Posthumous publications

Ciołek, Gerard. 1978. Ogrody polskie [Gardens of Poland]. Revised edition of the 1954 publication under the same title, updated and expanded by Janusz Bogdanowski]. Warszawa: Arkady.
Ciołek, Gerard. 1984. Regionalizm w budownictwie wiejskim w Polsce [Regionalism in Polish folk architecture]. Kraków: Politechnika Krakowska im. Tadeusza Kościuszki. [Doctoral dissertation completed in Warsaw, spring of 1944, 2 vols.].