Landscape protection strategy to be created at the UPWr

Polish and German scientists are to develop a strategy for the development of historical cultural landscapes, for which the research model will be the garden and landscape complex in Książ. The project is being implemented by the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, the Technical University in Dresden, and other partners, including Książ Castle in Wałbrzych, the State Forests, the Polish Waters company, the Provincial Heritage Monuments Protection Office, the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection, the Lower Silesian Landscape Park Complex, the city of Wałbrzych and the city of Świebodzice .

It all started in 2016, when Dr Justyna Jaworek-Jakubska organised an exhibition about the famous landscape architect Peter Joseph Lenné, the creator of park complexes in Potsdam, Berlin, Złotów and Świnoujście. The project coordinator was Professor Marcus Köhler, who proposed an internship at the University of Technology in Dresden to a scientist from the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław. – The condition was to participate in the competition. Outstanding scientists from all over the world applied for the Dresden Fellowship scholarship, but I managed to win this difficult competition, as a result of which I worked in Dresden for six months - says Dr Justyna Jaworek-Jakubska, adding that she not only worked at the German university in research and teaching, but she has also began to work on a new project together with Prof. Köhler.

The title of the DBU (Deutschen Bundesstiftung Umwelt)-funded project is "An exemplary concept for the protection and management of cultural landscapes on the example of the Pełcznica Gorge near Książ". Its co-author, together with Prof. Köhler and Dr Jaworek-Jakubska, is engineer Marlen Hößelbarth. But why Książ?

– First of all, our university has signed a cooperation agreement with Książ Castle in Wałbrzych. Secondly, we decided to start from a place that will allow us to develop a model strategy for the integrated management of large park complexes, where various functions overlap: tourism, nature protection, monuments, and the interests of local residents – explains Dr Jaworek-Jakubska.

The scientists started working on the application to DBU in 2018. The Polish pilot project on a national scale uses the experience gained during the implementation of a similar project, which was completed last year in Prague, Czech Republic. The works were carried out on the premises of a monastery complex included on the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List and located in the protected Natura 2000 area, where concepts of integrated activities and combining all functions included in this type of monument were developed.

– The Polish project has proven processes to follow, but at the same time, as the first in our country, it is a pilot project. When we close it in 2023, we want to have a catalogue of good practices developed, taking all the stakeholders into account. But not only, because a full enquiry will also be made in the archives in Poland, Germany and England. An interactive map in GIS will also be created, on which all the changes introduced throughout the entire park and palace complex in Książ will be marked – explains Dr Justyna Jaworek-Jakubska, emphasising that the project that is already underway is revolutionary, because in Poland cultural heritage still usually refers to historic sites, and much less often parks and gardens, which are subject to faster and easier degradation processes.

From paradise gardens to a fortress

People started creating gardens hundreds of years ago. The best known mythical ones, known only from stories and fairy tales, are of course the Garden of Eden and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. In our culture the former were created in the Middle East, where it was necessary to surround them by walls to protect valuable plants from wind, sand and the scorching sun.

The enclosed space of the garden was supposed to provide not only a place to relax, but also mystical and religious experiences – this was the function of monastery gardens in the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance and Baroque periods, having a garden was also a sign of wealth. They were first established at country mansions of patricians and aristocrats, then built at the municipal properties of wealthy townspeople. The development of man-made nature did not begin until the mid-19th century, when parks began to be created in cities for the residents to enjoy. The turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was a time when gardens started becoming an integral part of the space where a house, or rather a villa, was located in a city.

– This is a brief historical overview, but Książ is unique in this regard. For us, its history in the context of landscapes begins 400 years ago, as it was initially a military castle. The first attempts to beautify its surroundings started in the 18th century. Gardens first appeared on the terraces, then the first avenue towards the summer house on Wzgórze Topolowe was built, and at the end of the century the creation of the Pełcznica Valley began, with the involvement of a famous architect and painter Christian Wilhelm Tischbein – says Dr Justyna Jaworek-Jakubska.

Tischbein was, among others, the author of the design of the picturesque, artificial ruins – the Old Książ Castle and various buildings that no longer exist today, which were to show the beauty of nature using the natural values of the valley and the river flowing through it. The early Romantic park was created in the form of a wild promenade – a path winding along the bends of Pełcznica, with squares with various buildings and sculptures appearing here and there. With time, the owners of Książ – the Hochberg family – decided to develop it into an English-style park. Successive viewing terraces were built, and the palace park was shaped from the gatehouse to the stables.

– It was a huge investment with the participation of Eduard Neide – the director of gardens in Berlin, an outstanding expert of European importance. He co-created the most famous landscape road in Książ, leading to the mausoleum. In order for it to be built, it was necessary to blow up some rocky areas, but there was a clear goal – to show the beauty of the gorge – says Dr Justyna Jaworek-Jakubska, adding that the work in Książ lasted over a dozen years, and that design plans and drawings have survived, showing the different stages of shaping the park, although not as precise as those left behind by Lenne.

– What is striking is the respect of successive generations of Hochbergs for the existing heritage. The old baroque alleys have been incorporated into the landscape part, some of them have been preserved. Today, the linden alleys delight the eye, along which there are viewpoints that open towards the mausoleum and the gorge. At the end of the nineteenth century the castle was opened to the gardens and park, and balconies and terraces were created, with stairs leading up to them. After all, the towers were staircases that led you down to the gardens and further to the Pełcznica Valley. The inhabitants' approach to the park, garden and the entire surrounding area, i.e. the river, forest and magnificent views, became paramount – emphasises the scientist from the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences.

A time of stakeholders

After the war, the enormous Hochberg estate was divided. Today its parts are managed by the State Forests, Książ Castle in Wałbrzych, the city of Wałbrzych and Świebodzice. There are also local residents and tourists visiting one of the most important attractions of Lower Silesia. – And on top of that, the protection of historical gardens or parks is generally a difficult task, because we are dealing with a live material, as are plants. Any improper decision could destroy them irretrievably – emphasises Dr Justyna Jaworek-Jakubska.

As the scientist from the UPWr explains, the project carried out in Książ primarily requires the cooperation of various institutions and finding a common ground between them – because the goal is to develop an agreement and a catalogue of good practices for all entities involved in the management of such a complex property. The project therefore consists of four modules. The first covers sustainable forest management that takes historical and visual aspects into account. The second is water management, where scientists will try to answer such questions as whether they are able to recreate the former swan pond (taking environmental and visual aspects into account). Another module is tourism – on the one hand taking care of its development, but on the other hand looking for an answer to the question of how to plan the routes, especially as there is a nature reserve on the site.

– We shall analyse whether there is a chance to plan new routes that will ensure the protection of the landscape heritage. The last area that we shall be dealing with is the conservation of garden monuments, i.e. viewpoints, patios, and terrain stairs. And again, we will have to decide whether to include all of them, because there are places where nature has done its job, there are protected plants growing there, and maybe they should be left as they look today and not be recreated – admits Dr Justyna Jaworek-Jakubska.

The scientists also plan to develop a communication concept – they intend to create a group of scientists, representatives of the project partners and external experts to jointly work out a development strategy for the area. So that at the end of the project, we shall continue to actively work together to protect the monument and cultural heritage, which is the garden and landscape in Książ. Dr Jaworek-Jakubska adds that another project is also planned - documentation of all large park landscapes, such as Kamieniec Ząbkowicki, the Valley of Palaces and Gardens.

– There are a lot of such sites, especially in the western lands. Many of them are located in protected forest areas and are of great historical and cultural value, and this is the last chance to describe and protect them. On the one hand, nature has done its job, in fact many of these magnificent parks are now forests. On the other hand, in many places the local authorities and communities undertake various activities aimed at revitalising these places and buildings, which means the irretrievable loss of something historically valuable – admits Dr Jaworek-Jakubska.

The research project: "A model concept for the protection and management of cultural landscapes based on the example of the Pełcznica Gorge near Książ", carried out by the Technical University in Dresden and the University of Environmental and Life Sciences in Wrocław, financed by DBU (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt), will last until 2023. In accordance with the adopted assumptions, it will allow for the development of a model concept for the protection and planning of the historical cultural landscape located in a naturally protected area. It will also become the basis for permanent scientific cooperation between the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences (UPWr) and the Technical University of Dresden (TUD) with the participation of regional partners for sustainable landscape development in Książ, which will contribute not only to the increase of biodiversity and preservation of cultural heritage, but will also be conducive to the development of the region (including the broad definition of tourism).

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