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32
annagut
Thisisauniquemonument,asthereisnocom-
parativeepitaphfromthemid18thcenturyinthe
nearbyregionslTheonlyothermonumentthat
survivedtoourtimesisanearlierepitaphofthe
vonderGoltzfamily,anepitaphofEwaldvonder
Goltzfrom1710l31Theepitaphismadeofbrass
intheshapeofanovalpaintedonbothsideswith
aplantornamentlOntheobversethereisanoil
portraitofthedeceased,onthereversethefamily)s
coatofarmsandaninscriptionlThemonument
iscurrentlyhousedintheCentralPomeraniaMu-
seuminSłupskl
ThedestructionofGermanmonumentswas
aratherpopularpracticeinCentralPomerania,
sincehistoricchurchfurnishingswerepredomi-
nantlycreatedforthemembersoftheGerman-
speakingLutheranculturelSuchartobjectsbecame
alegacypassedontothePolishCatholiccommu-
nity,scarredbytheeventsofthewarl
Year1945marksamajorbreakthroughinthe
attitudetothemonumentsofthiskindlWorldWar
IIbroughtaboutimportantchangesthatdramati-
callyinfluencedtheshapeofheritagemonuments
inPolandlApartfrommilitaryactivities,adecisive
roleintheprocesswasplayedbystateresettlement
oftheformerlyGermanregionsandlackofrespect
forlocalmonumentslNewinhabitantsofCentral
PomeraniahavecomefromdifferentregionsinPo-
land,theworldinwhichtheywerebornandgrew
upwasdifferentwithotherarchitecturalandcul-
turaltraditionslInconsequence,theyharboured
anindifferent,ifnotopenlynegative,attitudeto
historicalmonumentsinPomeranialIngeneral,
thenewcomersdidnothaveaccesstosourcesor
specialiststhatwouldhelpthemappreciatethe
aestheticqualitiesofsuchhistoricalobjects;conse-
quently,theyoftendidnotfeeltheneedtoprotect,
respectandlookafterthemonumentsinquestionl
Anotheraspectofthisprocessisconnected
withthepracticeofconservationlItisthejobof
aconservatortodecidewhatisamonumentand
whatisnot,whatshouldbeprotectedandwhat
shouldnotbeprotected,howthemonumentcan
bechangedorhowtorestoreitsformershape,asin
thecaseofFaustinusKnigge)sepitaphlInthePeo-
31TheepitaphwasfoundintheatticofthechurchinStare
Gronowo,adminlZłotówlIn1966themonumentwasdo-
natedbytheProvinceHeritageMonumentsProtectionOffice
inKoszalintotheCentralPomeraniaMuseuminSłupsklItis
currentlyapartofthepermanentexhibitionatthemuseum,
seeKonarska(1998:24)l
ple)sRepublicofPoland,Germanmonumentswere
asaruleconsiderednotworthyofprotection,thus
alsothesewereoftenexcludedfromstatefunding
amidatacitconsenttodestroytheremainsofthe
Germaninfluenceintheregionl
Asaresultofthemilitaryactivities,thestateand
thecommunityhadtofacetheenormoustaskof
quicklysavingandsecuringwhatwasleftofthena-
tion)sheritagelThisdemandingandurgenttaskne-
cessitatedanespeciallyquickandconsistentrealisa-
tion,especiallyinthewesternandnorthernpartsof
thecountrylThedemandsofthistaskfarexceeded
thecapabilitiesofanarrowcircleofprofessional
conservators,arthistorians,ethnographers,arche-
ologistsandmuseologistslForthisreason,local
communitieswerealsoactivelyinvolvedinsaving
thelocalheritageandhelpedtoprotectwhatthey
deemedvaluablewiththetoolsattheirdisposall32
MonumentsoftheformerKoszalinprovince33,
whichamongmanyothersincludethepresented
epitaphs,representavarietyofstylesandformsl
Theirqualitiesmaybeattributedtotheturbulence
oftheregionperipherialtootherPolishprovincesl
Theartoftheregionwasfromearlymedievaltimes
undervariousBranderburg,Pomeranian,Teutonic
andPolishinfluenceslThevaluablebuildingsand
worksofartweremadeunderthepatronageofPo-
meranianprices,bishopsofKamień,Pomeranian
aristocraticfamilies(vonderGoltz,vonPlaten,von
Podewils,vonZitzewitz,vonSydow,vonZastrow-
en,vonKleist,Adebahr)orwealthyburgesses,es-
peciallyinthequicklydevelopingmedievaltowns,
suchasSłupskorKołobrzeglManybuildingsand
artworksfoundedduringtheageshaveanexcep-
tionalsocial,economicandpoliticalcharacterl34
Today,arthistorianstrytoembracethiscom-
plicatedheritageandrestoretheseobjectstotheir
formerglorylAlthoughtheformandthecomposi-
tionofsuchobjectsweremoreorlessextensively
damaged,sofarnoresearchhasbeenconductedto
reconstructepitaphlegendslInthe21stcentury,
oldGermanmonumentsarestillnegativelyper-
ceivedwhichis,inasense,synonymouswiththrow-
ingintooblivionandcondemningthememoryof
thosewhosenamesthemonumentsweretocom-
memoratel
32Sikora(1974:7)l
33Aftertheadministrativereformof1998,Koszalinisnow
apartoftheWesternPomeraniaProvincel
3434Ptaszyńska(1974:27)l
