Conservation of the castle hill in Gniew in the years 1961–2011. Half a century in the history of the monument

The castle hill complex in Gniew is one of the most valuable monuments associated with the Teutonic state. Destroyed and rebuilt many times in its history, the convent castle, the seat of Polish aldermen, in the 19th century a warehouse, then a prison and barracks, destroyed by fire in 1921, remained in the form of a ruin for a number of subsequent decades. The beginning of architectural research, design, construction and restoration work on the site of the Gniew Castle dates back to the 1960s. The article presents the results of the work carried out by Monuments' Conservation Workshops (PP Pracownie Konserwacji Zabytków) in 1962–1990, as well as the hitherto unpublished results of the historical-architectural study of the castle hill development carried out in 1972–1973. The author's concept for the adaptation of the castle, made in 1973 on the basis of the results of the research and chronological stratification, will also be presented. Based on the principle of limited intervention in the structure of the monument, using the involvement of local residents and local investment potential, the first stage of adaptation work was carried out in 1991–2001, with the active participation of the provincial conservator of monuments. Implementation of the second stage in 2002–2011 consisted of modification of the utility program resulting from new expectations focused on serving tourist traffic adapted to the real possibilities of financing. Over a period of fifty years, thanks to the activities of many people and institutions, in the changing organizational and financial environment with the evolution of the theory of historic preservation, the castle in Gniew was brought to a state that allows its use. The fundamentally changed architectural concept and the related nature and scope of construction and conservation work carried out after 2011 marked the time caesura of this article.