The architecture of the Nałęczów Nursery in the context of designing kindergarten and care facilities

The article presents the history and architecture of the nursery building in Nałęczów, one of the first buildings of this type erected in rural areas of the Lublin region. This building escapes the clear stylistic classification and is an inseparable element of the cultural landscape of Nałęczów. In an attempt to determine the implementation of the Nałęczów project in comparison with other shelters created in a similar period of time, this paper takes a broader look at the problems of establishing the institution of nurseries and later transformations of such objects.

Beautiful school hill. At the front of the square, just behind the road, a beautiful brick house rises. Walls made of grey stone jointed with cement, roof's strong line broken with protruding small windows and balconies, veranda supported by arched arcades. Mighty escarpments contain the building; thick wall surrounds the square from the side of the road.1 The Nursery in Nałęczów is one of the oldest buildings designed specifically for care and education of the youngest children in Poland. Additionally the building's form and programme is considered to be superior to similar facilities located in other Polish cities or villages.

Current state of research and methodology, literature review
Research of Nałęczów's architecture, including the Nursery's building, is inhibited by the small amount of source materials such as preserved architectural projects. Building development in Nałęczów concentrated in the area administered by the Medicinal Institute. There was no need to obtain building permits through a regular project approval process, hence the lack of archival documentation. Nałęczów's Nursery, as one of the buildings 84 NAtALiA PrzeSmyckA, kAmiLA bOguSzewSkA designed by architect Jan Witkiewicz-Koszczyc, was included in a monographic study of the designer's work by M. Leśniakowska (Leśniakowska, 1998).
Authors' research and results are based in literature studies on the subject, including compilations from the period when Nursing facilities forms were formulated (the end of the 19 th century), iconographic analysis, queries in the archives of WUOZ (Voivoidship's Office for Heritage Preservation) in Lublin and authors' own field research.
This paper presents a comparative analysis of nursing facilities built at the turn of the 19 th and 20 th century in the area of present-day Poland (30 objects). The analysis took into consideration the composition of the architectural form, location in the spatial structure of the urban area, the state of preservation and contemporary role and use.
Care facilities for the youngest -function's origins Analyzing the architectural form of nursing facilities, it should be noted that its formation was sparked by the emergence of a demand for such a new function. Existing care facilities were dedicated primarily to adults: the elderly, the poor and the handicapped, their operation was often tied with charitable activities of the Catholic Church in Poland.
The institution of nurseries, which, over time, developed into modern kindergartens, became popular in the 19 th century. The movement involved with small children's nursing schools has developed intensively in the British Isles, France and Germany. In 1817 in the industrial settlement of New Lanark in Scotland, its owner Robert Owen, gathered 150 children aged 2 to 7 years under the care of one of the weavers -John Buchman. The children were looked after while their mothers were at work. The so called Infants Schools developed further both as institutions and teaching methods. The intensive development of nurseries also took place between 1890 and 1923 in the United States where, together with other forms of charity institutions, their formation became an inseparable element of civic duties.
The first nursery in the Kingdom of Poland was established in Warsaw as the initiative of Teofil Janikowski, a member of the Charitable Society (Towarzystwo Dobroczynności), in 1840, and within the next 9 years the number of Warsaw nurseries increased to eight.2 In the early years of functioning, the employees in these nurseries were exclusively men, but in a short time this occupation became the domain of women.3 Simultaneously, religious organisations and religious orders also started to create nurseries.
The first nursery in Silesia was established in Opava by the Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis in June 1849, initially accepting 60 children. Karol Antoniewicz describes it the following way: "In the town of Freuwaldau, in Silesia, at the foot of the Grafenburg Mountain, world-famous for Priessnitz's water treatment, there is a small, slim house on an outside street. Enter this house if you are sad, your heart is heavy, and you will be comforted if you have the faith and love of God and people in your heart! (...) a children next to each other develop in work and prayer! (...) Children learn to mend, stich, pray and love God, covered from the evil influence of corruption, who left to themselves, living the street life, would inevitably die, both physically and eternally!"4 The nursery was a modestly equipped building -in one room there was a table, "several benches for children, a few pictures and a little stoop and a moneybox for charity donations, visiting the nursery". The institution had a religious character, according to the belief that prayer can save from corruption and demoralisation.

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In the second half of the 19 th century the forms of pre-school institutions were diversified; urban, rural, factory nurseries as well as children's gardens were created, whose functioning was closest to that of modern kindergarten. In larger cities the so-called Fröbel's gardens (Friedrich Froebel Approach) began to be organized, which, in contrast to the nurseries, were targeted at children of wealthier classes, preparing them for later school education. The nursing facilities supervisory function gradually evolved in favour of care and educational functions, conducted by professional societies. 5 With time, the nurseries begun to be established in village areas as well, where they had a different character from those functioning in cities. The aim of rural nurseries was not to change the way rural children were formed, nor was their education. These nurseries were supposed to "protect the body and soul of a village child; to teach the Lord's Prayer as well as the first principles of faith and morality" and "to awaken minds with skillful conversation, work and play" (p. 19). For this reason, nurseries for rural children operated differently from those for urban children. Rural nurseries were primarily intended to help bring up the youngest children from the poorest families, relieving their working mothers.6 Helping villagers to raise their offspring was considered to be the duty of the "higher classes". There was a close relation between the way the child was brought up in the countryside and its future role in society, shaping its character and health (through hardening) to perform heavy physical work from an early age (p. 10). By the age of seven or eight, the child "can be of help around the house only temporarily and to a very limited extent", at the ages of eight and ten, children's help with farm work began to be effective, and later they quickly became coworkers. The difficulty of farm work was dosed with age: from helping with picking forest fruits, mushrooms, peeling potatoes, bringing food to field workers, taking care of animals (herding), simple field work (guiding a horse while harrowing, helping with harvest), to the most demanding ones -i.e. operating sokha or plough, which boys usually mastered at the age of about 19, which was also the time of finding a mate and getting married.
The enfranchisement of peasants (1864) resulted in a change in socio-economic relations in the countryside. Charity institutions were to be moved from parish custody to communal management. However, the commune boards were not interested in the organization of nurseries, nor did they have at their disposal the means to do so.
It was particularly important to organize nurseries for children of the farm workers. Among the functional and accommodation guidelines for the nursery facility, the dominant belief was that their standard should be appropriate to the level of wealth of the families from which the children came and to not exceed it in any way, so as not to "arouse the whims towards the position and wealth of parents".7 The cleanliness of the interior, the modesty and functionality of the equipment, the heating capacity ("it is good to instal the fireplace next to the stove"), good lighting, the floor made of boards and the possibility of opening windows (vents), were mandatory requirements for the building or room of the nursery. The children had to be provided with appropriate low benches, while the nurse had to be provided with a desk with a drawer and several chairs. Altar was an obligatory element of decor, the function of which could also be performed by a table covered with a cloth and placed by the wall.8 The nursery's equipment for playing and learning indicated in the nineteenth-century handbooks were sand trays, chalkboards and abacuses but still the most important were the wallboards with religious inscriptions.
Educational and pedagogical ideas were developed in intelligentsia social circles. Helping people from lower social classes was also one of the determinants of the patriotic civic stance. Many eminent contemporary intellectuals, educators and creators were concerned with the problems of early education and upbringing, physical condition and health of children. Many of whom were visiting Nałęczów, as the popular health resort at the turn of the 19 th and 20 th century. The particular development of education in Nałęczów was influenced by such personalities as: Bolesław Prus,9 Stefan Żeromski, Faustyna Morzycka, and, above all, members of the "Światło" Educational Society. 5   The schools of Nałęczów are still a phenomenon on a national scale. In a small private town before World War II there were a number of educational institutions with a diverse offer. One of them was the Nursery established at the beginning of the 20 th century.

Main objectives and tasks of the "Światło" Educational Society
The Educational Society "Światło" was established in Nałęczów in 1906.14 It's establishment was a resut of the activity of educated and progressive people such as Stefan Żeromski, Gustaw Daniłowski or Faustyna Morzycka. Officially, in August 1906 "Światło" was registered with associations and unions for the Lublin Governorate. Its main objective was to provide educational and cultural activities for the benefit of fellow citizens.
"Światło" operated without the support from the state -it was a grassroots organization. It's motto was "People's education is a debt owed by the enlightened circles to the whole of the nation" together with a belief that "the prosperity of the nation and the whole country" rests upon them. Each member of the Society was obliged to work in "one of its departments" and should "in cultural matters renounce all political, party or social considerations."15 "Światło" organized courses for illiterate peasants, created a system of primary education and Polish textbooks for people.16 Educational programmes were developed to supplement and deepen the already acquired education -agricultural courses (School of Female Landowners, Courses for Peasants, etc.).17 There was a 10 20 One such buildings is the Nałęczów Nursery. Originally, the Nursery, like many similar institutions, found its place in a building not designed for this specific purpose -in the Józefinka villa. From 1905 it was located in the Octavia villa, except during the summer period, when the rooms of the Octavia villa were rented to the sanatorium patients, and the Nursery functioned in a nearby building. Later it was moved to a villa rented from Mr Trojanowski. 21 The building of the Nursery, also known as the "House of Light" (Dom Światła) was erected on commission from Stefan Żeromski. This was associated with the writer's initiative to open the aforementioned People's University, which was inaugurated on the 75 th anniversary of the November Uprising,22 and the need to create a nursery for the children of craftsmen and farm workers. 23 The building was built in 190624 it was designed free of charge by Jan Witkiewicz-Koszczyc.25 Funds for the construction of the Nursery came mostly from Stefan Żeromski (honorarium for his novels "The Wages of Sin" and "Ashes"), as well as from community contributions and a book published in order to obtain funds under the title "For a new school".26 Stefan Żeromski was very invested in the project -he himself ordered roof tiles and other materials. The final construction cost was estimated as follows: -Masonry work amounted to one and a half thousand roubles,

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NAtALiA PrzeSmyckA, kAmiLA bOguSzewSkA wood -about a thousand roubles, and ceramic roofing tile 355 roubles27. The building of the Nursery was erected by local builders: Łuka, Lenartowicz, Oreszczyński, Krajewski and Pakuła.28 The Nursery building was located on a plot purchased by Stefan Żeromski from Michał Górski near the Poniatówka Hill at Poniatowski Street (Fig. 1). The area of the plot was nearly 3,000 m2 and sloping to the east. The difference in altitude was quite significant and originally amounted to 13 meters. The building is located in the eastern part of the plot right next to Poniatowski Street. The Nursery building has been very well adapted to the surrounding area, using the plot's difficult topography. The building was separated from the street by a stone fence -a retaining wall, which was erected in 1909.29 On a postcard from that time you can see that the limestone wall separating the plot was also located on the northern side of the plot. The garden was arranged to form a landscape -plants were planted in groups and the geometry of the walking path was designed to resemble an English garden. Due to the terrain's requirements, terraces were used in the Nursery's garden. Dancing squares and sand playgrounds surrounded by turf benches were located in the central part of the garden. The garden was planted with pines, groups of birches and also had a field for vegetable plant farming.30 Behind the Nursery's building, facing the garden, there was a dugout cellar hidden in the slope of the escarpment.
The usable area of the Nursery building was 130 m2 and was intended for about forty children.31 The building served primarily the children of farmers from the surrounding villages: Charza, Bochotnica, Strzelec, as well as the children of employees of the Medicinal Institute and staff from private villas.32 The Nursery was built of limestone and ceramic brick, which were fashioned into architectural decorations, such as, among others: window frames -arches of windows, blind windows, etc. The Nursery's Designer Jan Witkiewicz-Koszczyc applied a characteristic arrangement of bricks (alternating the stretcher and header sides of bricks) contrasting with the white limestone, a solution often repeated in other public buildings erected in Nałęczów at that time. The form of the Nursery referred to the national style popular in Polish architecture in the first quarter of the 20 th century.33 The single-storey building, supported by a brick foundation, has a utility attic and basement. The body of the Nursery has been covered with a steep, multi-sloped roof with various angles of inclination, which line broken with protruding small windows and balconies, covered with ceramic tiles. The top of the eastern front elevation was emphasized with blind windows, crowned with a rectangular plaque with the year 1906 and a thistle branch -the symbol of Young Poland and an inscription Jan Witkiewicz-Koszczyc. The characteristic element of the building is the veranda on the side of Poniatowski Street (eastern front facade), which was supported by quadrangular columns reinforced with buttresses and wide arcades.
The building was supposed to evoke a feeling of "cosiness" -provide a sense of security and shelter. This effect was achieved by the use of protruding hoods and characteristic curves. Thanks to this, the architecture of the building has gained a "fairy tale, childlike element." The architectural detail characteristic to the design of Witkiewicz's Nursery, which was present in the building's body, both inside and outside, was a pinnacle, in the form of a geometrised flower bud, crowning the tops of the facade and repeated inside, in the staircase balustrade's detail.
Functionally, the building consisted of a vestibule (veranda), cloakroom and a spacious hall which had the capacity to be separated into two smaller rooms (Fig. 2). The institution's facilities were a small kitchen located in the eastern part with a warehouse and a toilet. This part of the building could be entered by a separate entrance. The rest of the internal area was dedicated to communication, children's toilets and a boiler room.  The building together with the Jordan's garden was put into use on 19.07.1907. Stefan Żeromski, Oktawia Żeromska and Henryka Witkiewicz took custody of the building. Due to financing problems of the institution, in 1915 the Nursery and the school were closed down. During the war, soldiers were stationed in the Nursery and it was only after their departure that it resumed its activity. In 1918, with the consent of the founder of the facility, the Nursery received the name "Adam Żeromski Nursery" in honour of the Stefan Żeromski's deceased son. Jan Witkiewicz-Koszczyc, its designer, was responsible for the conservation of the building from 1908 for nearly forty years (after the war) as an employee of the General Directorate of Museums and Heritage Protection.
In 1920 Stefan Żeromski handed the Nursery over to the Government of the Republic of Poland35 at whose expense the renovation was carried out. Since then, the Nursery has become the property of the state and has become the oldest state kindergarten in Poland.
the Architecture OF the NAłęczów NurSery iN the cONtext OF deSigNiNg kiNdergArteN 91 nurseries located in larger cities, the attractive architectural form was conducive to adaptation to contemporary purposes (Bydgoszcz, Anna Scheibler Nursery in Łódź, nurseries in Warsaw).
An example of the harmonious extension and transformation of a nursery building to changing needs, while maintaining the basic function is the building in Szynwałd. The three-storey brick building was quickly expanded and transformed into a women's school. Currently, the function of a kindergarten run by nuns has returned.
The Nałęczów Nursery building after World War II was renovated by the Craftsmen Cooperative of Renovation and Building Services, as a result of which the truss and roofing were partially replaced and the interiors were refreshed. 41 The nursery served as a kindergarten for over 100 years. In 2001 the kindergarten function was moved from the Nursery to a new building erected at E. Szelburg-Zarembina Street in Nałęczów. The building was later leased and renovated by the Villa Polonia Foundation, it also served as the seat of the Society of Friends of Nałęczów. According to the inhabitants of Nałęczów, this function has grown so strong in the landscape of Nałęczów that it was opted for the building to serve as the Museum of Kindergarten Education and the Nałęczów Museum.42 Currently, the "House of Light" is the seat of the Bolesław Prus Museum.43 The museum is situated on the outskirts of the main walking routes of patients and tourists, not enjoying special popularity. However, the very fact that the facility retains a public utility function is worth emphasizing.