The creator and the form cause the complex to have extraordinary historical and artistic value and make it a significant part of the natural landscape.

History

Franciszek Jerzy Łakiński (1767-1845) joined the Polish army and fought by Napoleon’s side in the years 1808-1814 as a rittmeister. He was awarded a Virtuti Militari cross and an order of the French Legion of Honour. He settled down in Wągrowiec in 1830. In his last will, he donated part of his estate to poor children, for the construction of a hospital and for other charity causes. He was buried in a six-metre-high stone-block pyramid built in advance on the basis of his own project. In his will, Łakiński explained that he had wanted to die in battle, but since it had not happened, he wished for his resting place to resemble a battlefield. He found such a place on the road between Wągrowiec and Łaziska, on a hill with an old stone pillar. In compliance with his will, trees were planted across the entire hill. Łakiński is said to have declared that Poland would regain independence once the pine trees reach the height of the tomb - words which came true in 1918.

Description

The tomb is situated on a small wooded elevation, close to the junction of Gnieźnieńska and Straszewska Streets, approx. 2 km from the centre of Wągrowiec. The place is informally called “Łakiński’s Woods” and constitutes a distinctive concentration of greenery which stands out from the landscape. The tomb was built from chipped and polished field stones on the plan of a square with 5 m sides, with a shallow niche from the south. It has the shape of a pyramid which is elongated at the top. The façades are made of layered stone blocks the size of which decreases the closer each layer is to the top. From the south, there is a bricked-up entrance to the tomb, topped with a stone lintel. Inside, there is supposed to be a tomb chamber with a coffin placed on two chains. At a distance from the tomb, in its corners, there are stone cuboid blocks placed on flat, slightly profiled stone bases. In the vicinity of the pyramid, there is a four-metre-tall Baroque column on a stepped plinth, surrounded with iron grilles, which Łakiński mentioned in his last will. A sheet metal silhouette of a horse was placed at the top at a later time. It is said that Łakiński’s horse was buried at the foot of the column. Other records say that it is the resting place of the participants of the 1848 uprising.

The site is accessible to visitors.

compiled by Beata Marzęta, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 17-11-2014.

Bibliography

• Włodzimierz Łęcki, Województwo pilskie, Warszawa-Poznań 1988
• Władysław Purczyński, Wągrowiec, przewodnik po mieście, Wągrowiec 2006
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. V, z. 27, powiat wągrowiecki, Warszawa 1964