The composition of the magnificent façade is reminiscent of the eastern façade of the Louvre and constitutes an important accent in the urban composition of the square, closing its northern frontage from the east. The basis of the library collection was the book collection donated by Count E. Raczyński. Consistently supplemented during the nearly 190 years of its existence, it is now one of the most valuable library collections in Wielkopolska.

The monument is located in the area of the Monument of History “Poznań - the historical city complex” (Regulation of the President of Poland of 28-11-2008).

History of the structure

The Raczyński Library building was founded by Count Edward Raczyński between 1822 and 1829 on a plot of land he purchased in 1821, located in the north-eastern corner of Wilhelmowski Square (now Wolności Square) and Wilhelmowska Avenue (now Marcinkowskiego Avenue). Its authors were most probably French architects working in Rome: Charles Percier and Pierre-François-Leonard Fontaine, who, when designing the building, used the instructions given to them by E. Raczyński. The purpose of establishing the library, as stated by the founder in its statute, was to “facilitate the means of acquiring science and knowledge to everyone”, which was to be achieved by the donation of a book collection (approx. 13,000-17,000 volumes) and adequate funds for its endowment. Moreover, the third paragraph of the statute included a provision that “it is the intention of the Raczyński Library that everyone shall have the right to use the reading room to be established therein on the days and during the hours indicated”. The ownership title to the library was transferred by the founder to the city under the terms of this document. Part of the rooms in the building were used for residential purposes. The first floor housed, among others, the apartment of the Count and his closest family. In addition, the building was also used by numerous tenants, which over time began to hinder the functioning of the library which was expanding its collection, among others, through purchases and donations. Connected with the library was a gallery building along Wilhelmowska Avenue (now Marcinkowskiego Avenue), intended to house the collection of paintings belonging to Edward’s brother, Atanazy, which, however, was ultimately not placed there, but transferred by its owner to Berlin.

The library building did not undergo any major transformations until 1918. Only the layout of the rooms in the interior changed. In 1864 gas lighting was introduced (changed to electric lighting in 1900), and in 1866 a water supply was provided. In 1924, as a result of exhaustion and devaluation of funds from the foundation of Count Raczyński, the financing of the library was taken over by its owner, i.e. the city. At that time, the remaining, previously rented premises were also allocated for its activities. In the 1920s, renovation works were carried out, central heating was installed, furnishings were supplemented. The library housed seven reading rooms at that time. The celebration of the library’s 100th anniversary in 1929 coincided with the General National Exhibition in Poznań.

During the Nazi occupation, the library was only accessible to Germans. Some of the rooms were rebuilt. There was a large reading room on the ground floor, and an exhibition room on the first floor. In 1943 it was decided to secure the most valuable collections belonging to the library (except Polish old prints), which on the initiative of Józef Raczyński, were transported to his residence in Obrzycko.

In early 1945, during the ongoing battles for the city, the library and its remaining collections were set on fire and almost completely destroyed. After the war, the part that had survived in Obrzycko became the basis for the reconstruction of the book collection, which had been almost 90% destroyed. A decision was made to rebuild the destroyed building, which began in 1953, based on a project developed by Janina Czarnecka, with the participation of her husband Władysław, which also took into account its expansion on the north side. The rebuilt library building was put into use in 1956. Behind the fairly faithfully reconstructed façade were the rooms arranged in a new layout that took into account the originally planned but never realized expansion of the building. This concept was revisited at the beginning of the 21st century. In the competition for the design of the new wing of the library, announced in 2003, the winner was a design proposal by the JEMS Architekci studio from Warsaw. Its construction began in 2009 and was completed in 2013.

Description of the structure

The Raczyński Library is located in the city centre, in the northeast corner of Wolności Square, with its facade facing the square and its east gable elevation facing Marcinkowskiego Avenue. From the west it is connected with the neighbouring building by an arcade wall. Adjacent to it on the north, preceded by a glass connector, is the new library building on Marcinkowskiego Avenue, built in 2009-2013.

The classicist Raczyński Library was built on a rectangular floor plan, made of brick and plastered. The building is cuboidal, cellared, three-stories high, covered with a low hipped roof covered with sheet metal.

The front and rear elevations are thirteen-axis. The imposing façade on the side of the square is similar in composition to the eastern façade of the Louvre. The first storey is rusticated, with rectangular window openings and a similarly shaped door opening on the axis, closed with a double door with the Nałęcz coat of arms of the Raczyński family separated in the central part by a motif of lion heads with door knockers. The elevation on the second and third storey is set back, preceded by a loggia with twelve pairs of Corinthian columns standing on high pedestals connected by a balustrade. The window openings are rectangular, smaller on the third storey, similar in shape to squares, with decorative frames consisting of sills supported by corbels and pilasters supporting cornice sections. The façade is crowned with a corbel cornice protruding from its face and a balustrade attic covering the roof, interrupted in the middle by a triangular pediment. The side elevations are varied by central, faux, three-axial avant-corpses; on the eastern side, on the first floor, with a balcony supported by corbels.

The layout of the interior, transformed from the original during the post-war reconstruction, is two-bay in the central part, embraced by large halls on the sides. On the axis is a large hall with two opposite flights of stairs on the north side leading to the floors. The motif of fasces in the balustrade was also used in the staircase in the Raczyński Palace in Rogalin, rebuilt after 1815. The interiors are decorated with stucco ornaments: rustication, acanthus leaves and rosettes placed in the crown moulding. The room on the first floor is equipped with wall shelves and library cabinets separated by columns.

Visitor access. The site is accessible to the general public. More information about the activities of the Raczyński Library, its collections, opening hours and rules for making the collections available can be found at www.bracz.edu.pl (accessed 20-12-2017).

Compiled by Anna Dyszkant, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Poznań, 21.12.2017

Bibliography

• Atlas architektury Poznania, ed. J. Pazder, Poznań 2008, p. 322.
• Baszko A., “Gmach, który zna każde dziecko polskie, podobnie jak Wawel, jak Stare Miasto w Warszawie”. Biblioteka Raczyńskich, “Kronika Miasta Poznania” 2014, no. 4, pp. 127-146.
• Kaczkowski A., Biblioteka Raczyńskich, Warszawa – Poznań 1978.
• Ostrowska-Kębłowska Z., Architektura i budownictwo w Poznaniu w latach 1780-1880, Poznań 2009, pp. 192-203.
• Statut Biblioteki Raczyńskich w Poznaniu, Biblioteka Raczyńskich, manuscript no. 124.