Legnica, games on ice, c. 1866/1887, Theodor Blätterbauer / Georg Pommer by Theodor Blätterbauer / Georg PommerCopper Museum
How did Legnica look centuries ago? The preserved iconographic evidence can partially answer this question. The iconography of Legnica has so far been the subject of few historical studies, the subject of several exhibitions, and the leitmotif of collections created in museums in Legnica both before and after World War II.
Legnica, city panorama from the south, c. 1737, Friedrich Bernhard Werner by Friedrich Bernhard WernerCopper Museum
Before 1945, in the no longer existing Lower Silesian Museum in Legnica, there was a collection of views of Legnica, created over the years. It contained many panoramas made in various techniques and eras.
The collection then became the subject of interest for Wolfgang Scheffler, an art historian with extensive museum experience, who in 1941 became the director of the Legnica museum.
The priority task at that time was the completion of the reconstruction of the facility, which began in 1938, and its re-opening to visitors, which took place on December 16, 1941.
Legnica, Bilse square by Author unknownCopper Museum
During World War II, under unknown circumstances, the Lower Silesian Museum's collections, including the iconography of Legnica, were destroyed or dispersed. To this day it has not been possible to establish where they are. The building of the museum itself (on the left side of the postcard)
Legnica, the former palace of Lubiąż abbots, now the Copper Museum by Author unknownCopper Museum
The first Polish museum was established in Legnica in 1962 in the baroque palace of the abbots of Lubiąż. The Copper Museum, despite its specialisation, has a history of the city and region, including before the war. To this day, it has managed to create a collection of iconography.
From the beginning, the museum staff tried to make up for the losses incurred as a result of World War II. They created, among others, a collection of old and modern views of Legnica. Currently, the collection includes over 200 works created in various graphic and painting techniques from the end of the 16th century to this day.
Panorama of Legnica c. 1852, Johann Poppel (1807–1882) by Johann PoppelCopper Museum
The collection of city views is a unique record of the architectural and urban transformations of Legnica. Often today, there is no trace of fortifications, many sacred and secular buildings. The towers of the castle, the churches of the Virgin Mary, and St. John's can still be seen from almost anywhere in the area.
The rich and varied iconography is created by the works of artists who, over the centuries and using various techniques, preserved the urban landscape, retained for the next generations the image of the surrounding architecture, monuments of the past, or the bustle of street life...
Panorama of Legnica (1839) by Author unknownCopper Museum
What did the castle, town hall, Church of the Virgin Mary, and other monuments of Legnica look from the 16th century to 1945? For the next generation, the artists kept the image of the surrounding architecture, monuments of the proud past, or the buzz of street life. In 2020, the Copper Museum opened an exhibition of iconography, during which the museum's collection of old views of Legnica was shown for the first time.
Panorama of Legnica Liginicium, c. 1580, before 1592 by Author unknownCopper Museum
The Piast Castle in graphics and painting
The castle is one of the most important buildings in Legnica. For over 750 years (until 1945) it was the seat and symbol of territorial authority: Piast princes, Habsburg starosts, Prussian and German registry offices. It is also a magical place. The earthen mound on which the building was erected hides the nucleus of a modern city.
Panorama of Legnica from the north-west. The city is surrounded by defensive walls, embankments and a moat. The buildings of the castle complex with the Lubin Tower, the Tower of St. Peter, the Palas, the Tower of St. Jadwiga and the chapels of St. Benedict and St. Lawrence are on the left side.
In 2020, a film was made about this facility as part of the "Virtual Legnica Historical Walks" series. During the speech, phenomena occurred that had occurred on the castle hill over the course of over 1,000 years: the construction of the first fortifications, incorporation into the Piast state, access to a brick spring and changes that occurred in this area in the late Middle Ages and the modern period.
Castle in Legnica Königl. Schloss zu Liegnitz, 1894, Theodor Blätterbauer (1894) by Theodor BlätterbauerCopper Museum
For centuries, the western tower of the castle was named after Saint. Jadwiga. At the beginning of the 15th century, thanks to Prince Louis II, a chamber was created there, then called "the old apartment of Saint Hedwig". Why? You can read about it in the folder published by the Copper Museum and on the Internet --> Green Room in the tower of St. Jadwiga of Legnica Castle
Mariacki Square with the Church of the Virgin Mary and a fountain commemorating the First Lower Silesian Craft ExhibitionCopper Museum
Evangelical Church of St. Virgin Mary
This is where Prince Henry the Pious is said to have prayed before the great battle with the Mongols in 1241. The Church of the Virgin Mary was built on the site of two previous temples: Romanesque and early Gothic. Sources first mention the existence of the church in 1195. In 1522, the first evangelical service was held here. Since then, the temple has continuously served evangelicals
Henryk Pobożny going to the Tatars (1881) by Edward Nicz wg Jana MoniuszkiCopper Museum
We all know the information recorded by Długosz that a brick fell in front of Prince Henry the Pious as he was leaving the temple on horseback after the mass before the battle in 1241. This was interpreted as a bad sign and an announcement of defeat.
Panorama of Legnica in the background of the scene of the death of Prince Henry the Pious during the battle of 1241, Gottlieb Boettger Senior (1808) by Gottlieb Boettger SeniorCopper Museum
Legnica in the shadow of the battle of 1241
On April 9, 1241, two worlds met in the Battle of Legnica. On the one side stood the Mongols, called Tatars in Europe, who came from the depths of the Asian steppe. Marked by many victories, the march also took them to areas of Poland weakened by district divisions.
Legnica in the shadow of the battle of 1241
Miedziorytnicza panorama Legnicy ukazana została w tle sceny śmierci księcia Henryka Pobożnego podczas bitwy. Na rozpościerającej się w dalszym planie weducie miasta dostrzec można wieże barokowego kościoła św. Jana, kościół Marii Panny oraz Zamek Piastowski.
As part of the previously mentioned series of historical film walks around our city, we also created an episode in which, among others, we talk about the history of this church, but also about another equally important monument for our city, i.e. the Mausoleum of the Silesian Piasts.
View of the market square and the Peter and Paul church in Legnica, c.1945 by Author unknownCopper Museum
St. Peter and Paul Cathedral
In 1884, the church looked like a sandstone building with one tower with a clock. A thorough reconstruction completed in 1894 changed the exterior and interior of the temple. It was then that it was faced with machine-made bricks and a southern tower was added. The history of the temple goes back centuries. It was first mentioned in a document issued in 1208 by Prince Henry the Bearded. Originally, it was a brick Romanesque church, built on the site of a small wooden chapel.
The illustration on the left shows a view of the eastern part of the Market Square towards the church of St. Peter and Paul, whose silhouette is shown in the depths. The charming winter landscape shows the Christmas market, traditionally held here. The roofs of the church and surrounding buildings and stalls are covered with snow. The watercolor on the right, dated 1889, shows a fragment of the interior of the then Evangelical church of Peter and Paul, with wooden galleries covered with polychrome and old furnishings. In the next decade, the interior of the temple changed dramatically due to the controversial neo-Gothic reconstruction, completed in 1894.
View of the Market Square in Legnica, 19th / 20th century by Gustav HenkelCopper Museum
Old Town Hall
The building resembling a baroque palace, which housed the town hall, was built in 1737-1741 according to the design of the local builder Franz Michael Scheerhofer the Younger. The last time the councilors gathered there was in 1905. Today it is the seat of the Theater. Helena Modrzejewska.
Legnica, the market square, c. 1945 by Author unknownCopper Museum
Fish stalls
These 16th-century Renaissance tenement houses survived the demolition of the old town in the 1960s. They were built in the place of medieval fish stalls, which is where their name comes from. Two of the herring houses in Legnica are still decorated with sgraffito.
Knight's Academy in Legnica, 1741, C. M. Trapp (1741) by C. M. TrappCopper Museum
Knight's Academy
An elite university educating only noble youth was established in Legnica in 1708. It was proclaimed by decree of Emperor Joseph I of Habsburg. The school had a parity character, serving both Protestants and Catholics, which was unique in Silesia. It is an example of Baroque architecture of the highest class.
View of the Market Square in Legnica, 19th / 20th century by Gustav HenkelCopper Museum
The Knights' Academy prepared students to hold state offices and command positions in the army. Today it is the seat of: the Legnica Cultural Center, a music school, the Civil Registry Office and the Copper Museum. The baroque fountain of the Water Maiden still stands nearby.
St. Jana with a complex of school buildings in Legnica, early XVIII centuryCopper Museum
Church of st. John the Baptist
Jesuit Church of St. John was built in the years 1714-1727 on the site of a Gothic temple. It is one of the leading objects of Baroque religious architecture in Silesia. This is where the Piast mausoleum is located, where the last male descendant of the family, Prince George Wilhelm, rests.
The Piast Mausoleum in the Church of St. John in Legnica, 1841. (1841)Copper Museum
Mausoleum of the Silesian Piasts
Piast Mausoleum in the church of St. John the Baptist was built in 1677-1679. The first Baroque tomb chapel in Silesia is one of the most outstanding monuments of the era, combining all fields of art into a harmonious whole: architecture, sculpture and painting.
This is where George Wilhelm, the last of the Piast dynasty, rests. Princess Louise, aware of the political consequences of her son's death and the historical importance of the family, built a family mausoleum which was also a monument to the entire dynasty.
Street near the church of St. John, c.1887 by Theodor BlätterbauerCopper Museum
Opposite the Church of St. John is the former palace of the abbots of Lubiąż, today the seat of the Copper Museum. It was erected in the years 1726-1728 by the builder from Legnica, Karl Martin Frant.
Panorama of Legnica, 1819 (1819) by Haenel / Carl Friedrich StuckardtCopper Museum
Legnica is full of secrets and stories worth knowing, so we invite you to view our collections, through which you can see how our city has changed over the centuries.
Grażyna Humeńczuk, Konrad Byś, Tomasz Grabowski
