Category: Other

The building administrated by Special School and Educational Centre has got quite rich history and at the same time important for the national identity of the society of Krasnystaw. It was built at the beginning of the last century for the purpose of a casino for the officers of the tsarist garrison. During the period of intense fighting for Krasnystaw in the summer 1914 and in the summer 1915 military lazerat was located there. On January 3rd 1917 Austrian occupation authorities agreed to open a men's gymnasium for young people from Krasnystaw. It was the first Polish Real Gymnasium in Krasnystaw. It functioned for many years and over time girls also could study in this school. The first director of the Men's Gymnasium in Krasnystaw was a Polish officer, captain of Austro-Hungarian army Jan Wowczak. It is a classic example of the numerous presence of our compatriots in the uniforms of the armies of the partitioning states on almost every fronts of World War I. During World War II German occupiers closed the gymnasium, because Polish childern were not allowed to educated themselves more than in public school and vocational school. Over the period of the German occupation the garrison headquarters were located here. After war students came back to this building again. Special School and Educational Centre of the name of Maria Doroszewska began functioning here in 1968.

In the mid-nineteenth century, the lands of the complex belonged to the nearby Roman Catholic parish of St. Francis Xavier. The former manor house was erected in the first half of the nineteenth century. It was built in the classicist style, facing south. It is wooden, plastered and has a basement with a four-column portico from the front. In 1865 the tsarist authorities confiscated the property, that came under the control of the empire's treasury, specifically the authorities of the governorate. It was leased first to the Dziewicki family, who lived in Krasnystaw for many years. After the stay of the Dziewicki family, a souvenir in the form of a modest building was left in our city. It is the grave of the family in the parish cemetery in Krasnystaw. The last tenants were the Radomyski family. Henryk Radomyski served as the mayor of Krasnystaw. He was arrested by Germans and murdered at the Lublin Castle in February 1942. After 1944, the manor land was parceled out and the buildings were handed over to various institutions. The government estate "Starostwo Krasnostawskie" consisted of two manors before the war: „Starostwo”, on the territory of which the manor house stood and the grange "Rońsko". Currently, the manor house has undergone a thorough renovation and since October 2015 it has been the seat of the Center for Social Integration.

It is considered as the largest castle in Poland. It was erected on the eastern side of the Vistula River. The castle was built and expanded at the end of the XVI century on the site of the former family seat of the Krupski family by the Chełm chamberlain Paweł Orzechowski, coat of arms Rogala. It was expanded in 1604 – 1608. The castle was in the hands of the Orzechowski family until 1644. This historical building was located on a platform similar to a rectangle. An ensemble consists of the proper castle and the castle boroughs. These buildings form a closed fortified circuit. It is made of stone and brick. The castle proper is located in the western part and separated by an internal moat, included in the perimeter of the defensive walls with bastions on the north-east and south corners. In the area of castle boroughs there was once an economic courtyard with buildings and the main entrance from the north-east with a drawbridge and a gate. The castle was destroyed in 1648 – 1660 during the Cossack invasion and the Swedish Deluge. Since the second half of the XVIII century, the castle has been in ruins.

In October 2017, the ceremonial opening of the pilgrimage route ‘The way of life of the Blessed Priest Zygmunt Pisarski’ took place. Individual places are called ‘Stations’. The originator and coordinator of the creation of the trail was Zbigniew Atras. This trail presents 12 places in Krasnystaw related to the life of the Blessed Priest Zygmunt Pisarski. In each of these places there is an information board. On 3rd June 1999 Pope John Paul II beatified 108 martyrs from the last war, among them was Blessed Priest Zygmunt Pisarski. On 13th June 2021 on the town square in Krasnystaw there were celebrations related to the granting of the patron in person of Blessed Priest Zygmunt Pisarski to the city of Krasnystaw and the 627th anniversary of granting city rights. More information about the trail can be found on the website: www.pielgrzymkrasnostawski.pl

At the back of the former seminary there is a Biblical Garden of St. John Paul II. It spreads on the surface of 3 hectares. A prelate Henryk Kapica, a former parish priest of the St. Francis’s Church, was an originator and founder of this garden.The main theme of the garden were Stations ot the Cross. The official opening took place on June 17th 2012. There are about 100 species of biblical plants. There is a plate with Polish and Latin name at each plant, a scripture quote and a few sentences about this plant. The garden abounds in plants rarely grown in Poland (including Babylonian willow, ‘burning bush’). For winter lots of these plants are transferred to plants are transferred to the interior of the Jesuit college and the church, where temperature is more close to natural. Next to the aforementioned Carmel, a garden was created in honor of the great missionary St. Franciszek Ksawery, patron of the local parish. It was arranged according to the art of Japan and China, i.e. wind and water. The centre of the garden is occupied by a chinese – style chapel. The harmony of the garden was achieved through soft shapes and flowing lines, uneven terrain, winding paths and water reservoirs. The composition of the garden is complemented, among others, by plants: Chinese metasequoia, Manchurian willow, Japanese golden-grained, star magnolia, palm maples. The last part of the garden is consecrated in honor of the blessed priest Zygmunt Pisarski. Its centre is a chapel in the Old Polish style.

A curiosity of a Krasnystaw park is a kneelig tree. It is an ashleaf maple growing at a town square. It is about 67 years old. Its special feature is the trunk construction. In 2018 this maple became ‘The Tree of the Year 2018’ in Polish edition of the contest organised by Gaja Club. In 2019 this tree represented Poland in a plebiscite - European Tree of the Year 2019.