The Ministry of Culture and National Heritage announces that the Paper Mill in Duszniki-Zdrój has been added to the UNESCO Information List. This signifies the intensification of activities aimed at inscribing the building on the proper UNESCO World Heritage List.
The entry on the Information List was made as part of a whole group of buildings. The European Paper Mills are a testament to the continent’s heritage and a reminder of the continent’s primacy in the handmade paper industry since the 16th century. Together with the Paper Mill in Duszniki-Zdrój, buildings from the Czech Republic, Spain, Germany and Italy have been included on the Information List. These are, in turn: Velkych Losinach (Czech Republic), Capellades (Spain), Homburg (Germany), Niederzwönitz (Germany) and Pescia (Italy).
The great value of the Polish building is its grand form. The existence of a paper mill in Duszniki-Zdrój was recorded as early as 1562. It used to serve not only a productive function, but also a residential one. It was the seat of the owners, who held the title of nobility. That is why the mill acquired such a rich form, referring to a nobleman’s manor house. A wooden drying room from 1749 and a representative entrance pavilion from the 17th century with a charming bridge over the Bystrzyca Dusznicka river are also part of the whole complex.
The interior of the building is also valuable. In the middle of the 20th century, a set of polychromies on wood was discovered there, which probably date from the 17th or 18th century. One of the paintings depicts the scene of Joseph being tempted by Potiphar’s wife. This is an unknown character by name from the Old Testament who attempted to seduce Joseph and is culturally depicted as a deceitful and treacherous person.
Other sites in Poland are applying for UNESCO World Heritage status. In addition to the Mill in Duszniki-Zdrój, these are: Modernist Centrum Gdyni, Gdańsk – City of Freedom and Remembrance, the Augustow Canal and the Pieniny Dunajec Valley.
So far, Poland can boast 17 sites inscribed on the UNESCO list. These are:
- Old Town in Zamość
- The Old Town in Kraków
- The Royal Salt Mines in Wieliczka and Bochnia
- Bialowieza Forest
- Old Town in Warsaw
- Auschwitz-Birkenau. German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp
- Medieval urban complex of Toruń
- Kalwaria Zebrzydowska: Mannerist architectural and landscape complex and pilgrimage park
- Teutonic Castle in Malbork
- Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica
- Wooden Churches of Southern Little Poland
- Muskauer Park
- Centennial Hall in Wrocław
- Wooden Orthodox churches in the Polish and Ukrainian Carpathian region
- Lead, silver and zinc ore mine in Tarnowskie Góry and underground water management system
- Silica region of prehistoric striped flint mining
- Beech forests in the Bieszczady National Park
Opening hours of the Museum:
may – August:
monday – Saturday 9:00-18:00
sunday 9:00-16:00
september – October:
monday – Saturday 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m,
sunday 9 a.m. – 4 p.m
A normal ticket costs PLN 29, a discounted ticket costs PLN 22. Children under 7 can visit the museum free of charge.
More photos of the historic building can be found in Tomasz Kobylanski’s article HERE.
photos: Museum of Papermaking(muzeumpapiernictwa.pl)
source: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage(www.gov.pl/web/kultura)
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