Chelmsko Slaskie is one of those places where you can feel the real atmosphere of the old times. Among the numerous monuments here, apart from a number of magnificent townhouses standing by the market square, there is also a unique complex of wooden buildings known as the Weavers’ or Twelve Apostles’ Houses. This is the only one of its kind in Europe and is a unique testimony to the craftsmanship and architecture of the 18th century.
The origins and development of the weaver’s settlement in Chelmsko Slaskie
The complex of houses was founded in 1707 on the initiative of the Cistercians from the nearby abbey in Krzeszów. The Cistercians brought weavers from Bohemia to Chelmsko Slaskie (then Schömberg) to produce linen. For the newcomers, a dozen wooden houses were built in a row, each with an arcade to protect the entrance from the rain. The houses stood by a stream, in an ideal place for drying bleached linen on a nearby slope. In the 18th century Chelmsko Slaskie experienced a period of dynamic development. Flax cultivation and linen manufacture became the mainstay of the local economy, and local products found their way to markets throughout Europe and America. In recognition of the town’s importance, Emperor Rudolf II granted it privileges to hold fairs and weekly markets.
Weavers’ houses – architecture and function
The Weavers’ Houses were one-storey buildings of half-timbered and half-timbered construction, covered with gabled shingle roofs. Each combined residential and workshop functions. Inside were rooms for the weaver’s family and rooms where looms and tools for working flax stood. A narrow passageway led from the hallway to the garden, and the attic was used as storage for linen.
The fate of the Twelve Apostles
Originally, 17 houses stood in a row. In addition to the Twelve Apostles, there were also four houses of the Evangelists, the so-called ‘House without an arcade’ dedicated to St. Matthias and the house referred to as ‘Judas’. The latter, to emphasise its symbolic exclusion, was separated from the rest by a break and was distinguished by a side entrance to the attic. Over the years, some of the buildings fell into disrepair and were demolished. Only the connected apostles’ houses were preserved. At the end of the 19th century, a tenement house was erected on the site of the now defunct buildings, which violently encroached on this idyllic, historically shaped landscape. Today, 11 houses survive and were entered in the register of historic buildings in 1956.
Weavers’ Houses in Chelmsko Slaskie – rescue and restoration
A comprehensive renovation of the surviving houses was carried out between 1968 and 1972. The one at St Peter’s was in a particularly poor state of repair and required partial reconstruction. For this reason, its front façade is made of stone, which distinguishes it from the rest of the ensemble. Thanks to conservation work, it was possible to preserve the unique urban layout and the original character of the buildings. The wooden facades, high shingled roofs and arcades still create a coherent composition, evoking the atmosphere of an 18th-century craftsmen’s town.
Chamber of Weavers and tradition
Two of the houses have been opened to the public. One of them houses the Chamber of Weavers run by a local association. The interior serves as a small museum where you can see old looms, spinning wheels and tools used by the weavers. The exhibition shows the full process of making cloth, from the cultivation of the flax growing next to the houses to the finished canvas.
Weavers’ houses in the landscape of Lower Silesia
The complex of Weavers’ Houses in Chelmsko Slaskie is now one of the most valuable surviving testimonies of the material culture of Lower Silesia. After more than three centuries, the buildings are still “alive” while preserving their former layout and design as an extremely important element of the region’s identity.
Source: zabytek.pl, wyszedlzdomu.pl
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The Twelve Apostles in the 1930s and today. Source: Deutsche Fotothek and InnaIna, CC BY-SA 3.0 EN, via Wikimedia Commons
The Weavers’ Houses in 1916, before the demolition of the Evangelist Houses and their neighbours, and the same site today. Source: University of Wrocław Digital Library and Google Maps
