Kazimierz

The view of Kazimierz comes from an album depicting views of Puławy and the surrounding area, created based on illustrations made from nature by Barbara Czernof of Groten, who lectured at the Institute of Education of Ladies. This is her only known and attributed work. The lithographs were made by Armande Cassagne, a French painter, watercolourist, lithographer and writer at the printing works of Auguste Bry in Paris.

The graphic print shows a view from the market square of the hill above the Vistula river in Kazimierz with the parish church, the castle and the tower. The parish church combines the Gothic style in its slender mass and the Renaissance style in the decoration of its façade, which is reflected in the appearance of the granaries on the Vistula. In the effect of the fire in 1561 the parish church was destroyed. The first Renaissance reconstruction took place in the years 1580-1590, the parish church was topped with an eastern and western gable. The second renaissance reconstruction, which was to adjust the church to the number of believers, was carried out by Jakub Balin - an Italian by origin, settled in Lublin - thanks to a rich founder Mikołaj Przybył. At that time, a semi-circular presbytery was added, enlarging the church almost twice. The reconstruction lasted until 1613. The parish church was of great importance for shaping the pattern of the Polish Renaissance buildings.

Just behind the parish church is the castle, originally built in Gothic style, traces of which have survived only in the lower parts. Its irregular shape was adapted to the hill. It had eight living rooms, four upstairs and four downstairs, one of which probably housed a chapel. Until it was destroyed by the Swedes, it was rebuilt many times. Its ornamentation was on a par with the town houses of Kazimierz. Its ruins have survived to this day.

Further on, on the next hill, there is a defensive tower distant from the castle, which used to be a lighthouse leading to the harbour. Nowadays, it is a vantage point to admire the beauty of the terrain on the Vistula, together with the incorporated urban buildings. Due to the original function of the tower, the entrance was placed high above the ground - at the height of the first floor.

Klara Sadkowska