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    Published : 2025-07-14
    Vol. 73 No. 4 (2025)

    Bridge-Aqueduct to Kamieniec Podolski (Kamianets-Podilskyi): An Unknown Project by the Architect Stanisław Zawadzki

    Ryszard Mączyński

    https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2961-1329

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.18290/rh25734.3

    Abstract

    The article discusses the concept of a bridge-aqueduct that was to be erected in 1792 in Kamieniec Podolski (now in Ukraine). The local fortress has been traditionally regarded as a special place: situated in a naturally formed, inaccessible area – on a rocky hill, surrounded by the currents of the Smotrycz River flowing through a deep canyon with steep banks – it was pivotal to the defence of the south-eastern borderlands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The author of the  project was Stanisław Zawadzki (1743-1806), a graduate of Rome’s Accademia di San Luca, who served as the Crown army architect. The bridge-aqueduct was conceived as a two-storey structure. The lower level consisted of ten arcaded spans with semi-circular arches, built of stone and carrying covered canals to supply drinking water to the  fortress’s garrison. The upper level consisted of bricked pillars supporting a wooden tract for pedestrian and equine communication between the fortress and its environs, which could be easily dismantled in the event of a siege by enemy troops. However, the concept was not implemented due to the general historical circumstances, particularly the outbreak of the Polish-Russian War.

    The drawing of the bridge-aqueduct intended for Kamieniec Podolski is an excellent testament to both Zawadzki’s extensive knowledge and his ability to apply it in design practice. It clearly draws inspiration from the Italian architects of antiquity to the modern era (Vitruvius, Frontinus, Palladio), a tradition to which Zawadzki was exposed during his several years’ stay in Italy. However, the plan also demonstrates the designer’s ability to take an original look at the task at hand. This one was skilfully adapted to local conditions and ensured its optimal suitability for its intended purpose – the bridge and aqueduct would indeed support the comfort and safety of the fortress’s garrison and local inhabitants, while ensuring the integrity of the natural defensive features of the site. Compared to other documented plans of bridges from the time of Stanisław August Poniatowski, Stanisław Zawadzki’s design for Kamieniec Podolski is the most technically advanced, the most functionally diverse and the most aesthetically sophisticated, and can be regarded as proof of his architectural mastery.

    Keywords:

    fortress in Kamieniec Podolski (Kamianets-Podilskyi), Stanisław Zawadzki, design, bridge, aqueduct, 18th-century Polish architecture



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    Roczniki Humanistyczne · ISSN 0035-7707 | eISSN 2544-5200 | DOI: 10.18290/rh
    © The Learned Society of the John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin & The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, Faculty of Humanities

    Articles are licensed under a Creative Commons  Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)