Architectura militaris w dziełach o. Benignusa Wanata
Architectural militaris in the works of Fr Prof. Benignus Wanat

Summary/Abstract: The article discusses two works of Fr. Benignus Wanat OCD, concerning the fortified complex of the church-shrine of Our Lady and the monastery of the Discalced Carmelites in Berdychiv, Ukraine. The history of the present conservation area started when Count Janusz Tyszkiewicz donated the already existing Berdychiv castle to Carmelites in 1634. The castle was subsequently rebuilt as a fortified monastery. In 1642 the founder donated a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary crowned with crowns of Pope Benedict XIV in 1756. The fortified monastery was then referred to as the Fortress of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The paper describes the history of Berdychiv fortress from the 17th century to modern times. The fortress, reinforced with military crew and artillery, was to protect the shrine against invasions of the Tatars, Cossacks and Russians. In 1734 it underwent modernisation (Arch. Jan de Witte). The fortress, under the command of Kazimierz Pułaski, defended Poland against the Russians during the Bar Confederation in 1768. The collapse of Poland in 1793 put an end to the fortress. Russia designated the monastery for secular purposes. During World War II, the church with the monastery and fortifications were burnt and destroyed. The miraculous icon of Our Lady went missing. In 1991, when Fr. Benignus Wanat was the Provincial Superior of Polish Carmelites, the monks returned to Berdychiv. Fr. Wanat was instrumental in restoring the architectural complex and funding a new picture of Our Lady, crowned in 1988. Currently the sanctuary serves both nations – Polish and Ukrainian.The last chapter of the paper is devoted to the analysis of Berdychiv monastery fortifications systems from the end of the 16th century to the second half of the 18th century. The fortifications evolved from the tower and round bastion system, through the old and new Italian bastion system, into the tenaille system. Elements of all these systems can be presently seen in Berdychiv. After the extensive damage caused by World War II and further aggravated by the days of Soviet rule, the fortifications were left in ruins until 1993. Since then the restoration and renewal work has been conducted and financed by the Ukrainian authorities of the city of Berdychiv and Zhytomyr province.

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