Post by Bonobo on May 19, 2009 20:44:37 GMT 1
Tufta, what do you think about claims of Polish aristocrats to their ex-property? Braniccy want their Wilanów back.
I think it should remain state ownership. Those aristocats once destroyed Poland. Didn`t Branicki family participate in Targowica to abolish the 3 May Constitution on Russian orders? They brought disaster onto their country and today demand a reward?
They were punished for their blindness when communist took power in 1945. Yes, it needed a very far-sighted politician to predict at the end of 18 century what would happen in/to/with Poland in the 20th.
Yet, I believe they had worked hard for their fate.
Let it stay that way. Wilanów must remain in people`s hands.
PS. I am stil in favour of fulfilling the claims of average citizens who lost property by communists` decrees. ;D ;D ;D
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targowica_Confederation
The Targowica Confederation (Polish: Konfederacja targowicka) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catherine II.[1] The confederation opposed the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, which had been adopted by the Great Sejm, especially the provisions limiting the privileges of the nobility. The text of founding act of the confederation was written by the Russian general Vasili Stepanovich Popov, Chief of Staff of Prince Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin. Its purpose was proclaimed in the small town of Targowica in Ukraine on May 14, 1792.[1] Four days later two Russian armies invaded the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth without a formal declaration of war.[1]
Leading members
* Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki: Marshal (head) of the Confederation.[4] Sentenced to death, but never apprehended. Instead, on September 29, 1794, his portrait was hanged (see illustration). In 1795 he was rewarded by Catherine the Great with the Russian Order of Alexander Nevsky and the rank of general en chef.
Other magnate members:
* Franciszek Ksawery Branicki[4]: Sentenced to death during the Kościuszko Uprising but never apprehended. Emigrated to Russia, died at Biała Cerkiew, 1819.
* One of the founders of the Targowica Confederation, Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki:
"Each true Pole, not blinded by the Prussian and royalist cabal, is convinced, that our Fatherland can only be saved by Russia, otherwise our nation will be enslaved".
* After Stanislaw Poniatowski's abdication and the destruction of the Commonwealth, he said:
"About past Poland and Poles . Gone is this country, and this name, as many others have perished in the world's history. I am now a Russian forever."
-----------------------------------
WARSAW (Reuters) - A campaign by heirs of Polish aristocrats to recover a palace seized by the communists has exposed Poland's continued failure to resolve the restitution of property to former owners after two decades of democracy.
The Branicki family says it has now decided to demand the return of the entire estate at Wilanow Palace, not just family heirlooms and archives as previously planned, due to frustration over lack of progress in a legal battle dating back to 1990.
The baroque palace of Wilanow, situated in a rolling green park in a southern suburb of Warsaw and now a museum, has been dubbed "the Polish Versailles." It was built in the late 17th century by the Polish king Jan III Sobieski.
"We dream of returning to our home which was taken from us unlawfully by the communists. They took everything from us, including family heirlooms," said Adam Rybinski, grandson of Adam Branicki, the last pre-World War Two owner of the estate.
"We have been frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the government. The Ministry of Culture was not willing to seek a compromise with us, so we recently decided to file for return of the whole of the property," Rybinski told Reuters this week.
However, the director of the Wilanow Museum said the palace was an important part of Poland's national heritage and should remain in public hands to ensure continuity of its rich art collection and to preserve its educational mission.
"This is a special place for Poland's... cultural identity. We cannot take the risk that some of it may be sold off if in private hands. Unlike private businesses, museums worldwide are not profit-seeking institutions, " Pawel Jaskanis said.
"The Branickis' lawsuit encompasses all the assets, that is some 6,000 objects, the library and the estate of about 90 hectares, including the palace," Jaskanis said.
The total value of the whole estate could be as much as 1.3 billion zlotys (265 million pounds), he added.
Jaskans said the Polish state spent some 30 million zlotys of public funds every year to preserve the historic site, which has housed a museum open to the public since 1805.
PUBLIC ACCESS
The royal residence passed into private aristocratic hands during the 18th century before Poland was carved up by Russia, Prussia and Austria and vanished from the map of Europe until World War One.
The former owners say they want to preserve wide public access to the property and that large sums of money are not necessary to maintain the site.
"The museum is mismanaged and I am certain we would be able to keep it in good condition. We would create a foundation and we are not planning to sell anything," Rybinski said.
Both Rybinski and Jaskanis agreed that a comprehensive new law was needed to regulate the ownership of properties seized by communists in Poland since 1944.
So far, successive Polish governments and the courts since 1989 have handled restitution cases on an ad hoc basis, producing a complex and often contradictory tangle of rules and rulings.
Poland is the last country in ex-communist central and eastern Europe which has still to resolve the restitution issue.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centre-right government is expected shortly to discuss a bill on partial compensation for former owners of confiscated property.
"For the first time in 20 years we want to start regulating the ownership of assets taken from their legal owners by the communists. The 'satisfaction bill' should be discussed by the government in early June," said Maciej Wiewior, spokesman of Poland's Treasury Ministry.
"Nobody knows how many previous owners or their heirs are still alive and able to prove past ownership. So when the bill is enacted there will be a fixed period for filing claims and when we see the scale of this we will decide on the percentage for which they can be compensated, " Wiewior added.
OPOR, an organisation representing former owners, estimates the value of assets eligible for restitution in Poland could total as much as 70 billion zlotys.
But the proposed law is unlikely to satisfy Branicki's heirs, who want the property rather than cash.
In any case, officials say the Wilanow estate may not be covered by the government bill because assets in Warsaw were nationalised by separate communist government decrees.
"The Mayor of Warsaw has prepared a bill on reprivatisation of properties in Warsaw. As far as I know, nobody is taking it forward right now," said Marcin Bajko of Warsaw city hall.
polandsite.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=warsawcapitalcity&action=display&thread=502
I think it should remain state ownership. Those aristocats once destroyed Poland. Didn`t Branicki family participate in Targowica to abolish the 3 May Constitution on Russian orders? They brought disaster onto their country and today demand a reward?
They were punished for their blindness when communist took power in 1945. Yes, it needed a very far-sighted politician to predict at the end of 18 century what would happen in/to/with Poland in the 20th.
Yet, I believe they had worked hard for their fate.
Let it stay that way. Wilanów must remain in people`s hands.
PS. I am stil in favour of fulfilling the claims of average citizens who lost property by communists` decrees. ;D ;D ;D
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Targowica_Confederation
The Targowica Confederation (Polish: Konfederacja targowicka) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catherine II.[1] The confederation opposed the Polish Constitution of May 3, 1791, which had been adopted by the Great Sejm, especially the provisions limiting the privileges of the nobility. The text of founding act of the confederation was written by the Russian general Vasili Stepanovich Popov, Chief of Staff of Prince Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin. Its purpose was proclaimed in the small town of Targowica in Ukraine on May 14, 1792.[1] Four days later two Russian armies invaded the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth without a formal declaration of war.[1]
Leading members
* Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki: Marshal (head) of the Confederation.[4] Sentenced to death, but never apprehended. Instead, on September 29, 1794, his portrait was hanged (see illustration). In 1795 he was rewarded by Catherine the Great with the Russian Order of Alexander Nevsky and the rank of general en chef.
Other magnate members:
* Franciszek Ksawery Branicki[4]: Sentenced to death during the Kościuszko Uprising but never apprehended. Emigrated to Russia, died at Biała Cerkiew, 1819.
* One of the founders of the Targowica Confederation, Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki:
"Each true Pole, not blinded by the Prussian and royalist cabal, is convinced, that our Fatherland can only be saved by Russia, otherwise our nation will be enslaved".
* After Stanislaw Poniatowski's abdication and the destruction of the Commonwealth, he said:
"About past Poland and Poles . Gone is this country, and this name, as many others have perished in the world's history. I am now a Russian forever."
-----------------------------------
WARSAW (Reuters) - A campaign by heirs of Polish aristocrats to recover a palace seized by the communists has exposed Poland's continued failure to resolve the restitution of property to former owners after two decades of democracy.
The Branicki family says it has now decided to demand the return of the entire estate at Wilanow Palace, not just family heirlooms and archives as previously planned, due to frustration over lack of progress in a legal battle dating back to 1990.
The baroque palace of Wilanow, situated in a rolling green park in a southern suburb of Warsaw and now a museum, has been dubbed "the Polish Versailles." It was built in the late 17th century by the Polish king Jan III Sobieski.
"We dream of returning to our home which was taken from us unlawfully by the communists. They took everything from us, including family heirlooms," said Adam Rybinski, grandson of Adam Branicki, the last pre-World War Two owner of the estate.
"We have been frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the government. The Ministry of Culture was not willing to seek a compromise with us, so we recently decided to file for return of the whole of the property," Rybinski told Reuters this week.
However, the director of the Wilanow Museum said the palace was an important part of Poland's national heritage and should remain in public hands to ensure continuity of its rich art collection and to preserve its educational mission.
"This is a special place for Poland's... cultural identity. We cannot take the risk that some of it may be sold off if in private hands. Unlike private businesses, museums worldwide are not profit-seeking institutions, " Pawel Jaskanis said.
"The Branickis' lawsuit encompasses all the assets, that is some 6,000 objects, the library and the estate of about 90 hectares, including the palace," Jaskanis said.
The total value of the whole estate could be as much as 1.3 billion zlotys (265 million pounds), he added.
Jaskans said the Polish state spent some 30 million zlotys of public funds every year to preserve the historic site, which has housed a museum open to the public since 1805.
PUBLIC ACCESS
The royal residence passed into private aristocratic hands during the 18th century before Poland was carved up by Russia, Prussia and Austria and vanished from the map of Europe until World War One.
The former owners say they want to preserve wide public access to the property and that large sums of money are not necessary to maintain the site.
"The museum is mismanaged and I am certain we would be able to keep it in good condition. We would create a foundation and we are not planning to sell anything," Rybinski said.
Both Rybinski and Jaskanis agreed that a comprehensive new law was needed to regulate the ownership of properties seized by communists in Poland since 1944.
So far, successive Polish governments and the courts since 1989 have handled restitution cases on an ad hoc basis, producing a complex and often contradictory tangle of rules and rulings.
Poland is the last country in ex-communist central and eastern Europe which has still to resolve the restitution issue.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk's centre-right government is expected shortly to discuss a bill on partial compensation for former owners of confiscated property.
"For the first time in 20 years we want to start regulating the ownership of assets taken from their legal owners by the communists. The 'satisfaction bill' should be discussed by the government in early June," said Maciej Wiewior, spokesman of Poland's Treasury Ministry.
"Nobody knows how many previous owners or their heirs are still alive and able to prove past ownership. So when the bill is enacted there will be a fixed period for filing claims and when we see the scale of this we will decide on the percentage for which they can be compensated, " Wiewior added.
OPOR, an organisation representing former owners, estimates the value of assets eligible for restitution in Poland could total as much as 70 billion zlotys.
But the proposed law is unlikely to satisfy Branicki's heirs, who want the property rather than cash.
In any case, officials say the Wilanow estate may not be covered by the government bill because assets in Warsaw were nationalised by separate communist government decrees.
"The Mayor of Warsaw has prepared a bill on reprivatisation of properties in Warsaw. As far as I know, nobody is taking it forward right now," said Marcin Bajko of Warsaw city hall.
polandsite.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=warsawcapitalcity&action=display&thread=502
;D