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Marcin Knackfus

{{Short description|Polish–Lithuanian architect, professor and military captain}}

{{Infobox person

| birth_date = {{circa|1740}}

| birth_place = Wólka Ostrożeńska, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth

| death_date = {{circa|1821}}

| death_place = Vilnius, Russian Empire

| other_names = Martynas Knakfusas

| known_for = Introducing Neoclassical architecture to Lithuania

| nationality = Polish-Lithuanian

| occupation = Architect

}}

Marcin Knackfus ({{Langx|lt|Martynas Knakfusas}}; {{circa|1740|1821}}), was an architect, professor, and military captain from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.{{Cite web |last=Balbus |first=Tomasz |title=Marcin Knackfus, architekt Jego Królewskiej Mości |url=http://www.wilnoteka.lt/artykul/marcin-knackfus-architekt-jego-krolewskiej-mosci |access-date= |website=Wilnoteka |language=pl}}

He was first person to introduce Neoclassical architecture in Lithuania.{{Cite web |title=Paežeriai Manor Palace |url=https://www.radviliskis.lithuania.travel/en/place/paezeriai-manor-palace |url-status= |access-date= |website=Travel Lithuania}} He designed several important buildings in Vilnius, the capital and largest city of Lithuania.

Biography

Marcin Knackfus was born {{circa|1740}} in Wólka Ostrożeńska, Kingdom of Poland, near the city of Garwolin. His date of birth is not known but is estimated based on the assumption that he was around 25 years old in 1767 when his first child was born and when he joined the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army as construction engineer. He held the rank of captain.{{sfn|Etin|2021|p=11}} Knackfus first moved to Vilnius around 1768.{{sfn|Čerbulėnas|1986|p=346}}

Knackfus studied architecture in Warsaw and was influenced by other local architects of late Baroque (Ephraim Schröger and Szymon Bogumił Zug) and early Neoclassicism (Domenico Merlini and Johann Christian Kammsetzer).{{sfn|Čerbulėnas|1994|pp=275–276}}{{sfn|Etin|2021|p=10}} Knackfus taught at the Lithuanian Engineering Corps military school from 1769 until 1773 before becoming the first professor of architecture at Vilnius University until 1777.{{sfn|Čerbulėnas|1994|p=273}}

In April 1771, Bishop of Vilnius Ignacy Jakub Massalski ordered Knackfus to survey a corner of the Vilnius Cathedral that had been damaged after a front tower of the cathedral collapsed in 1769. He drew up blueprints of the reconstruction, and after five reconstruction attempts, the cathedral was rebuilt in 1777 under the supervision of Polish-Lithuanian architect and former student of Knackfus, Laurynas Gucevičius.{{Cite web |last=Raila |first=Eligijus |title=Vilnius Cathedral as a shrine erected in the Classical style |url=https://www.delfi.lt/a/75581009 |access-date= |website=Delfi EN |language=en}}{{sfn|Čerbulėnas|1994|p=295}}

In 1773, Knackfus became an architect of the Commission of National Education and prepared projects for schools.{{sfn|Etin|2021|p=12}} From 1788 on, Knackfus mostly designed reconstruction projects for the city of Vilnius as well as residences for Lithuanian nobles. These include the homes of Heinrich de Reuss LXIII, the Łopaciński family, Andrzej Abramowicz, and Antoni Tyzenhaus. Knackfus worked with numerous nobles, including Vilnius bishops Ignacy Jakub Massalski and Ignacy Krasicki, Field Hetman Ludwik Tyszkiewicz, voivode Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, and Grand Marshal Stanisław Lubomirski.{{sfn|Čerbulėnas|1994|p=487}}

Personal life

Knackfus married Agnieszka Pawłowska in 1767. They had two children, Joachim and Katarzyna.

Knackfus was a freemason and was a member of three Masonic lodges in Vilnius. Through his masonic connections, he became a supporter of Tadeusz Kościuszko and the 1794 Kościuszko Uprising. Upon the failure of the uprising, Russian forces stormed Vilnius and burnt down many buildings in the Sereikiškės area of Vilnius where Knackfus lived. Fearing retribution for his involvement, Knackfus moved to the Suwałki Region on the Lithuania–Poland border.

He died in Vilnius {{circa|1821}}.{{sfn|Etin|2021|p=15}}

Works

File:Vilnius University.Observatory.jpg, one of the best examples of early Neoclassicism in Lithuan]]

File:Marcin Knackfus in the Vilnius Academy of Arts.JPG]]

References

{{reflist|3}}

Bibliography

{{refbegin}}

  • {{cite thesis |last=Etin |first= Gal |title=Klasicizmo architektų atminimo įamžinimas Lietuvoje |url=https://www.vdu.lt/cris/bitstreams/a3231177-f489-481b-b024-d37c2865d269/download |publisher=Vytautas Magnus University |type=Thesis |year=2021 |language=lt}}
  • {{cite encyclopedia | first=Klemensas |last=Čerbulėnas | editor=Jonas Zinkus| encyclopedia=Tarybų Lietuvos enciklopedija | title=Knakfusas, Martynas | year=1986 | publisher=Vyriausioji enciklopedijų redakcija | volume=2 | location=Vilnius |lccn=86232954 |display-editors=etal}} {{in lang|lt}}
  • {{cite book | first=Klemensas |last=Čerbulėnas | title=Lietuvos architektūros istorija: Nuo XVII a. pradžios iki XIX a. vidurio | volume=II | year=1994 | publisher=Mokslo ir enciklopedijų leidykla | location=Vilnius | isbn=5-420-00583-2 |language=lt}}
  • {{cite book| last=Drėma |first=Vladas |authorlink=Vladas Drėma |title=Dingęs Vilnius | year=1991 | location=Vilnius | publisher=Vaga |isbn=5-415-00366-5|language=lt}}
  • {{cite journal |first=Libertas |last=Klimka |title=Overview of the History of Vilnius University Observatory |journal=Baltic Astronomy |bibcode=2003BaltA..12..649K |volume=12 |issue=4 |year=2003 |page=649 |doi=10.1515/astro-2017-00101 |s2cid=140171682 |issn=1392-0049|doi-access=free }}

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Category:Neoclassical architecture in Lithuania

Category:1740s births

Category:1821 deaths

Category:Lithuanian architects

Category:Architects from Vilnius

Category:Kościuszko insurgents

Category:Academic staff of Vilnius University

Category:Lithuanian Army officers

Category:Lithuanian artists