Franciszek Maurer (November 7, 1918 - July 10, 2010) was a Polish architect, artist, and professor at the .

Early life

Maurer was born in Łącko near Nowy Sącz in southern part of Poland. At that time this part of Poland belonged to Austro-Hungarian Empire. Four days later Poland gained independence. After graduating from Tadeusz Kościuszko Gymnasium in Lwów in 1938, he started his studies at University of Lwów, Department of Architecture. He continued studies during Soviet and German occupation and received master's degree in 1943. During the occupation he participated in Polish underground resistance movement

Armia Krajowa The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

Career

In 1946 he started working as an architect, reconstructing country after the war. He managed the Railway Reconstruction Company in Katowice. In 1948 he moved to

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

, where he was a chief designer for the reconstruction of the city of Gliwice historical district. At that time he started to work at the University of Gliwice Politechnika Śląska. He was conducting scientific research and teaching the history of architecture, urban design and preservation of historical buildings. He received PhD in 1965 at

Gdańsk University Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdańsk lies at t ...

. Franciszek Maurer was a member of the

Polish Academy of Sciences The Polish Academy of Sciences (, PAN) is a Polish state-sponsored institution of higher learning. Headquartered in Warsaw, it is responsible for spearheading the development of science across the country by a society of distinguished scholars a ...

in Warsaw and Katowice, section for Architecture and Urban Design and the Commission for the Preservation of the Cultural Monuments. He received numerous medals and decorations for his work (

Golden Cross of Merit Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on alien (law), foreigners for outstanding achievements in ...

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

)

Artistry

Since his young years, Franciszek Maurer has been passionate about the artistic drawing and painting. He had numerous exhibitions of his work in Poland and abroad in Vienna, Rome, Verona, Turin and overseas in Toronto. Many public spaces in

are decorated with mural work by Franciszek Maurer. Commemorative sgrafitto portraits of the famous Polish personalities in Gliwice include gen. Emil Fieldorf "Nil" at St. Barbara church,

Wojciech Korfanty Wojciech Korfanty (; born Adalbert Korfanty; 20 April 1873 – 17 August 1939) was a Polish activist, journalist and politician, who served as a member of the German parliaments, the Reichstag and the Prussian Landtag, and later, in the Poli ...

at Korfanty Street, gen.

Leon Berbecki Leon Berbecki (28 July 1875, Lublin – 23 March 1963, Gliwice) was a Polish army officer, who fought in the Russo-Japanese War and World War I with the Imperial Russian Army. Following the foundation of the Second Polish Republic, Berbecki ser ...

at the house of his residence on Puszkina Street, poet

Cyprian Kamil Norwid Cyprian Kamil Norwid (; – 23 May 1883) was a Polish poet, dramatist, painter, sculptor, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the four most important Polish Romantic poets, though scholars still debate whether he is more aptly descr ...

at One Norwid Street, General Józef Pilsudski at the square of his name, Saint Jadwiga near the church of . Franciszek Maurer died on July 10, 2010, in Gliwice. He was active until his last days. His last project, gen. Fieldorf's tablet was unveiled in September 2009. The tablet for father Popiełuszko remains unfinished. He lived 92 years.

References

External links

www.franciszekmaurer.com

Obituary Dziennik Zachodni

Aktualności wydz. Architektury

Gazeta Miejska 24Gliwice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maurer, Franciszek 1918 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Polish architects Polish male artists Gdańsk University of Technology alumni People from Nowy Sącz County People from the Province of Silesia Lviv Polytechnic alumni Academic staff of the Silesian University of Technology Members of the Polish Academy of Sciences People from Gliwice