Marcin Knackfus (; ), was an

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

, and military captain from the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

. He was first person to introduce

Neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

. He designed several important buildings in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, the capital and largest city of Lithuania.

Biography

Marcin Knackfus was born in Wólka Ostrożeńska,

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

, near the city of

Garwolin Garwolin is a town on the Wilga (Garwolin), Wilga river in eastern Poland, capital of Garwolin County, situated in the southeast part of the Garwolin plateau in Masovian Voivodeship, southeast of Warsaw, northwest of Lublin. As of December 2021, ...

. 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 Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. Knackfus first moved to Vilnius around 1768. Knackfus studied architecture in Warsaw and was influenced by other local architects of late Baroque ( Ephraim Schröger and

Szymon Bogumił Zug Szymon Bogumił Zug (20 February 1733 – 11 August 1807), born Simon Gottlieb Zug, and also known as Zugk, was a renowned Polish- German classicist architect and designer of gardens. Born in Merseburg in Saxony, he spent most of his life in t ...

) and early Neoclassicism ( Domenico Merlini and Johann Christian Kammsetzer). Knackfus taught at the Lithuanian Engineering Corps military school from 1769 until 1773 before becoming the first professor of architecture at

Vilnius University Vilnius University ( Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher education institutions in Central and Ea ...

until 1777. 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. In 1773, Knackfus became an architect of the

Commission of National Education The Commission of National Education (, KEN, ) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław August Poniatowski, Stanisław II August on October 14, 1773. Because of its ...

and prepared projects for schools. 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 Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Polish Enlightenment, Enlightenment ...

, Field Hetman Ludwik Tyszkiewicz, voivode Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł,

Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential Polish aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts and a candidate for the Polish cro ...

, and Grand Marshal Stanisław Lubomirski.

Personal life

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

freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

and was a member of three

Masonic lodges A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

in Vilnius. Through his masonic connections, he became a supporter of

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

and the 1794

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

. 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 Suwałki Region ( ; ) is a historical region around the city of Suwałki in northeastern Poland near the border with Lithuania. It encompasses the powiats of Augustów, Suwałki, and Sejny, and roughly corresponds to the southern part of the for ...

on the Lithuania–Poland border. He died in Vilnius .

Works

* Verkiai Palace in Verkiai, Vilnius (1769–1781) * Late Baroque Church of the Holy Trinity in Troškūnai (1774–1787) * Šuazeliai Palace, home of Heinrich de Reuss LXIII, prince of the

House of Reuss Reuss ( ) was the name of several historical states located in present-day Thuringia, Germany. Several lordships of the Holy Roman Empire which arose after 1300 and became Imperial Counties from 1673 and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Imperial ...

, at Liejyklos Street, Daukantas Square,

Vilnius Old Town The Old Town of Vilnius (), one of the largest surviving medieval old towns in Northern Europe, as inscribed within UNESCO World Heritage Sites, has an area of 3.59 square kilometres (887 acres). It encompasses 74 quarters, with 70 streets and ...

(1775) * An expansion of Vilnius University Astronomical Observatory in Vilnius Old Town (1782–1788) *

Vilnius Botanical Garden Botanical Garden of Vilnius University () is a botanical garden situated in Vilnius, Lithuania. History The garden was established by professor Jean-Emmanuel Gilibert of Vilnius University in 1781. In 1832 the Vilnius University and Botanical ...

Antakalnis Antakalnis (''literally'' ) is an elderships of Lithuania, eldership in Vilnius, Lithuania. Antakalnis is one of the oldest, and largest historical suburbs of Vilnius. It is in the Eastern section of Vilnius, along the left bank of the Neris, ...

(1784) * Late Baroque Church of St. Jacob in

Kurtuvėnai Kurtuvėnai is a small town in Šiauliai County in northern-central Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore ...

(1783–1792) * Altar in the Church of All Saints in Vilnius (1787) * Project for the New Arsenal at the Vilnius Castle Complex * St. Bartholomew Church in Užupis, Vilnius (1788) * Supervised the construction of the Green Bridge in Vilnius (1789) * Renovations to the Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in

Trakai Trakai (; see Trakai#Names and etymology, names section for alternative and historic names) is a city and lake resort in Lithuania. It lies west of Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania or just from the administrative limits of the Lithuanian capi ...

(1789–1790) * Abramavičiai Palace, home of Andrzej Abramowicz, Polish

castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

and nobleman (present-day Vilnius Conservatory of Juozas Tallat-Kelpša), Vilnius (1790) * Tyzenhaus Palace, home of Antoni Tyzenhaus, Major General of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, at Trakų Street in Vilnius Old Town (around 1790) * Archives of the Lithuanian Tribunal in Vilnius (1790) * Łopaciński Palace, home of the wealthy Łopaciński family at Skapo Streer in Vilnius Old Town (1791) * Manor and park in Paežeriai, Vilkaviškis District (1794) * Parish school in Troškūnai,

Utena County Utena County () is one of ten counties in Lithuania. It is the country's most sparsely populated county. The capital and the largest city in the county is Utena, which is from Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. On 1 July 2010, the county admini ...

(1796) * Designed layout of Basanavičius street in Vilnius (1798) Marcin Knackfus in the Vilnius Academy of Arts

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knackfus, Marcin Neoclassical architecture in Lithuania 1740s births 1821 deaths Lithuanian architects Architects from Vilnius Kościuszko insurgents Academic staff of Vilnius University Lithuanian Army officers Lithuanian artists