Sebastian Alojzy Sierakowski (9 January 1743 – 9 August 1824) was a Polish architect and Jesuit pastor.

Biography

Sierakowski was born on 9 January 1743 in Bogusławice. His uncle, , was the

Bishop of Przemyśl A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop i ...

. He studied at the and, in 1759, became a

novice A novice is a person who has entered a religious order and is under probation, before taking vows. A ''novice'' can also refer to a person (or animal e.g. racehorse) who is entering a profession with no prior experience. Religion Buddhism ...

Ostróg Ostroh ( uk, Остро́г; pl, Ostróg) is a historic city located in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine, on the Horyn River. Ostroh is the administrative center of the Ostroh Raion (district). Administratively, Ostroh is incorporated ...

. From 1764 to 1767, he studied mathematics and

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

, then continued his theological studies in Vienna and Rome, where he was ordained in 1768. Upon returning to Poland, he served as a professor of mathematics and astronomy at the . In 1771, he helped establish the Astronomical Observatory of Lwów University, and served as its first director. When the Jesuit Order was suppressed in 1773, he went to

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

; becoming a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

. On the occasion of the arrival of

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

in 1787, he created a restoration plan for

Wawel Castle The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established ...

. Later, he served as Crown Custodian, then as a Senator for the

Free City of Kraków Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procur ...

. After 1790, he was a clergyman with the . In 1806, the , where he was to preside, was built according to his plans. From 1809 to 1814, he served as

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

at the Jagiellonian University. He became a member of the

General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland The General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland (28 June 1812 – 30 April 1813, Polish ''Konfederacja Generalna Królestwa Polskiego'') was a Polish confederation established by emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on the eve of his campaign in Rus ...

in 1812. This was followed by designs for reconstructing the decaying

Kraków Cloth Hall The Kraków Cloth Hall ( pl, Sukiennice, ), in Lesser Poland, dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Kraków Old Town (the historic center of Kraków ...

(1818), and the demolished

Kraków Town Hall The historic Town Hall of Kraków, known as Ratusz in Polish, was demolished in 1820. It was constructed of brick and mortar for the first time in 1316 as one of its subsequent several versions built over the following centuries. It was the city's ...

(1820). Also in 1818, he presented the with several plans for monumental fountains decorated with patriotic sculptures, that could serve as wells; replacing the old wooden water tanks. These plans were never carried out, due to a lack of funds. Some of his monumental designs were used to create a

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

in the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. ...

at the .Michał Rożek, ''Groby królewskie w Krakowie'', Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1977, pg.12 He died on 9 August 1824 in Kraków. Two of his writings survive: ''Architektura obejmująca wszelki gatunek murowania i budowania'' ("Architecture, covering all kinds of bricklaying and building", 2 Vols. 1812), which addresses the folk architecture tradition; and ''Rzecz o tanim... sposobie murowania w Krakowie domów na przedmieściach'' ("A thing about a cheap ... way of building houses in the suburbs in Kraków", 1817), which is still in manuscript.

References

External links

"Ksiądz Sebastian Alojzy Sierakowski-Jezuita"
by Tadeusz Dybeł, from ''Głos Radziszowa'', #13, 2001, pgs.3-4
Drawings by Sierakowski
in the

National Library of Poland The National Library ( pl, Biblioteka Narodowa) is the central Polish library, subject directly to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. The library collects books, journals, electronic and audiovisual publica ...

@ Polona
Detailed biography and references
@ the Internetowy Polski Słownik Biograficzny {{DEFAULTSORT:Sierakowski, Sebastian 1743 births 1824 deaths 18th-century Polish Jesuits People from Koło County 19th-century Polish architects