Biržuvėnų dvaro sodybos architektūros raida XVII-XX a. pradžioje

LTRemiantis archyviniais, ikonografiniais šaltiniais ir architektūros tyrinėjimais, straipsnyje analizuojama Biržuvėnų dvaro sodybos ir pastatų bei interjerų raida nuo XVII a. vidurio iki 2004 m. Šio objekto vertė Lietuvos kultūros paveldo kontekste yra unikali: jis atspindi tradicinės Lietuvos dvaro sodybos raidą per visą feodalizmo laikotarpį ir po jo. Tai vienintelė dvaro sodyba Lietuvoje, išlaikiusi pirminę XVII a. struktūrą bei unikaliais mediniais pastatais užstatyto XVIII a. vidurio reprezentacinio dvaro kiemo fragmentus. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Biržuvėnai; Dvaro sodyba; Kultūros paveldo objektas; Architektūros raida; Gorskiai; Biržuvėnai; Evolution of architecturefarmstead of an estate; Object of cultural heritage; Evolution of architecture.

ENThe architectural evolution of the buildings of Biržuvėnai Estate can be retraced to the middle of the 17th century. The inventory of the year 1637 mentions the main features of the farmstead: the courtyard of the estate and the barn. The house of the lords, storehouse, kitchen and granary were in the main courtyard of the estate; while the buildings of folwark where situated behind the granary. All of the buildings were made of wood. The house of the lords was rectangular and had two wings and a mezzanine floor in the centre in which the hall was located. The structure of the farmstead was not altered after it was acquired by the Gorskiai family in 1667. The same courtyards and buildings of the estate were mentioned in the inventory of the year 1727.The house of the lords, however, was rebuilt: more rooms were added and the hall above the porch was eliminated. In the inventory mention was also made of a tavern alongside the road, a brewery with two stalls where the calves fed with the waste left after the vodka making were kept and a watermill that stood on the bank of the Virvytė River. In the middle of the 18th century the castellan of Samogitia, Mykolas Gorskis (Michal Gorski, died in 1776) married Marijona Vainaitė. Biržuvėnai became the main estate o f their family. The owners made major reconstructions on the farmstead. A plan dating from the year 1824 is kept in the Vilnius archive of the history of the estate. In this plan the farmstead formed by Mykolas Gorskis is depicted. The house of the lords was the smartest building of the farmstead. The owners did not show much interest in the architecture of 18th century outhouses. The outhouses were put up by the workers of the estate when they were free of outdoor duties and looked after by the local carpenter, and, as a result, were functional and traditional in the manner of the region.During the last quarter of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century renovations of the farmstead were in progress. After the reconstruction, the building assumed the shape and decor characteristic of wooden architecture of the late 19th and early 20th century. After the occupation of Lithuania by the Soviet Union in 1940 and the deportation of landlords and intelligentsia had began, the last owner of the estate Ona Gorskienė departed to Western Europe. The property was snapped up by members of the local government and a number of the things and archive were taken by the Museum „Alka" in Telšiai. During World War II the estate was captured by Germans. After the return of the Soviet government, the Soviet farm that existed before the war was re-instated. The farmstead was left to decay during the Soviet years. The estate, along with its farmstead, which was intended to serve the single family of the lord, was converted into a village for many families. During 1999 and 2000 a principle project for the readjustment of the farmstead under the auspices of Telšiai government and PHARE was prepared. It offered to establish a cultural-tourist center in the farmstead, become the front office of the Varniai Regional Park, and also to adapt the house of the lords for public events and create a memorial museum of the Gorskiai family. The material of this project was not put into practice though. On the 24th December 2004 , a fire broke out in the house of the lords and destroyed the building. The value of Biržuvėnai Estate is unique in the context of Lithuanian heritage. Biržuvėnai reveals the evolution of a traditional Lithuanian estate and its farmstead during the whole period of feudalism and after it.It is the only estate with a farmstead in Lithuania that preserved the original structure of the 17 century and the unique fragments of a reception courtyard of the middle 18th century, one composed from unique wooden structures. [From the publication]

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