The oldest door in Gdańsk will be revitalized.In which of the monuments are they located?

Konserwacja drzwi prowadzących do sali św. Krzysztofafot. A. Grabowska

The massive door was made of oak wood.On the one hand, there are boards in a vertical system, on the other hand in a horizontal system.Both layers are made on two sides with iron nails, with a fenced cones head.The joinery is decorated with a castle reconstructed after the war with the motif of a two -lift branch.Preliminary dating allows us to suppose that they were created in the 1980s.14th century.This is the oldest door in Gdańsk, older by OK.120 years from those from St. Mary's Basilica and the churches of Saint Catherine, Saint Nicholas and the Holy Trinity.

- Museums are not only places full of secrets that are waiting for the discovery.We are also the carers of our heritage, which is why we decided to revitalize the oldest door in Gdańsk.In the past, they led to the most guarded place in our city, where the memory of the past was stored - says Waldemar Ossowski, director of the Gdańsk Museum.-In the small, beautifully decorated with the 16th-century paintings of the room, today called the Great Krzysztof, the most important documents were guarded behind the thick walls, for example royal privileges, ordinances, economic books and correspondence.

Ratusz Głownego Miasta, Wielka Sala Wety. To od niej przejść można do Wielkiego Krzysztofafot. Dariusz Kula / mat. Muzeum Gdańska

Najstarsze drzwi w Gdańsku zostaną zrewitalizowane. W którym z zabytków się znajdują?

15 years were waiting for revitalization

It has been known that the door from the Main Town Hall of the City has been known in Gdańsk since 2006 thanks to the research of Dr. Katarzyna Darecka from the Architecture Laboratory of the Gdańsk Museum.Then their colors were also initially recognized.

- Watching boards under the magnifying glass, I found the remains of green and red paint.The samples taken were sent to the laboratory.However, confirmation and verification of those tests could only occur during comprehensive maintenance and removal of secondary layers of paint - says Dr. Katarzyna Darecka.- Conservation works are performed by a qualified and experienced conservator of works of art Michał Masorz.During the works already underway.

Care or restore?

One of the questions at the current stage of work is the question of how to revitalize the door, how to display the discovered colors.

- Currently, only selected fragments of the door to the great Krzysztof have been unveiled, which seriously suffered in 1945, when they miraculously avoided a fire that destroyed a large veto room.They survived to this day mainly because there were other, made of iron sheet, which also protected access to the former archive and they took over the impetus of the explosion and fire in the veto room - adds the conservator.- Now every day of work is accompanied by questions whether by revitalizing the color of the door, we should only create selected fragments, where the former paint has survived, or reconstruct this color over the entire surface.Everything will depend on the degree of preserving the original layer, and we will find out soon.Both versions have their advantages.Thanks to the first, we keep and give their full history.The second one will certainly enjoy visitors and will harmonize with the decor of the former city archive we revitalized in 2019.

The Great Krzysztof Hall, after the fire system failure, was revitalized in 2019.Thanks to the subsidy from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.Work on the revitalization of the door is carried out from the own funds of the Gdańsk Museum.