The text quotes an article from the Kyiv Daily about the tower from Lutsk Castle. The story of its potential demolition is recalled, which the Governor-General Bezak, 'known for his severe treatment of Poles', was supposed to have saved the tower from. The complicated fate of the tower and its restoration is recalled (Source: "Ziemia. Tygodnik Krajoznawczy Ilustrowany', Warsaw 1910, no. 38, pp. 16, 17, after: the Wielkopolska Biblioteka Cyfrowa).

A modernised reading of the text

Tower in Łuck

In the Kyiv Journal, Mr A.W.K. writes some truly remarkable things about the famous bastion of the Lutsk castle. "Hardly anyone in Lutsk knows that the monumental monument, the magnificent entrance tower, leading from the side of the mighty fortress Luban, was already earmarked for demolition and that it was saved from destruction and final ruin by none other than the former governor-general Bezak, known for his harsh treatment of Poles and his predatory eye on everything that resembled Polish culture. - It is worth recreating these details, as they are recorded in the magistrate's records, i.e. in an authentic source.

It went like this: In 1858 the collegiate assessor Leszczyński, delegated to inspect the county treasury, which at the time was housed in a corner building in the castle courtyard (and today houses a lookout and fire brigade), reported that because the tower through which the entrance leads was rotten, access to the treasury was extremely difficult and dangerous. This prompted a pile of correspondence and the building architect at the time, Jodko, qualified the tower to be repaired and the competition for this work was calculated at 1635 rb. Immediately, the anticipated difficulty of where to get the money for the restoration grew. Municipal funds were exhausted. The income in 1860 was a mere Rs. 10,118.

There was no capital reserve, and the town's debt reached Rupees 11,071. 37 kop. In view of the deplorable state of the town's treasury, the building department of the Zhytomyr provincial government asked the Main Administration of Communications and Public Buildings to allocate an appropriate sum. The matter was then transferred to the Department of Works of Art for further resolution, which, unconcerned with the judgements of the lower instances, de nomine requested the opinion of the gubernial government. Again, delegations were sent to re-examine the endangered tower. In August 1862, the assistant builder, Mr Paminowski, reported that the tower had to be unconditionally restored, as it provided access to the district treasury and the invalids' headquarters, and that the originally planned cost of 1635 was insufficient.

It was at this time that the barbaric idea of demolishing the tower first arose, and in November 1862 the provincial government presented a proposal to the art department that the tower, as a defect of antiquity, could no longer exist and should be sold for demolition (3 cubits of walls). The Monarch was called to account, and on January 14, 1863, the chief manager of communications and public buildings informed the gubernial government of the Supreme Court's permission (date not mentioned) to sell the tower by public tender. A bidding war ensued and the fate of the tower, which had proudly dominated the area since the 14th century, seemed to be irrevocably decided.

However, "l'appétit vient en mangeant" and the culprit at the time, Mikołaj Dwernicki, dreamed of doing a truly Herostratesian thing. So he sent a confidential message to the Governor, to the effect that it would be best to demolish the entire castle, and to use the debris thus obtained to repair the wooden pavements, which had suffered greatly as a result of the frequent passage of troops. The governor, a refined aristocrat, did not want to get involved in this barbaric act right away and replied in the negative that while the auction could not take place, the rapporteur's wishes could be fulfilled.

The bidding proceeded and on 4 September 1864 the tower was purchased for 18 rb. 25 kop. Jankiel Wajnsztok, who at the same time paid Rs. 7 for a 10 fathom long piece of the wall on the left, also to be demolished. 7. As is usually the case, intrigues began among the Jews, for which the cheap purchase provided a pretext. Denunciations were sent to the governor. At the same time, Jan Wiktoryn Dobrowolski, owner of a tenement house inside the castle, protested against the demolition, on the basis of a consensus of the Łuck starost, Prince Czartoryski, of 2 January 1794, and together with Dobrowolski and neighbouring owners, who were also threatened with destruction of the tower.

This protest, however, in the face of the Supreme Order, would have remained a voice crying in the wilderness, had it not been for the visit of the Governor-General in October 1864, who expressed the opinion that the castle, as a monument of antiquity, should be unconditionally preserved, while as regards the tower and the wall to be demolished, it was agreed that they should be conserved at the cost of the voluntary donations of the local inhabitants. The same Dwernicki, who had initiated the demolition of the entire castle, sought permission to collect contributions.

These efforts, however, did not gain the approval of General-Governor Annikov the 2nd, who, in a proclamation dated 29th November, No. 7992, to the war governor in Zhytomyr, recommended carrying out the Supreme Order, subject to the rights of third parties whose buildings might suffer during the demolition. The sword of Damocles hung over the tower. It seemed its days were numbered.

However, at the end of September 1865, Governor-General Bezak visited Lutsk. The matter of the tower became a moot point, and since some of the inhabitants expressed the wish to maintain it by voluntary contributions, Mr Bezak instructed Staff-Captain Ertl to conclude a formal agreement to this effect with the inhabitants. However, this did not happen, and in May 1866, perhaps under the influence of a different mood, the townsfolk issued themselves a testimonium paupertatis, drawing up a resolution of refusal, by which they renounced the proposed contributions. This infuriated Bezak.

He had another inspection carried out, and on the basis of a report by engineer-captain Polanowski, who gave the opinion that he considered the demolition of such an ancient monument of architecture to be a sin and a technical mistake, he issued a rescript dated 12 July 1866, in which, on the basis of Articles 181 and 183 of Volume XII, Part I of the Building Act, the demolition of the tower was cancelled and he ordered that "the necessary repairs be made by the municipal treasury". In this way, the castle and the tower were saved. It still stands firm and unshaken, although in September 1890, a partial vivisection was carried out on the tower.

The hand of a vandal (the former mayor Anfilov) demolished the crown - the distinctive interlocks that crowned the tower. In any case, both the tower and the entire castle are in need of thorough restoration and Bezak's rescript opened a long, as yet unfinished period of efforts to raise the necessary funds. These efforts went through many phases, until finally the castle was given dignity in the hierarchy of monuments, as it was recognised as a monument of "national importance" and it was decided to apply for the allocation of an appropriate sum, based on the highest approved opinion of the committee of ministers.

Now an engineer from Kyiv, Mr Karol Ivanitski, has drawn up a cost estimate of Rs 15,759, which the magistrate has presented to the governor, and which is to be approved in the legislative order.