A hitherto unrecognised collection found in Żołynia, consisting of several hundred stencils, drawings, woodcarving and architectural designs, and other unexpected documents, became the basis of a research project entitled "Artistic activities of the Dąbrowski family of Żołynia (Podkarpacie) in the territory of the Lviv region". The discoveries initiated by the aforementioned collection turned out to be significant and give rise to further work on the project.

The research project related to the legacy of the Dąbrowski family began on the initiative of Magdalena Kątnik-Kowalska, director of the Communal Cultural Centre in Żołynia. The leadership of the project, as well as the identification and compilation of the collection of materials, was entrusted to two researchers affiliated with Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw - Katarzyna Chrudzimska-Uhera, PhD, and Anna Czyż, PhD.

The whole story begins in 1907, when a company was founded using the seal: "Sculpture and carpentry workshop, ecclesiastical and building products", and its initiator and owner was Franciszek Dąbrowski (1881-1948).

The workshop was located in one of the tenement houses at the Market Square in Żołynia, situated in the Podkarpackie Voivodship, in the county of Łańcut. The firm operated from 1907 to 1989 and was run by the aforementioned Franciszek and his son Henryk (1912-1989). In the inter-war period, Franciszek's two sons, Zdzisław and Antoni, were also active in the workshop. However, fate did not bind them to the family business. Zdzisław (1909-1986) left Żołynia and settled in Sosnowiec, while Antoni (b. 1910) died during the Battle of Britain. The Dąbrowski studio operated until Henryk's death in 1989. Recently, the new, private owners of the tenement house where the Dąbrowski company was located decided to create a memorial centre there dedicated to the activities of the well-known, artistic family. One step in this effort was a research project conducted and funded by the POLONIKA Institute.

The project's realisers subjected the entire collection of the Dąbrowski family to an inventory. As a result of the work and thanks to the methodology adopted, not only was the collection catalogued and arranged, but it was also thoroughly penetrated.

In 2021, it was established that the Żołyńskis had carried out many artistic and woodcarving projects in the Małopolska region, but also in 91 locations outside Poland. The legacy researchers were able to determine the location of some of the projects, including temple projects in Romania (Bukovina), Russia (Siberia), the Czech Republic (the Saint Kopecky sanctuary near Olomouc), Austria (a redesign of a project by Tomasz Prylinski from Vienna by Franciszek Dąbrowski) and the USA (the states of New York, Michigan and New Jersey). However, for many of the projects it has not been possible to determine the location or clearly assess whether they have been realised. In the current state of research, the oldest catalogued objects date back to 1869, while the latest are from the 1970s and 1980s.

A surprising discovery during the research into the legacy of the Dąbrowski family was the finding of a huge number of drawings made by Ferdinand Majerski (1832-1921), who ran one of the largest companies with an artistic profile in Galicia. As the researchers state: "This fact is a real sensation, as the archives of Ferdinand and Stanislaw Majerski's studio were until now considered lost". In addition, individual drawings and designs by renowned artists such as Tomasz Pryliński, Zygmunt Hendel, Feliks Księżarski, Adolf Minasiewicz, Tadeusz Mostowski, Alfred Kamieniobrodzki and Tomasz Lisiewicz have been identified among the objects. Works by sculptors associated primarily with Przemyśl were also recognised: Emil Giebułtowicz, Jan Tracz, Józef Wilczek, Jan Woytyga and Zygmunt Rasiński.

In 2021, the inventory work in Żołynia came to an end. However, the research project continues. In 2022, the collection will be studied and analysed in detail. But the main objective will be a research trip to Ukraine to verify the condition of the preserved works that came out from under the Dąbrowski's chisel. The entire project will result in a book publication planned for 2023, presenting such a fascinating collection of designs and their sculptural effect.