Stefan Cybichowski

• Name — Stefan Cybichowski • Born — 2 August 1881 • Birthplace — Poznań, German Empire • Died — 6 January 1940 • Place of death — Poznań, Poland • Education — Berlin Royal Technische Hochschule • Occupation — architect, social activist • Spouse — Barbara Mieczkowska • Children — Helena, Irena, Stanisław, Barbara, Katarzyna • Parents — Bronisław Cybichowski and Marta née Bischoff

Stefan Cybichowski was born on 2 August 1881 in Poznań (then Posen) to Maria Marta Bischoff and Bronisław Bernard Cybichowski (1844–1903), a philosopher and a philologist. Following the Kulturkampf strict policies, the family had to transfer to Inowrocław in April 1882 and later to Münster, Westphalia on 1 November 1887. They only returned to Inowrocław in 1892. In 1901, Cybichowski graduated from the German Royal Gymnasium in Inowrocław, today's Secondary School - Jan Kasprowicz (I Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Jana Kasprowicza w Inowrocławiu). As most of the architects from Greater Poland at that time, he studied architecture at a German university. In his case, he went to the Berlin Royal Technische Hochschule of Charlottenburg, graduating in 1905.

With his diploma, Cybichowski started to work on different projects in Berlin (1906-1909): • Building of the Royal School of Art; • Expansion and reconstruction of the Royal Mint house. In parallel, between 1907 and 1909, he became a lecturer at the Industrial Academy in Berlin, where he gave a lecture entitled "Building Design". In 1910, he received the qualifications of Notary builder. Under his supervision, Cybichowski designed in the German capital many edifices, from churches, theatres, gymnasiums to primary schools and infirmaries. During this period, he won awards in competitions for the chapel at Morskie Oko and the town hall of Spandau. In 1909–1910, he co-designed the project for the construction of the Fasanenstrasse Synagogue in Charlottenburg.

At the end of 1910, Cybichowski moved to Poznań: there, he opened his own architectural office. In 1912, he became a member of the newly created (1911) Technical Department of the Poznań Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences (Poznańskie Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk). In 1911, he gave a lecture On the use of gypsum in construction and, on 20 January 1914, a lecture about quadrangles. From 1920 to 1926, he lectured on rural architecture at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry of Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań. At the end of 1918, Cybichowski became the first president of the Architects' Circle of the Poznań Association of Technicians, the local branch of the national Association of Polish Architects. He stayed its president until 6 July 1925, replaced in the position by urbanist Marian Antoni Pospieszalski. He joined the circle at national level (Stowarzyszenie Inżynierów i Architektów) three years later. In 1924, Cybichowski won the competition organized in the perspective of the 1929 Polish General Exhibition in Poznań (PeWuKa: Powszechna Wystawa Krajowa w Poznaniu). As such, he designed the entire building ensemble of the 65 ha plot.

Between 1919 and 1922, Cybichowski was at the head of the construction department at the Voivodeship Office. There, he carried out the polonization of the administration. As such, he was one of the organizers of the first Poznań Trade Fair (Targ Poznański) from 28 May to 5 June 1921. He was a member of the Poznań City Council (1919–1925), but resigned from the seat in 1922. Later (1927–1931), Cybichowski was an honorary councilor of the "Magistrat of the city of Poznań". Furthermore, he belonged to the Association of Artists in Poznań from 1911. He was also a member of the Society of Friends of the City of Poznań (Towarzystwo Miłośników Miasta Poznań im. Cyryl Ratajski).

On 28 October 1939, the Poznań Gestapo arrested Cybichowski, together with a group of professors, as part of the Intelligenzaktion. They were imprisoned in the Fort VII camp. Cybichowski was shot there on 6 January 1940. His family was not informed about his execution until after the end of the conflict. A symbolic grave is located at the Parish Cemetery of Saint John Vianney in Poznań. For many years, Cybichowski's private archive was believed to be lost. In 1998, though, thanks to an employee of the Office of the Municipal Conservator of Monuments in Poznań, the architect's daughter, Helena Cybichowska, donated building designs and documentation about her father's projects in Poznań, Wielkopolska and Kujavia-Pomerania to the collections of the Municipal Conservator of Monuments.

On 25 June 1912, Cybichowski married Barbara Aniela Mieczkowska h. Bończa. They had five children: • Stefan Cybichowski and Barbara Cybichowska (1888 - 1981) • Stanisław Marian (1918–2015) married Doris (1912–2007) • Teresa Barbara Cybichowska (born 1954) • Stefan Ernest Cybichowski (born 1959) • Helena Bronisława Cybichowska (1913 - 1998) married Edmund Kasperski (1912–2007) • Zbigniew Kasperski (born 1955) • Irena Maria Cybichowska (1916 – ca 2000) married Sixten Ydefeldt (born 1910) • Barbara Marta Cybichowska (1919 – ca 2005) • Katarzyna Cybichowska (1925 - 2014) married Stanisław Bolewski h. Łodzia (1918–1988) • Jacek Bolewski h. Łodzia (1946 – 2012), jesuit priest • Anna Bolewska h. Łodzia (born 1947) married Julian Skiendzielewski (born 1950), three children • Krystyna Bolewska h. Łodzia (born 1949) • Tadeusz Bolewski h. Łodzia (born 1951 - 2024) married Anna Oświecimska (born 1952), four children • Piotr Bolewski h. Łodzia (born 1953)

Cybichowski's favorite style often referred to neo-classicist forms, as it was the trend in the first decade of the Second Polish Republic. He sometimes used Neo-Baroque style. Cybichowski can undoubtedly be called the most versatile architect in Greater Poland between 1909 and the start of World War II. He played an important role in the process of rehabilitating village churches to social demographic conditions, by and large redefining the image of provincial sacral architecture. Stylistically, he was an architect bridging two periods, historicizing forms and modernism, which was first introduced by him into the sacral architectural of large city churches in the region (Poznań, Bydgoszcz, Inowrocław). The identified legacy of Cybichowski includes completed works and designs, in particular approximately 100 religious edifices. For this endeavour, he was given the title of papal chamberlain. His work is characterized by stylistic diversity, from Neo-Baroque to Neo-Renaissance, from Neoclassicism to Eclecticism and Modern Architecture.

• Year — Edifice — Remarks — Picture • 1924-1929 — International Fair complex — Design of the administrative building (pavilion 101) and the Fair Palace (pavilion 12). — • 1927 — Palm House in the Wilson park. — Nonexistent and replaced by a larger building. Only the grand entry gate remains. — • 1927-1929 — Municipal School of Commerce — At today 54 Śniadeckich street. — • 1928–1930 and 1936–37 — Saint Stanislaus Kostka church — Registered on the cultural heritage registry of the Greater Poland Voivodeship (number A 277). — • 1927 — Carmelites monastery on Jarochowskiego street — Today the Holy Family Hospital of Gynecology and Obstetrics. — • 1928 — Reconstruction of the Polish Theatre — Drama theatre operating in the centre of Poznań since 1875. — • 1897-1920 — Building of the Bank Włościański — Located at 9 Plac Wolności. — • 1928 — Pebeco factory on Główna Street — Today Nivea Polska factory. — • 1939 — Dominican Friars monastery — Located at 9 Plac Wolności. — • 1933-1934 — Mieloch Family Mausoleum — The coffins were moved to the cemetery in Junikowo, a suburb of Poznań. Since the 1990s, the area has been the property of the family of the former owners. —

• Year — Edifice — Remarks — Picture • 1934-1935 — Sacred Heart and Saint Anne church in Kiszewo — It was consecrated in 1935. — • 1924-1925 — Saint Nicholas church in Ryczywół — Built on the site of an older wooden church, the tower is 39 m tall. — • 1927 — Saint Martin of Tours church in Kuczków — The preceding wooden church on the site burned down after being struck by lightning. — • 1927-1929 — Church of St. James the Greater in Sokolniki — Registered on the cultural heritage registry of the Greater Poland Voivodeship (number 38/Wlkp/A). — • 1928-1930 — Christ the King church in Jarocin — During the Nazi occupation, the Germans converted the church into a furniture warehouse. — • 1912 — Saint Margaret church in Cielcza — The church, built on the plan of a Greek cross, was consecrated by Edward Likowski, Bishop of Poznań, on 16 November 1913. — • 1934-1935 — Saint Nicholas Church in Wszembórz — In 1941, the church was converted into a car repair shop by the Germans. The edifice can accommodate about 1,000 worshippers. — • 1914-1916 — Palace in Bieganowo — Bieganowo had been owned by the Grzymalita Bieganowski family since the 18th century. —

• Year — Edifice — Remarks — Picture • 1926-1929 — Saint Therese of the Child Jesus church in Kruszwica — Registered on the cultural heritage list of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (number A/1526). — • 1926-1928 — Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help — Originally, timber framing technique was supposed to be used, but following Poznań architect Stefan Cybichowski's advice, it was decided to build a reinforced concrete nave and enlarge the church by one span. — • 1927 — Reconstruction of the 1850s manor in Chwaliszewo — Registered on the cultural heritage registry of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (number 187/A). — • 1927-1928 — Catholic House in Bydgoszcz — Registered on the cultural heritage list of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (number A/1266). — • Design in 1923, building in 1927-1933 — Extension and Neo-Baroque re-designing of Saint Nicholas church in Fordon — Registered on the cultural heritage registry of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (number A/424/1). — • 1928-1931 — Christ the King church in Jeleńcz — The previous wooden church hab been built in 1767, but a storm toppled its tower on 19 June 1871. — • 1934-1935 — Saint Joseph church in Inowrocław — Registered on the cultural heritage list of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship (number A/1591). — • 1935 — Saint Anthony of Padua Church — Thanks to Father Polzin, the unfinished church was leased during WWII to a German company for storing there construction tools, hence saving the future edifice. — • 1935 — Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary Queen of Poland in Brzoza — The location chosen for the new church was the very place where in January 1919 fightings took place during the Greater Poland Uprising —

• Year — Edifice — Remarks — Picture • 1937-1939 — Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Perpetual Help in Zdziechowa — It was erected as a votive offering for the victory in the Greater Poland Uprising and the regaining of Polish independence. — • 1935 — Renovation of the cathedral, the suffragan house and the Primate's Higher Seminary (1935); — For the seminary, works comprised the addition of two floors and wings. — • 1934 — Saint Dorothy church in Strzałkowo — Dipslaying neoclassical style, the edifice characterized by a large dome. —

• Year — Edifice — Remarks — Picture • 1927-1930 — Minor seminary and Redemptorists monastery — The projects were financially supported by Redemptorist followers and American and Dutch Redemptorists. — • 1927 — Chapel of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Chełmża. — In 1940, the chapel was destroyed by the German forces. —

• Year — Edifice — Remarks — Picture • 1929 — Saint Joseph church in Tczew — The brick tower is 48 m tall. — • 1934 — Reconstruction of the St. Michael the Archangel in Łomża — The works followed the raising of the church to the rank of the cathedral of the Łomża diocese on 28 October 1925. — • 1930-1934 — Saint Lawrence church in Gołańcz — The church can accommodate up to 5,000 worshippers. — • 1929 — Saint James the Great church in Lubichowo — The neo-Baroque church houses older furnishings from the two earlier wooden churches. — • 1931-1933 — Corpus Christi church in Hel — During the occupation, German soldiers used the church as a warehouse, a cinema hall and a dormitory. — • 1926 — Tombstone of Father Piotr Wawrzyniak in Mogilno (1926); — The tombstone was consecrated on 10 November 1913, on the third anniversary of the death of Father Piotr Wawrzyniak, a great advocate of Polishness, deputy to the Prussian Sejm in Berlin (1894 - 1898) and priest of the Mogilno parish church. — • 1923-1924 — Insurgents' mausoleum in Trzemeszno — The monument was destroyed by the Nazis in the autumn of 1939. It was reconstructed according to the design of Andrzej Chodnik (reduced by one third) and unveiled on 28 December 2008. — • 1933 — Saint Nicholas church in Niedamowo — Three churches (ca 1282, 1649, 1820) preceded the current one. —

Stefan Cybichowski is recorded as architect.