Janusz Domaniewski, Inspektor Ochrony Przyrody w Tatrach (1927–1930)

Daszkiewicz, Piotr; Gwiazdowicz, Dariusz J. (1966– ); Iwan, Dariusz; Kowalski, Hubert; Warchałowski, Marcin

Skip to main menu
Skip to search engine
Skip to content
Skip to footer

Download

Title: Janusz Domaniewski, Inspektor Ochrony Przyrody w Tatrach (1927–1930)

Abstract:

Janusz Witold Domaniewski (1891–1954) was one of the most outstanding Polishzoologists. He played a key role in establishing the museography of nature; he organizedthe institutional protection of nature and laid down reasonable foundations for huntingpractices in the interwar period. His activities paved the way for the establishment of theTatra National Park. In this volume of Memorabilia Zoologica, which is the seventh volume,and also the fourth to be devoted to Domaniewski, the editors have decided to present a selection of letters and documents from Zakopane dating from the period when he heldthe post of Inspector for the Protection of Nature at the Zamoyski Foundation whilst atthe same time also working as curator of the Tatra Museum. These documents, stored inthe archives of the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences inWarsaw (MiIZ PAN), are a unique testimony to this extremely important stage in the history of nature conservation. In Domaniewski’s official correspondence concerning the protection of the Tatra’snatural environment, there are several themes which recur repeatedly, such as: forest management, poaching, illegal trade in the edelweiss, the felling of dwarf mountain pine forfirewood, the corruption of game wardens, granting fishing permits, fish stocking activities,the organization of hunting and the regulation of game shooting, the problem of Tatrabears and their protection, damage caused by protected wildlife, illegally keeping marmotsas pets, supervision over new buildings and building permits, granting permits and licencesand controlling businesses, quarry mining, military manoeuvres with firearms and explosives, the need to recruit park rangers and provide nature education for police officers, regulation of automobile racing, the disappearance of important elements of highland folklore.Domaniewski’s letters from the State Council for Nature Protection (Państwowa RadaOchrony Przyrody – PROP) are a testimony to the daily, active protection of nature in theTatra mountains in the interwar period and, seen in this light, the modern approach to thisprotection from an experienced specialist and naturalist is clearly visible.In the interwar period, Zakopane and the Tatra Mountains were the ‘capital’ andfavourite meeting place of artists. Domaniewski was friends with many of them. In lettersand documents kept in the MiIZ archives, a selection of which we present in this volumeof Memorabilia, many names can be found that are of significance to Polish culture, e.g.those of Kazimierz Wierzyński, Julian Tuwim, Mieczysław Grydzewski, Kornel Maku -szyński, Michał Choromański. Domaniewski was particularly close to Stanisław IgnacyWitkiewicz and Rafał Malczewski. Witkacy painted portraits of the Domaniewski family and their children, which are now kept in the archives of MiIZ PAN in Warsaw. The documents presented in this volume are important not only for the history of nature conservation in the Tatra Mountains but also for the history of Polish culture in theinterwar period.