A ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on 2nd February 2012 saw the handing over of the President of the Republic of Poland\u2019s decree endowing the status of historical monument upon the Duszniki-Zdr\u00f3j paper mill. The document was received from the hands of the President, Mr Bronis\u0142aw Komorowski, by the Chief Executive of the Lower Silesian Voivodship, Mr Rafa\u0142 Jurkowlaniec and the Museum of Papermaking\u2019s director, Mr Maciej Szymczyk. The museum falls within the cultural remit of the Chief Executive\u2019s Office. The ceremony was attended by a host of people connected with the museum. Amongst them were Deputy Chief Executive Mr Rados\u0142aw Mo\u0142o\u0144, the director of the Department of Culture at the Chief Executive\u2019s Office, Mr Jacek Gawro\u0144ski, the Mayor of Duszniki-Zdr\u00f3j, Mr Andrzej Rymarczyk, the Chairman of the Association of Polish Papermakers and head of the listed company, Arctic Paper S.A., Mr Micha\u0142 Jarczy\u0144ski, the General Director of the Association of Polish Papermakers, Mr Zbigniew Fornalski, the Chairman of International Paper \u2013 Kwidzyn S.A., Mr Marek Lrzykowski, the Vice Chairman of PWPW, the Polish Security Printing Works, Mr Piotr Pankanin, the Voivodship Historical Monuments Conservation Officer, Mr Andrzej Kubik, the head of the Wa\u0142brzych Branch of the Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments, Ms Barbara Obelinda-Nowak, former director of the museum Ms Bo\u017cena Schweizer-Makowska and its Deputy Director, Ms Joanna Seredy\u0144ska.<\/p>\n
Under Polish law, the classification of \u2018historical monument\u2019 represents the highest form of conservation and protection and is awarded to sites of particular value to the nation\u2019s culture. The significance of the title is elevated by the fact that it is granted only after a process of intensive scrutiny and by special presidential decree, which is why the list of historical monuments is referred to as \u2018the Presidential list\u2019. At present it contains 48 sites, including the Jasna G\u00f3ra (Luminous Mount) monastery, the Teutonic Knights\u2019 Castle in Malbork, the historical districts of Kazimierz Dolny, Krakow, Lublin, Pozna\u0144, Toru\u0144, Warsaw, Wroc\u0142aw and Zamo\u015b\u0107 and the battlefields at Grunwald, Rac\u0142awice and Westerplatte. To date, seven sites in Lower Silesia have been granted the status, with the Centennial Hall and the Old Town of Wroc\u0142aw, the basilica in Krzesz\u00f3w and the fortress on Srebna G\u00f3ra (Silver Mountain) numbering amongst them.<\/p>\n
The process of entering the Museum of Papermaking onto the list of historical monuments was launched at the initiative of the director. The decision to award this status was made on the strength of the fact that the building is the only paper mill in Poland, and one of very few in the world, in so excellent a condition. Note was also taken of something which is extraordinarily rare in industrial buildings, namely the superb polychromes which adorn the wooden walls of the interior. The meeting of history and contemporary times, in the form of the museum\u2019s extremely rich programme of educational activities, which serve as a continuation of the mill\u2019s original spirit and function, played its part in the decision as well.<\/p>\n
Maciej Szymczyk, Ph.D. habilitas<\/em><\/p>\n Director, Museum of Papermaking<\/em><\/p>\n \n\t\t