Wawelberg's Settlement — an innovative social project

The oldest existing housing estate in Warsaw built in 1898 - 1900, according to the design of Edward Goldberg. Together with his wife Ludwika, Hipolit Wawelberg, a Warsaw financier and philanthropist, founded it. They did it with a view to the poor, working population, giving them the opportunity to improve their lives and raise their social status. More than 300 families have found housing in modern buildings. The founders covered residents with a unique social program. On the estate were schools, orphanage, baths, reading room, medical point and ballroom. The Wawelbergs believed that such a formula would obliterate social and racial antagonisms.

Hipolit Wawelberg

Hipolit Wawelberg, one of the greatest philanthropists from the late nineteenth century, was born in Warsaw in 1844. His father Henryk is an example of a Polish self-made man; he went from a poor iron warehouse worker to a financier with considerable wealth. Hipolit wanted to become an engineer. He graduated from the 3rd Mathematical Junior High School (it was located in the Kazimierzowski Palace) and was to go to university when the January Uprising broke out. The boy took an active part in it. After the fall of the uprising, to protect his son from persecution, Henry sent him to study finance in Berlin. Hipolit completed internships at the City of London, Berlin and Paris. There he made contacts that would pay off in the future. After graduation, he was employed at his father's bank. He ran a branch of the Wawelberg Financial House in St. Petersburg. He made the bank one of the largest in Russia and many times exceeded the bank in Warsaw. Hipolit himself became one of the richest citizens of the Congress Poland. He could afford a lot. He bought a residence in Tsarskoye Selo, thus becoming a neighbor of the Tsar of Russia himself.

 

 

 

,,Pionierzy Kształcenia Politechnicznego. Na Drodze do Niepodleglości"

Miło nam zaprosić Państwa na wystawę pt. ,,Pionierzy Kształcenia Politechnicznego. Na drodze do niepodległości", która powstała z okazji 125-lecia założenia Szkoły Mechaniczno Technicznej im. H. Wawelberga i S. Rotwanda. Otworzy ją koncert on-line transmitowany w dniu 4 grudnia 2020 r. o godzinie 18.00 na stronie Fb Festiwalu Hipolita i Ludwiki.

Wystawę i koncert zorganizowało Stowarzyszenie Mieszkańców i Przyjaciół Kolonii Wawelberga.

Partnerzy Projektu: Muzeum Historii Polski, Stowarzyszenie Żydowski Instytut Historyczny, Wolskie Centrum Kultury, Wydział Samochodów i Maszyn Roboczych Politechniki Warszawskiej, Dom Spotkań z Historią, Archiwum Historii Mówionej.

Wystawę i koncert dofinansowano z środków Muzeum Historii Polski w ramach programu ,, Patriotyzm Jutra" oraz Stowarzyszenia Żydowski Instytut Historyczny w Polsce.

Szczególne podziękowania Panu Ryszardowi Witkowskiemu, jednemu z ostatnich żyjących absolwentów Uczelni Wawelberga. Za inspirację, liczne materiały archiwalne i wsparcie merytoryczne.

Wystawę można będzie oglądać na ogrodzeniu gmachu Wydziału SiMR przy ulicy Narbutta 84 w Warszawie do końca maja 2021 roku. Zapraszamy !