ARCHITECTURE AND ART
The oldest preserved monuments in northern Mazovia and the adjacent areas are: romanesque church in Czerwińsk, laid out in the Romanesque style, a significantly rebuilt Roman Catholic cathedral in Płock and a late Romanesque church in Rokicie. The church in Czerwińsk has retained, apart from the general architectural composition, also many Romanesque details: portal, windows, was absent, columns and a set of frescoes. The church in Rokicie is one of the few late-Romanesque brick buildings. Many gothic buildings have survived in Mazovia. They were created mainly under the influence of Pomeranian architecture, but unlike it, they do not have such soaring forms and have less decorative details. Therefore, that the Gothic arrived in Mazovia relatively late – sometimes it survived until the beginning of the 18th century., coexisting with the Renaissance. Gothic and Gothic-Renaissance objects are castles in Płock, Ciechanów, Czersk, Sochaczew, defensive walls in Warsaw, town hall tower in Pułtusk, numerous brick churches, m.in. in Brochów, Brock, Łęg-Probostwie, Serock, Kleczków, Przasnysz, Zakroczym and Ciechanów. The latest example of Gothic in Mazovia is the 18th century. belfry in Myszyniec. Defensive churches are undoubtedly the original solutions (Brochow, Kleczkowo), surrounded by walls with corridors connecting strategic places, np. towers, equipped with fireplaces with fireplaces enabling cooking of food for those who defend themselves within its walls. Very rare diamond vaults stand out among the Gothic forms (Shrensk, Kleczkowo, Common, Warsaw – Monastery of Bernardine), ribbing, freshness, np. depicting Pieta in the church in Czerwińsk. Partially exposed paintings in churches in Pułtusk are worth paying attention to, Piaseczno and Błonie. Many of the monuments mentioned have been seriously rebuilt, and after destruction to a large extent reconstructed. The most valuable works of the Gothic style in the field of sculpture and painting can be found in museums, especially in Warsaw (National Museum) and Płock (Diocesan Museum).
The art of the Renaissance did not, in fact, result in stylishly clean independent objects. Undoubtedly, the best examples are: Bishop Noskowski's chapel at the basilica in Pułtusk, chapel of St. Mary Magdalene in Pułtusk, the lower floor of the palace in Chrzęstne and the ruins of the castle in Brok. Many examples of Renaissance sepulchral art have survived, m.in. in churches in Pułtusk, Kobylniki, Little things, Karczew, Zakro-what, Płock, Makow Mazowiecki.
Baroque monuments have also survived. The palaces in Otwock Wielki stand out among the residences, in Warsaw (Wilanów), among the churches one of the most valuable are brick churches in Warsaw (st. Boniface in Sadyba), Ostrołęka, Góra Kalwaria and Karczew. Many baroque wooden churches have also been preserved, np. in Długa Kościelna, Skulach and Zakrzew Kościelny.
Rococo monuments include. churches in Warsaw (ss. business cards), Kobyłce and Rokitno. Many baroque and rococo churches have been preserved.
The beginning of classicism – the Stanisławowski style is represented by the palaces in Jabłonna and Warsaw (Bathrooms) and some interiors of Zanik Królewski in Warsaw. The proper and late classicism left the palaces in Młochów, Wyszków (Rybenko Stare), in Warsaw (Tepper Palace), numerous mansions, townhouses, churches in Warsaw (st. Alexander), Nadarzyn, Radziejowice and Pę-cice, public utility buildings (The Grand Theater in Warsaw, town hall in Płock), examples of small architecture, np. city tollbooths in Warsaw and Płock, inns, forges and post offices. Many classical elements of church furnishings have been preserved, and in cemeteries there are many classicist tombstones.
W XIX w. styles described as historical dominated: neo-Gothic, neorenesans, neo-baroque and sometimes separated from late classicism – neoclassicism. Using architectural patterns from the heyday of Poland was supposed to influence the patriotic feelings of Poles, similarly to the historical literature and fine arts of that period.. The most interesting projects include numerous churches, mostly neo-gothic, designed by Józef Pius Dziekoński.
W XIX w. fortifications were also built, largely preserved. They deserve attention – fortress in Modlin, the citadel in Warsaw and the forts in Zegrze, Pomiechówek, Oak, Benjamin and Różanie.
The Russians living in Poland built churches mainly in the Neo-Byzantine style. Few of them have survived (Warsaw, Stanisławowo), because after 1918 r. were taken apart.
Large industrial facilities were also built: sugar factories, glass works, machine factories and others. Settlements for workers were often built next to them (Brands).
The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. is the development of wooden summer houses (Wolomin, Forest Horseshoe, Konstancin, Otwock) and the emergence of a new style in architecture – secession (Warsaw, Mlawa).
In the interwar period, buildings known as modernist were built. They were both public utility buildings, residential houses, churches, industrial facilities and buildings – company headquarters.
The period of People's Poland left the buildings of socialist realism (Warsaw: PKiN, MDM), large typical housing estates, powerful industrial facilities. The only field of architectural experiments at that time were churches.
After 1990 r. there was a rapid development of original construction according to world standards. Architecturally interesting headquarters of companies have been created especially in large agglomerations, banks, hotels, churches, intimate estates of single-family houses.