Godzimir Małachowski

Polish lawyer, politician, Deputy of Halychyna Parliament and the Austrian Parliament, President of Lviv (1896-1905).

Godzimir Małachowski (Nałęcz coat-of-arms), (October 31, 1852 – June 23, 1908) - Polish lawyer, politician, Deputy of Halychyna Parliament (1896-1908) and the Austrian Parliament (1904-1908), President of Lviv (1896-1905). 

Born in Lviv in the family of Piotr Małachowski, an impoverished nobleman who worked as an archivist in Halychyna Land Loan Company. He lost his parents in his childhood and was raised in the family of Ludwig Aleksander Małuja, an official of Lviv appellate court. He graduated from the Law Faculty of Lviv University and received a degree of Doctor of Law in 1873. He had his own legal firm and was a member of the Society of Lawyers in Lviv. He also authored works in economic and constitutional law. He was a member of the First Convention of Legal Chambers in Vienna in 1894, a syndic of Halychyna Savings Bank (1877-1899) and the author of its history (1894). Co-organizer of the Local Exhibition in Lviv in 1894. Deputy of Lviv City Council (from 1892) and a developer of a new edition of its statute (1896). 

As President of Lviv, Małachowski is mainly known for the successful implementation of a number of investment projects: constructing the water supply and sewage systems, opening the gas company, a city power station in Persenkivka, a slaughterhouse with refrigeration equipment, expanding the network of the electric tram. During his presidency, the construction of the City Theatre and the Artistic and Industrial Museum was completed: they became a final chord of the new city centre; the monuments to Jan III Sobieski and Adam Mickiewicz were erected; the Mikolasz Passage was finished. The development of the city was subordinated to the idea of the "great city" which was to transform Lviv from a provincial city into a European capital. 

By political views, Małachowski belonged to the right wing of Polish democracy and successfully achieved political compromise in the local government. Supporter of expanding the autonomy of Halychyna. Concerning the Ukrainian question, he shared the views of Polish national democracy, but stressed on the brotherhood between the Polish and Ukrainian peoples. In Halychyna Parliament, he was a member of the budget and railway commissions and worked on bills to improve the material conditions of secondary school teachers. In the Parliament, he presided over the industrial commission that prepared a new version of the law on industry; he participated in drafting law on oil extraction. He was a member of the board for supporting handcraftsmanship at the Ministry of Trade; he was also engaged in the reform of the judicial system. In 1897-1905, he served as Chairman of the city school board. In 1895, he joined the board, and in 1898-1908, he stayed as Chairperson of the Pedagogical Society, and in 1899, he received the title of its honorary member. He reformed the society, which focused on defending the interests of teachers; he collaborated with the pedagogical journal «Szkoła». He was a member of the Musical Society in Halychyna, the Association of Polish Journalists, the Red Cross Society in Halychyna as well as an honorary member of the Society "Skala" and a board member of the Forestry Society in Lviv. Around 1880, he married Marcelina Tarnawiecka, daughter of Marcely Tarnawiecki, Lviv lawyer, doctor of law, syndic at the estates of Archduke Albrecht Habsburg in Halychyna, Director of Halychyna Savings Bank, who transferred his legal firm to G. Małachowski. The Małachowskis lived in Lviv, at 20, T. Kosciuszko Street. The couple had three children (other sources indicate four children): daughters Godzimira and Lucia and son Roman. In 1897, the Małachowski founded the charity "Związek Rodzicielski”, which provided for 14 care homes at schools. He was buried at Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv.

Godzimir Małachowski received a degree of Doctor of Law, was a successful lawyer in Lviv, authored works in economic and constitutional law, drafted law bills, was a distinguished speaker. He was active in public matters, implemented a number of initiatives, supported the activities of societies, including pedagogical ones, and charities (along with his wife). His personality correlated with the needs of society in Halychyna for a young, energetic and successful politician and manager who could be a role model for industriousness and competence and who could succeed in overcoming outdated and inefficient management schemes. His presidency in Lviv was marked with the implementation of a number of investment projects aimed at improving urban infrastructure and the formation of urban space that would turn Lviv into a contemporary European capital and represent the ambitious plan to create a "big Lviv" under the influence of the fin-de-siècle atmosphere. He was a Polish patriot; although he called the Ukrainians for "brotherly agreement", he considered them a threat. Is contemporaries remembered him as a master of compromise and a hospitable host of the city.

Family

Godzimir Małachowski was born in Lviv in the family of Piotr Małachowski, an impoverished nobleman who worked as an archivist in Halychyna Land Loan Company. He lost his parents in his childhood and was raised in the family of Ludwig Aleksander Małuja, an official of Lviv appellate court (he even used the double surame for some time: Małachowski-Małuja). Around 1880, he married Marcelina Tarnawiecka, daughter of Marcely Tarnawiecki, Lviv lawyer, doctor of law, syndic at the estates of Archduke Albrecht Habsburg in Halychyna, Director of Halychyna Savings Bank (1867–1886). The father-in-law played an important role in Małachowski’s career, introducing him into public matters and transferring him the legal firm in Lviv. The Małachowskis lived in Lviv, at 20, T. Kosciuszko Street. Besides, Malachowski was the owner of several buildings in Lviv and of land lots outside the city. The couple had three children (other sources indicate four children): daughters Godzimira and Lucia and son Roman (some sources record one more son).

The House of the Małachowskis at the turn of the century became an important centre of social life which gathered the highest representatives of Halychyna Administration and Lviv intellectuals. Following contemporary Polish aristocratic wives, Marcelina Małachowska supported her husband’s social initiatives and was involved in charity, including care for the poor. In 1897, the couple Małachowski co-founded the society "Związek Rodzicielski”. The society provided for its 14 care homes at schools where pupils did their homework under the supervision of teachers, got free meals and access to libraries. Their social status allowed the Malachowskis to involve funds of wealthy and influential citizens of the city into their charitable initiatives. After G. Małachowski was elected a member of the Parliament, his family stayed in Lviv. However, Marcelina Małachowska was near her husband in Vienna during his lethal illness, revealing "superhuman sacrifice» as remarked by her contemporaries ("Czas", 1908, nr 143).

Legal practice and social activities

Godzimir Małachowski studied at the Law Faculty of Lviv University. As a student, he became a distinguished public activist, working in the board of the Polish students’ society “Czytelnia Akademicka”. In 1873, he received a degree of Doctor of Law. In 1875-1879, he worked as Adjunct of the Higher Regional Court in Lviv and Vynnyky and later started legal practice. On January 1, 1882, Godzimir Malachowski was included into the list of Lviv Chamber of Lawyers, soon he took over the legal firm of his father-in-law and became one of the most successful lawyers in Lviv. He was known as a brilliant speaker and expert in the intricacies of law. He also served as Member of the Disciplinary Board of the Regional Court in Lviv. Since 1893, he was a member of the Society of Lawyers in Lviv, where he dealt with property issues. He published studies in economic and constitutional law, particularly in the journals «Przegląd Sądowy i Administracyjny», «Prawnik», «Czasopismo Prawnicze i Ekonomiczne», «Reforma Sądowa»; he popularized legal issues in the newspapers «Dziennik Polski» and «Gazeta Mieszczańska». In 1894, he represented Lviv Chamber of Lawyers at the First Convention of Legal Chambers in Vienna, where he defended broader rights for lawyers, including the abolition of restrictions on the number of defenders (the principle of numerus clausus), objected to the administrative impact on the assessment of legal firms during internship, insisted on the personal responsibility of each lawyer for the quality of his work. In 1896, he studied legal practice in Germany and published a monograph in Polish and German on the German system of courts and lawyers.

He supported numerous social initiatives and promoted societies and institutions. In public life, he got involved as syndic of Halychyna Savings Bank (1887-1899). At that time (1889-1891), the architect Julian Zachariewicz constructed the building of Halychyna Savings Bank in Lviv in Neo-Renaissance style. He authored the history of Halychyna Savings Bank, published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the bank. In 1894, he contributed to organizing and hosting Lviv Regional Exhibition. Schooling was an important part of Małachowski’s activities. In 1897-1905, he was Chairman of the City School Board in Lviv. In 1895, he joined the board, and in 1898-1908, he stayed as Chairparson of the Pedagogical Society, and in 1899, he received the title of its honorary member. He reformed the society which focused on defending the interests of teachers; he collaborated with the pedagogical journal «Szkoła». He had a musical education and was a member of the Musical Society in Halychyna, the Association of Polish Journalists, the Red Cross Society in Halychyna (1898–1908) as well as an honorary member of the Society "Skala" and a board member of the Forestry Society in Lviv.

President of Lviv

Godzimir Małachowski started working in the municipal administration in 1892, when he was elected Deputy of Lviv City Council. He was a member of the Budget Committee which was preparing the Regional Exhibition in 1894, and worked in the legal committee of the Council. He drafted the amended statute of Lviv City Council (effective on April 11, 1896), whereby the cadence of the City Council and the president was extended from three to six years (establishing mid-term elections). After the election of the new City Council that year, President Edmund Mochnacki resigned and refused to run for another term. The first attempt at electing a new president on July 2, 1896 ended in failure: Leonard Pientak lacked two votes. The next election took place on July 8, and then Godzimir Małachowski was proposed. Explaining this proposal, the correspondent of «Gazeta Lwowska» asserted that "the choice fell on the man who has long held a respectable position in our public and is known for his outstanding wit and completely independence; he will definitely cope with problems that derive from these honoured and, meanwhile, heavy duties» ("Gazeta Lwowska", 1896, nr 155). G. Małachowski was elected President of the city by the minimum number of votes: 51 votes out of 95 deputies who took part in the vote. Then Karol Szayer was elected First Vice President of the City; Michał Michalski, Second Vice President. As President of the city, G. Małachowski played a role of the hospitable host of the city, and a lot of people remembered him as a gentleman who had his visitors at Lviv City Hall.

Godzimir Małachowski became President of Lviv at a relatively young age of 43 (most presidents were over 50). Belonging to the right-wing Polish Democrats, he entered office as a representative of Polish liberal intelligentsia who was to bring the city beyond provincial policies and terminate negative practices in management. The ideological criticism of the shortcomings of local authorities was associated with the influence of the bourgeois society "Strzelnica”. The society which collected people from different social strata, existed as an archery organization; it annually elected their king and hosted carnival-like activities that emphasized the traditions of Lviv bourgeoisie. , It became the centre of attraction that turned private and local impacts into attempts of monopoly control over the local authorities. As Józef Wittlin notes, the average member of the "Strzelnica" which "dominated in the city council", was "a patriot, mostly local, with a touch of pomposity", "in pathetic moments, prone to major victims – mostly at the expense of other people's lives and viewpoints but sometimes even his own» (Wittlin, 1991, s. 25). However, G. Małachowski failed to change the situation because for the sake of adopting decisions, he immediately had to compromise with the milieu of "Strzelnica".

Godzimir Małachowski was President of Lviv for ten years. In European history, this time at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is known due to French writers as fin de siècle, characterized by a kind of intellectual climate and expectations for changes. Fin de siècle was special for the Habsburg monarchy which was trying to overcome the permanent political crisis, and opposed its own "high culture" to traditional centres, like Paris. These processes were characterized for Halychyna where they embodied the idea of the "big city" which was to move the city to the level of European capitals. During the presidency of Małachowski’s predecessor, E. Mochnacki, Lviv received a substantial loan from the state budget which aimed at promoting Lviv to top-tank cities of the monarchy. And Małachowskis presidency is associated with the rapid development and modernization of the city, turning into a "European city". Investments helped to expand the water supply network: in 1901, the 30-kilometer aqueduct from Volia Dobrostanska to Lviv was put in operation; moreover, the complete overlap of the Poltva and the regulation of its flows in the sewerage system of the city were finalized in the same year. The city gas company was built in 1897. In 1900 the Persenkivka power station started operating that allowed to expand electric tram routes. The city slaughterhouse with refrigeration equipment began functioning in July, 1901. In 1901, at the meetings of Lviv City Council there was first raised the question of expanding the city by incorporating surrounding villages.

The changes affected not only the city’s economy, but also its construction. In 1897-1900, the City Theatre was built (architect Z. Gorgolewski), and in 1904, the construction of the Art and Industry Museum was completed (architect L. Marconi, J.K. Janowski). They became the final chord of the new city centre. The shopping centre “Mikolasz Passage” was finished in 1901. New accents appeared in the symbolism of urban space: the monument to King Jan III Sobieski was unveiled in 1898; the monument to Adam Mickiewicz, on October 30, 1904. The symbolic recognition of modernizing the city was a visit in early September, 1904, by the Austrian premiere Ernest von Koerber who, in response to the greeting of the city delegation led by G. Małachowski, said: "Lviv steps forward quickly, a lot of public institutions still shine fresh [...] The old economy which is already impossible to maintain, leaves the stage, while order overpowers, and the next generation will have to reckon with Lviv as a trigger of great movement between West and East» ("Słowo Polskie", 1904, nr 411).

Parliamentary activities. Political views

Godzimir Małachowski consistently defended the need for expanding the autonomy of Halychyna. Deputy of Halychyna Parliament (1896-1908) and the Austrian Parliament (1904-1908; in 1904, he was elected on behalf of Lviv Chamber of Trade and Commerce; in 1907, on behalf of the First district of Lviv). In Halychyna Parliament, he was a member of the budget and railway commissions and worked on propositions in support of small businesses. He also worked in the School Board, promoting bills to improve the material conditions of secondary school teachers, especially at their early career, for "what will shape teachers with a certificate of maturity, and later with that of qualification, if they have to escape this profession or completely exhaust themselves because of material hardships» (Stenograficzne sprawozdania Sejmu Krajowego ..., 1902, s. 800). He supported proposals for funding educational initiatives and societies. He was engaged in drafting a law on the establishment of employment centres in Halychyna (Bureau of Labour Mediation). In Halychyna Parliament, he mostly introduced specific proposals for changes in legislation, avoided participation in political debates and, in general, did not display his political views.

In the Parliament, he presided over the industrial commission that prepared a new version of the law on industry; he participated in drafting law on oil extraction. He was a member of the board for supporting handcraftsmanship at the Ministry of Trade. He was also engaged in the reform of the judicial system and designed a memo where he proved that in Halychyna there were too few courts, and their personnel was overloaded with numerous responsibilities. Fluent in German, he was considered one of the best speakers. According to the Vice President of the Polish circle in the Austrian Parliament, Stanisław Starzyński, G. Małachowski was able to make and maintain friendly relations with MPs; in parliamentary activities, he was observed to be careful and initiative and to possess keen interest in various issues and a sense of tact. He defended the interests of Poles from Halychyna in reforming the Austrian election law and argued that the proposed bill did not sufficiently take into account Halychyna regional and Polish national interests.

In the context of aggravated Ukrainian-Polish relations, connected with modern nation-shaping, Godzimir Małachowski as a public person had to express opinions that reflected the general evolution of a large part of the city’s Polish intelligentsia toward national democracy. He stressed on the right of Poles to protect their national achievements and shared the view that the Ukrainian national movement threatened Polish interests. At the same time, he considered the Poles and the Ukrainians to be "brotherly nations" and argued that they should seek understanding without mediators, including the central government. Anticipating the strengthening of Ukrainian movement, he urged Polish politicians as a stronger side in the conflict to initiate Polish-Ukrainian agreement and start (especially during the electoral reform) a movement "to the ideal when the common banner of agreement between both nations could wave over this land» (Sprawozdanie poselskie Dr. Godzimira Małachowskiego ..., 1901). On May 25, 1908, in the Austrian Parliament, he made a speech at the so-called Halychyna discussion which was caused by the protests of Ukrainians against law violations during the 1908 elections to the Halychyna Parliament. In his speech, he tried to justify the position of Halychyna administration, including the support of Russophiles, accused the Ukrainian movement of radicalism and social unrest and urged Ukrainian MPs to abandon their complaints after the assassination of Governor Andrzej Potocki. According to witnesses, it was one of Małachowski’s most emotional public speeches but it was his last speech.

Death. General estimation of his activities

It was a twist of fate that, for the sake of a speech in the Austrian parliament on the Ukrainian question, G. Małachowski postponed a gall bladder surgery which his doctors insisted on. However, immediately after the speech, his health got worse, and he was hospitalized. The surgery was done in the Loew Clinic in Vienna, but G. Małachowski failed to recover. The farewell ceremony was held first in Vienna, where the coffin was in the Church of Piarists. The funeral mess was performed by Roman Catholic Bishop Józef Bilczewski in the presence of Austrian Prime Minister Maximilian Beck. The first words from the obituary in the magazine «Słowo Polskie» were that Godzimir Małachowski "was raised in Lviv, lived in Lviv and worked for Lviv» (Słowo Polskie, 1908, nr 291). To commemorate the death of President of Lviv, the City Hall was draped with mourning flags. On July 27, 1908, a large procession led by Halychyna Governor Michał Bobrzyński and Provincial Marshal Stanisław Badeni accompanied the coffin of Godzimir Małachowski from the Church of Bernardines along Pekarska Street to Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv, where he was buried in the family tomb.

Godzimir Małachowski was known as an energetic and industrious politician who, despite the patronage of his father-in-law and other influential people, was not looking for easy ways. The publicist Stanisław Rossowski called him "a child of happiness" and compared his ambitions with those of Governor Andrzej Potocki (Monokl, 1903, s. 89). G. Małachowski managed quite harmoniously to combine ostentatious Polish patriotism with service for the Austrian state. His contemporaries, however, claimed that top positions in the politics of Halychyna was inaccessible for him because of "the lack of political temperament which would enable him to independence and energy at the critical turn» (Nowa Reforma, 1908, 287). He was considered a master of political compromise, for which he was criticized a lot, because the political atmosphere of Halychyna at the turn of the century evoked fashion for rough administrators and charismatic and energetic politicians. Despite the resignation from the presidency of Lviv and the promotion to the Parliament, Godzimir Małachowski stayed the Lviv-scale figure and kept the way of thinking locally; apparently, he felt it, because, by the definition of one of the following presidents, Stanisław Ciuchciński, «to his last breath, he was the spokesman of the affairs and desires of the capital of Halychyna» ("Gazeta Lwowska", 1908, nr 146).