You cannot miss him while visiting the Aula Leopoldina (Aula Leopoldyńska) at the University of Wroclaw (Uniwersytet Wrocławski) — the most precious baroque monument in the region. The gray-haired, older man with the kind-hearted smile on his face — a real mine of information about Wroclaw, the art of painting and tourists.
"I come to work hoping to meet interesting people and I haven't been disappointed in more than twenty years," says Ryszard Nałęcz-Jawecki, who works at a souvenir stand just right in front of the door of the Aula Leopoldina.
He invites us "inside" for an interview — behind the counter with maps, plans, guides, postcards, albums and university publications. Elegantly dressed, always wearing a tie and a jacket with a waistcoat. He is 73 years old, but when asked about his age, he laughs that almost no one in his family lived for so long.
He works six days in a week, having Wednesdays off for running his errands, as he underlines. The stand is open when the Aula is open. The biggest crowds are on Saturdays and Sundays.
"To me, Mr. Ryszard is a symbol of the main building. When I am at the University and the stand is closed, it feels empty somehow," says prof. Marek Bojarski, the rector at the University of Wroclaw (Uniwersytet Wrocławski).
He watches the tourists closely, tucked behind the albums and maps. He sees how those visiting Wroclaw and the University change over the years. Years ago, the majority of tourists were Germans who came here like some Poles travel to Lviv or Vilnius — because of the longing for their lost homeland or, as some prefer, their "Heimat". Now the tourists are from all over the world — from Argentina, Mexico and Australia. Mr. Ryszard notes with a smile that the Austrians annoy him a little.
"Some of them say with superiority that the most beautiful parts of the city are actually theirs, because of being Habsburg," he emphasises.
He tells us how some of the tourists kneel and make the sign of the cross after entering the Aula Leopoldina. The decor is so impressive that they think they are in the church. The guide must explain that this is a university, and the church is next door.
In the era of internet and photos taken with smart phones, the stand with publications and albums is becoming less and less important. There are fewer buyers. But he does not refuse help to the tourists. Sometimes he lends a safety pin or says where the toilet is. It happens that during the heat the elderly ask for a glass of water.
"Some of them pant, because however the Aula is on the first floor, it is the height of a third storey, and there are some steps to climb," says Mr. Ryszard.
He signs his works as Najary
During the times of the People's Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) he could not use the name of his ancestors. Later there were no problems so he returned to his full name, Nałęcz-Jawecki.
"My ancestors belonged to the knighthood and fought their noble coat of arms on the battlefield in the 14th century," he says.
He was born in Modzele, near Płońsk. He began to paint at the primary school in Wroclaw in 1945, after moving from Warsaw with his parents. He left Wroclaw for 15 years and went to Warsaw to study and take the doctor's degree at the Academy of Fine Arts (Akademia Sztuk Pięknych). He worked in advertising, he was a letterer. He has been a member of the Association of Polish Artists and Designers (Związek Polskich Artystów Plastyków) for 44 years. He spent the period of martial law in a wooden hut in the Kashubia region, doing what he liked best — painting. The authenticity attracts him to painting. The series are among his favourites, he recently prepared sketches of interesting places in Wroclaw. He likes ink, glaze, handmade paper. His works are in many private collections.
Jarek Ratajczak
