Malcontents claim that the good times of Bolesławiec’s crafts belong to the past, and that the local Cooperative Bank’s collapse, where financial resources had been deposited, became the final nail in the coffin.
This judgment is false as long as the craft community continues to carry out the statutory tasks of the Guild of Various Crafts in a spirit of solidarity and responsibility. The Guild had just held its annual General Assembly (12 May). Deliberations took place at richly laid tables, in complete harmony of views and with a shared concern for future activities.
The Mayor of the City, JÓZEF KRÓL, was present and active, which is also a good forecast for the future: there is simply a feedback loop between the city’s development and the work of craftspeople, hence the pressing need for cooperation, mutual support and seeking common ground. This was discussed with complete openness and goodwill. All the more so because next year marks the Guild’s proud 50th anniversary, and it wants to present its half-century of achievements locally, but above all regain a strong and lasting position.
The proceedings were chaired by Guild Elder EUGENIUSZ STACHOWSKI. The fidelity to a centuries-old tradition was highly impressive, as were the beautiful insignia of guild authority, forged in copper, and the guild banner. The solemn atmosphere, the measured words of the speakers and the unanimous support for the initiatives of the democratically elected authorities were also impressive.
One can speak of achievements on many levels, both across the city and within a community integrated with Lwówek Śląski. Craftspeople have four representatives on the City Council, including a member of the City Board and two committee chairs. It seems that no other group has achieved such a success in terms of numerical and functional proportions.
The concern for professional ethics commands respect, above all the training of students—future journeymen, masters and owners of production and service establishments. Examinations are held locally (previously at the Crafts Chamber in Wrocław), and as many as 672 people are studying. When company schools disappeared, vocational education would have had no real chance of development without practical training in craft establishments.
Alongside student training, professional activity, the integration of the craft community and cooperation with the local government, an important task was identified: presenting the Guild of Various Crafts in Bolesławiec’s achievements in the local mass media ahead of its 50th anniversary.
Mayor Józef KRÓL declared his willing assistance. A spontaneous and beautiful gesture was the commitment by the owner of a stonemasonry workshop to produce, at her own expense, a commemorative plaque marking half a century of Bolesławiec craftspeople’s work for the city and its residents. Comments on the city’s development programme for the coming years will also be submitted. In this atmosphere, granting a vote of approval to the guild authorities was merely a formality.