Polski
Cesky
Opposite the church of St. Margaret in Lyski in Rybnik district, there are monumental Neo-Gothic buildings of the Social Assistance Home. These buildings were erected in the 1840s for the needs of the House of the Poor under the Invocation of Saint Joseph. It was founded by the owner of Lyski, Joseph Benedyct Polednik (1798-1882), after the death of his only son Edward in 1846, who died of meningitis. In response to the suggestion of the then Bishop of Wrocław, Joseph Benedict Polednik decided to build a shelter for orphans and lonely elderly people. The building was erected in 1849. Education and medical care were provided by the sisters of the German Order, the Crusaders. The nuns taught their charges in Lyski not only basic household tasks, but also modern estate management, French language, and even piano playing. All in order that in the future the girls would become independent and be able to advance socially. In August 1855, the Archduke Maximilian Este -- Habsburg, great-grandson of Empress Maria Theresa, residing in Austria and serving as the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, paid a visit to Lyski. Impressed by Polednik's attitude, he pointed to him as a model of philanthropy and subsequently visited his estate many times. The foundation of the Lyski philanthropist operated with a brief interruption in the years 1878-1882 until its seizure by the Nazis in 1939. The Nazis converted the building into a Polenlager -- a labor camp for Poles. After the war, the foundation's buildings served as a home for the chronically ill, and currently a social assistance center operates within it.
