Reconstruction of Temple of Providence

A small publication (original in Polish) crowned the huge social effort connected with the reconstruction of Świątynia Opatrzności (Temple of Providence) in the Botanical Gardens of the Warsaw University. Together with friends from the university and to some extent using his own means, dr. Marek Ostrowski initiated and, in spite of the lack of acceptation of the authorities in the period of martial war, brought about the reconstruction of the symbolic site of patriotic manifestations on the anniversary of the May 3rd Constitution. A complete photogrammetric documentation was performed. During the reconstruction the most modern methods of image analysis were employed, enabling the non - invasive determination of the state of the contemporary structure: endoscopic observations of the interior, microbiological and chemical examination of the joints and durability of historical bricks by scanning electron microscopy, isotopic measurements of moisture content and - used for the first time in Poland - microwave imaging with the subsurface radar. All these techniques are currently employed in the evaluation and preservation of historical monuments.

The reconstructed monument proudly stands today in the more and more beautiful Botanical Gardens and numbered copies of a brochure made with the use of a photomultiplier are a reminder of the specific idea and activities from that time.