Wagonette

Wagonette – a social vehicle for summer trips. The vehicle dates from the late 19th century. Its manufacturer is unknown but was probably from Silesia. Purchased by the Castle Museum in Łańcut for the Museum Vehicle Collection, the wagonette underwent a thorough renovation in the renowned company run by the Bogajewicz family in Pniewy Szamotulskie, operating in the years 1890- 2015. Wagonette is an open or semi-open social vehicle very popular in the second half of the 19th century and early 20th century and used in both resorts and private estates. They were used for short-distance trips, trips to the forest, picnics, while in the resorts they belonged to individual boarding houses and hotels and were also used for transporting guests from the railway stations and, of course, later on for organised trips. They were characterised by a wooden body in the passenger area with two sideway benches for passengers and an entrance from the rear. They also always had a coachman set for professional servants who used to drive the vehicle. Some had no roofing at all, others had folding hoods that folded to the side. The wagonette kept in Łańcut has a built-in passenger section for four people, covered with a tarpaulin on a fixed, wooden, angular construction with a flat roof; rear entrance with a door equipped with a striped drop-down window. The side walls are detachable – they can be rolled up and suspended by the roof. The front wall has a large window on its entire width. The coachman seat adheres directly to the front wall of the wagonette – which also serves (below the windows) as its support. The coachman seat is roofed with solid sides (as in the passenger part). At the front of the coachman footstool, there is a wooden front mudguard. The wagonette has wooden parts in natural colour, while the tarpaulin is light brown – the upholstery of all seats is made of beige corduroy. Aldona Cholewianka-Kruszyńska