Abstrakt: | The monastery of Pauline Fathers in Topolno was sponsored by the parish
priest of the Warmia minster Adam Zygmunt Konarski and his brother Andrzej
Konarski, Chamberlain or Pomerania. The Pauline Fathers were also providing
religious activities in the parish. The basis of the monastery and parish income was
the farm in Celestynek, a village donated to the Pauline Fathers in 1638 by the
Malbork voivode Samuel Konarski.
Among the sources of income were offerings, iura stolae, compensations for the
goods confiscated by Prussia, and collection of debts. The biggest part of income
was generated by the above mentioned compensations, as well as donations and
capital interest. The generated income was spent on taxes, war contributions,
maintenance and construction works, art, financial help for the provinces and
central management of the monastery, salaries for the monastery Staff, payments
for various services, repayments, as well as on simple resources like food and
beverages. Majority was spent on constructions, renovations and artistic works, as
well as for paying taxes and covering the interest of repayment.
The financial situation of the motiastery was unstable and, in generał, expenses
exceeded the income. Between 1722 and 1806 the monastery in Topolno received
31 562,26 zloty, and its expenses amounted to 34 925,15 zloty. Thus, the deficit was
3361,19 zloty in total, which prowes how poor the financial situation of the
monastery was. One needs to remember, hoverer, that the provided data are
approximate, because of the scarceness of the available historical data. |