biographical information on Jan Ferdynand Nax, Polish economist and architect of the late 18th century

Jan Ferdynand Nax (1736-1810) was an architect and economist born in Gdansk. While he was of German origin, having spent most of his life in Poland he was virtually assimilated into Polish society.

As an economist, Nax based his thinking around mercantile theory, which generally supported the development of a monetary-based economy instead of the system of servitude which then existed in Poland. He was a close adviser Poland's last king, Stanislaw August Poniatowski, in the king's failed attempts at economic reform which preceded Poland's first partition, among Russia, Prussia and Austria, in 1772. Nax supported the development of trade and production, stressed the need for reform in agriculture, and promoted enfranchisement of the peasant class. He was also an adviser on tax policy, and a supporter of protectionism in foreign trade.

Also appointed as a royal architect by King Stanislaw (1774), Nax is associated with the design and construction, or reconstruction, of a number of aristocratic homes including The Palace at Nałęczów, The Palace at Kurozwęki, The Palace at Szczekociny, The Palace at Nakło, The Palace at Śladków, and The Palace at Rusinów, all of which represent his neoclassical approach to architectural design.

The Palace at Szczekociny is generally considered to be his most important contribution to Polish architecture of the late 18th century, and is notable for his introduction of Polish national symbols into the palace's artistic features, including the Polish eagle motif atop columns that adorn the structure.

References

• http://naklopalace.org/the-naklo-story/
• http://portalwiedzy.onet.pl/37087,,,,nax_jan_ferdynand,haslo.html
• http://encyklopedia.pwn.pl/haslo.php?id=3946315
• http://biznes.pwn.pl/haslo/3946315/nax-jan-ferdynand.html
• http://naklopalace.org/the-naklo-story/
• Selected writings of Jan Ferdynand Nax, Introduction by W. Sierpinski, Warsaw, 1956