Niewczyk family

The Niewczyk family is a dynasty of instrument makers who operated in Lviv and Bydgoszcz. The family workshop Pracownia Lutnicza Niewczyk & Synowie is still operating in Poznań as of 2025.

Niewczyk family members Franciszek Niewczyk (1859 – 1944) Franciszek Niewczyk was born on 4 September 1859 in Sowy, south of Poznań. His mother was Marianna née Berlińska; his father, Ignacy, was himself a wedding musician. Franciszek was a precision locksmith by trade. He inherited his passion for music from his father, with whom he played the clarinet at parties.

During his military service in the Prussian army, Franciszek worked in an orchestra and transported instruments for repair to Berlin and Zgorzelec (then Görlitz). In Zgorzelec, he met German luthier Heinrich Lange, from whom he gained his first professional knowledge.

Arrested, he was expelled in 1905 from his own company and ordered in 1907 by the Prussian authorities to leave the city within 24 hours. As a consequence, thanks to Count Turno's intercession, they found refuge in the Chorążyzna region of Lwów. he used to build and sell string instruments, shipping finished mandolins and guitars in crates to Lviv and receiving from there wind instruments.

In 1925, he passed his master's exam in Poznań. He directed the Bydgoszcz instrument factory from 1922 to 1935, owning a workshop on 147 Gdańska street (present day Nr. 46), which moved in the early 1930s to 2 Sniadeckich street. Stanisław lived in a nearby flat at today's 44 Gdańsk Street.

He was also active in the community, serving as a long-time Guild Elder in Poznań, chairing the Examination Committee for master violin makers, or co-initiating the establishment of the Association of Polish Artist Violin Makers in 1954.

Furthermore, he also taught violin making: approximately 12 journeymen completed their apprenticeships in his Bydgoszcz workshop, while he educated in this trade his sons Jan Marian (born 1924) and Stefan (born 1925), together with his grandson, Benedykt, Stefan's son.

Stanisław Niewczyk died on 26 July 1969, in Poznań. He was buried at the Górczyński Cemetery in the same city (location IIP-26-34).

Stefan Niewczyk (1925–2007) Stefan Niewczyk, Stanisław's son, was born on 7 August 1925 in Bydgoszcz. At the time, his father was heading the local branch of the Pracownia Lutnicza Niewczyk & Synowie in the city. Stefan had two brothers: Antoni (who served in the Home Army's S7 network during WWII) and Marian. He learned to play the violin at the age of six in June 1939 (aged 14), Stefan started learning violin-making with his father:

In his workshop in Poznań, he worked in particular on the violins of musicians competing in all post-war Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competitions, occurring every five years in the city. In the 1970s, the renowned musicologist Jerzy Waldorff denounced in the weekly paper Polityka the scandalous working conditions of the Niewczyk family, accusing the city authorities of negligence. Thanks to his intervention, the violin-making workshop was relocated to 6 Woźna Street in 1978, where it still stands today.

Stefan Niewczyk died on 11 March 2007, in Poznań. He was buried at the Smochowice Cemetery located on Lubowska Street.

Benedykt Niewczyk Benedykt, Stefan's son, was born in 1960 in Poznań. Since 2005, he has taken over the family workshop.

In 2025, Benedykt received the Meritorious for the City of Poznań from the hands of the chairman of the Poznań City Council, Grzegorz Ganowicz. In October the same year, he celebrated the 140th anniversary of the luthier's atelier. As a court expert and award-winning craftsman, he has gained international recognition.

The company knows the fifth generation of the Niewczyk family, as Benedykt's sons, Tytus and Maksym, also acquired their violin-making qualifications. His son, Maksym, competed in the International Luthiers' Competition in Poznań .