The article is dedicated to the role of polychrome solutions of the architectonic order in the concept of the Baroque façade. The ancient principles of designing architectural structures, inherited from the Renaissance were subjected to reinterpretations in order to impart different expressive values. The arrangements of façades, initially balanced or even horizontal, were replaced by ambiguous bivalent compositions. Vertical layouts began to dominate in the Baroque. Appropriately selected polychrome of the elements of the order could emphasize the compositional expression. The relationship between the layout of the polychrome in a given architectural order and the expression of a work of art has been established for quite a long time. However, the generally available data on color schemes of architectural structures in baroque buildings are still not fully organized. The paper analyses examples of Baroque façades preserved in their original state and revalorized in recent years after thorough conservator’s research in the field of architecture and color. The examples are mainly designed in the so-called great order, i.e. pertaining largely to church façades. In the Baroque, the vertical direction of the composition was strongly emphasized by multiplying or applying perspective arrangements of supports, and finally by embattled entablatures. The decisive field of change became the shaping of the coloristic decoration of the entablature – decisions regarding the material and color separation of elements of the frieze above the supports. The uniform color of all vertical elements of the façade structure guaranteed an unambiguous verticality of the composition.

Objectives: We compared housing and the eating habits of Roma. Contemporary findings (2013) were compared with those from the first monothematic work on Roma (1775) depicting their housing and eating habits. Methods: Data come from a journal (1775) and from semi-structured interviews (2013) with more than 70 Roma women and men who live segregated in excluded settlements at the edges of villages or scattered among the majority. Data were collected in two villages and one district town in the Tatra region, where data from the 1775 measurements originate. We used classical sociological theory and new ethnography to interpret the obtained data. Results: The main findings showed differences between specific social classes then and now regarding housing as well as eating habits, related to both conditions among Roma in the Tatra. The national Roma foods gója or marikľa are traditional foods of Slovak ancestors living in poverty in the country. The houses of Roma do not greatly differ from those of the majority. Conclusions: We conclude that life strategies of the citizens of poor settlements now are similar to two centuries ago, typical for the culture of poverty in various countries of the world even after the centuries.

The article is the first attempt to gather information on the beginnings of using green elements in urban compositions in Lower Silesia and border areas, in the former Neumark and Lusatia. It presents Baroque urban arrangements with the use of green ground floors, tree espaliers and avenues, from the earliest ones – occurring in the aftermath of the Thirty Years’ War – and the solutions applied in private municipalities in the Habsburg, Wettin and Hohenzollern states, which were recovering from war damage, to urban developments at the end of that period, in the areas already under Prussian rule and its strict regulations. A comparison with the achievements of Eu-ropean urban planning in this field allows us to trace the paths of inspiration, but also to uncover some innovative achievements.