Knackfus studied architecture in Warsaw and was influenced by other local architects of late Baroque (Ephraim Schröger and Szymon Bogumił Zug) and early Neoclassicism (Domenico Merlini and Johann Christian Kammsetzer).
Knackfus' architectural training in Warsaw was shaped by the work of other architects from the late Baroque period (Ephraim Schröger and Szymon Bogumił Zug) and early Neoclassicism (Domenico Merlini and Johann Christian Kammsetzer).