Hugo Kołłątaj was a towering figure of the Polish Enlightenment: a statesman, political writer and philosopher, as well as a promoter of science and education. He was a spokesman for socio-economic and political changes and a co-creator of the Constitution of 3rd May 1791. He was born in Derkały Wielkie in Volhynia on 1 April…
From the early days, the reign of Jan Kazimierz was plagued by wars that beset the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, starting with a Cossack revolt supported by Tatar forces in 1648, through wars with Muscovy (1654-1667), Sweden (1655-1660), Brandenburg (1656-1657) and Transylvania (1657), to fighting the Cossacks and Tatars in 1667. The Swedish invasion of 1655 proved…
Easter is a special holiday in Polish culture. Although most families still celebrate it solemnly today, in previous years it certainly aroused even greater emotion. Let’s take a look at how the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was celebrated in the modern era. by Anna Wójciuk Easter is the most important Christian holiday, commemorating the…
A wave of protests swept over Poland in June 1976 after the announcement of an increase in groceries’ prices. The authorities eventually resigned from price changes but introduced repression against the protesting workers. This met with a quick response from the intelligentsia, who organised financial and legal support for the repressed and soon started forming…
In 1928, at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam, Halina Konopacka won the first gold medal in the history of Polish sport. In the 1920s, no woman in the world could throw the discus further than she did. A versatile sportswoman, she won the “Przegląd Sportowy” poll twice for the best sportsman in Poland (1927 and…
Leopold Tyrmand was one of the most interesting figures of post-war Poland’s artistic milieu. Despite the oppression of the communist regime, he had his own way of opposing the system. by Piotr Bejrowski Tyrmand’s biographers aptly point out that he opposed communism not only ideologically, but also aesthetically. He wanted to maintain the continuity of…
