When Grażyna Bacewicz’s compositions were performed outside Poland, she occasionally received letters addressed to “Dear Mister Bacewicz” or “Cher Monsieur Grażyna Bacewicz.” Even in the latter half of the 20th century, some found it hard to believe that a woman could be a true creator, assuming that gender played a significant role in artistic talent….
Although the Polish literary language began to develop much earlier, it is Mikołaj Rej who is considered ‘Poland’s Dante’ as the father of national literature and the creator of an original Polish style. Mikołaj Rej, the Renaissance writer, poet, and translator, was born in Żurawno in Red Ruthenia [eastern Galicia] on 4 February 1505. by…
An alchemist known all over Europe, he was diligent in his research and performed many complex physical and chemical experiments. In his writings he often described the life-giving “philosophical salt” hidden in the air, which is why he is considered one of the discoverers of oxygen and thus a pioneer of modern chemistry. by Piotr…
During his life and also after his death, Piotr Skarga divided the opinions of Poles. For some he was “the main troublemaker of the Republic of Poland,” and for others he was a prophet of “the misery after the partitions,” who by all means tried to save the sinking ship – Poland. by Jan Hlebowicz…
On 1 February 1944, the Polish resistance carried out the assassination of Franz Kutschera, known as ‘the executioner of Warsaw’. The assassination of this SS officer and police commander in the Warsaw District of the General Government was one of the most spectacular operations in the history of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa), because never…
He was a Gdańsk patrician and councillor who, thanks to his income from beer production, was able to conduct groundbreaking observations of space. He was one of the most eminent astronomers of 17th-century Europe and the creator of scientific knowledge of the Moon. by Jan Hlebowicz Johannes Hevelius (1611–1687) was born and grew up…
