The National Ossoliński Institute is fundamental to Polish culture. With its 200 year history, the Institute’s collection needs special care and this is not always an easy task. Director Adolf Juzwenko talks about the history of Ossolineum and his own contribution to its development. polishhistory: Ossolineum is an extremely distinguished institution in Poland. And…
Alongside Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, the Primate of Poland, Cardinal Karol Wojtyła was one of the leading figures of the Polish Catholic Church in the 1960s and 1970s. As the archbishop of Kraków and a lecturer at the Catholic University of Lublin, he enjoyed great popularity, especially among young people. His election as pope on October…
In historiography and literary tradition, he is commonly referred to as Gallus and was the first chronicler of the history of Poland. The dispute over the identity of this mysterious and talented monk has occupied scholars for several generations. by Piotr Abryszeński All that we know about him is what he wrote about himself….
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…
Potatoes are among the most popular crops in the world. They were brought from America to Europe following the expeditions of Christopher Columbus, but they did not appear on tables until the 18th century. This was the same time that they also came to Poland, and poor peasant families played a surprisingly important role here….
The black legend of the ‘god of war’, who died aged just 51, had even fewer supporters in partitioned Poland than in France. Only in the Polish anthem does his name appear: ‘Bonaparte has given us the example of how we should prevail’. by Wiesław Chełminiak Was it stomach cancer or poison that killed…
