Until recently, it was believed that Mieszko I, Poland’s first ruler, had minted the kingdom’s first coin, however, this claim has since been refuted. Mieszko’s denarius was indeed minted by a Mieszko, although in fact it was Mieszko II, the grandson of the founder of the Polish state. by Wojciech Kalwat If we are…
31 August is considered the holiday of Solidarity (NSZZ Solidarność) and the Gdańsk Accord signed on that day its founding act. However, the shape of the union was being ‘forged’ throughout the following several days. In August, there was no talk of a Polish nationwide organisation and a path towards it turned out a winding…
Today, his name is associated with high-quality cosmetics and the art of makeup. His real name was Maksymilian Faktorowicz, and the name which is known today he received, by mistake, from an American immigration official. by Piotr Bejrowski He was born on 8 February 1872 in Zduńska Wola, a Polish town then under Russian…
The nature of the August 1980 strikes was not unlike that of a social contract. Tens of thousands of individuals who took industrial action had agreed between themselves that society must be restored after years of enduring erosion and decay at the hands of the Communist regime. by Krzysztof Mazur A political community could…
King John III Sobieski is remembered as the commander of the victorious armies on the battlefield at Vienna. Yet this brave and talented commander was also a man of deep feelings, as evidenced by his love letters to his wife, Marie-Casimire de la Grange d’Arquien (Marysieńka). by Piotr Abryszeński Marie-Casimire came from the old…
While writing biographies of great writers, we, often unconsciously, look for something unique, or characteristic about the individual path they pursued in their lives. This is probably due to a legacy of romanticism that we are not aware of. Thus we are facing some troubles looking at Jan Kochanowski in a different way. by Wojciech…
