Moving from little Belluno to Venice – was this a necessity for an ambitious painter of the Baroque era? Especially if we take into account the fact that his father was a local painter who used to paint the folds of cloaks worn by saints. Dolabella ended up in the workshop of Antonio Vassilacchi 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…
Tourists visiting the Royal Łazienki in Warsaw could never imagine what dramatic event is behind the monumental statue of Frederic Chopin standing there. by Piotr Bejrowski The Royal Łazienki, a palace and gardens currently located in the heart of Warsaw, was founded by Stanisław II August Poniatowski. It was established as a private summer royal…
On 29 May 2023, the 21st edition of the conference Recovering Forgotten History. The Image of East-Central Europe in English-Language Academic Textbooks and Monographs began in Krakow, the Polish History Museum its main organiser. ‘A meeting of researchers of various historiographic traditions and schools of thought is of great value, thanks to which our knowledge of the…
The Nihil novi Constitution was adopted by the General Sejm (parliament) convened in the city of Radom in 1505. Its passage entailed one of the stages in the conflict between the magnates of the royal council and the representation of the szlachta (gentry) gathered in the Chamber of Deputies – i.e., the lower house of…
One of the more prominent figures of early Polish history is Świętosława, also known as Sigrid the Haughty (Storråda). This daughter of Mieszko I made her mark mainly in the history of the countries on the other side of the Baltic Sea, being the wife of the kings of Sweden and Denmark, and the mother…
