Dominion Warmia during the reign of bishop Christopher Szembeka was inhabited by about 90 000 people. Most of them were peasant population, less than 25% were burghers a small fraction of Warmian nobility. This article shows how the state of the diocese presented in the light of the visits of churches, performed in the difficult times of after the Great Northern War. Visits general bishop Krzysztof Szembek Warmians appeared as decent Catholics attending church services generally abiding by the Ten Commandments. Of course, the bishop had commented on the maintenance of churches, farmhouses and rectory but generally the picture draws a positive.
During his life, Wojciech Kętrzyński was a renowned and valued historian, librarian and publicist. Many obituaries and commemorations appeared in magazines and academic journals after his death. The employees of the Lviv Ossolineum made sure to preserve the memory of their director also outside the town. In Lviv, Kętrzyński has had a street and one of the reading halls in Ossolineum named after him. His poems and memoir were published, along with some commemorations dedicated to his achievements. The memory of Kętrzyński has also lasted in southern parts of Eastern Prussia. Michał Kajka translated his poems into Polish, while Emilia Sukertowa-Biedrawina in Działdowo published articles about Kętrzyński in her calendars. After 1945, as Polish borders encompassed those parts of Eastern Prussia, Kętrzyński became a reclaimant, even a warrior of Polishness. In his honour, the town of Rastenburg was renamed to Kętrzyn. He has had streets and schools named after him. The research on Kętrzyński’s activities gained momentum with the establishment of the Wojciech Kętrzyński Centre for Scientific Research (Pol. Ośrodek Badań Naukowych, OBN) in Olsztyn. Thanks to the efforts of OBN, a Polish plaque appeared at Kętrzyński’s grave, which was found by Leonard Turkowski in 1969 at the Lychakiv Cemetery in Lviv. In 2008, the tombstone was renovated as a result of the activity of Kętrzyn authorities. When the old preWar fragment of the tombstone was found in 2016, it was returned to its proper place, while the medallion with Kętrzyński’s image was gifted by Kętrzyn authorities to the Wrocław Ossolineum. The memory of Kętrzyński in Warmia and Masuria was preserved by publishing his poems and research articles O ludności polskiej w Prusiech niegdyś krzyżackich [Eng. On Polish people in the previously Teutonic Prussia]. Numerous academic conferences confirmed the current nature of Kętrzyński’s conclusions. The Marshall of the Warmińsko-Mazurskie voivodeship established an all-Poland award in humanities named after Kętrzyński, contributing to the movement of commemorating the researcher in the region and in Poland. This paper summarises all such activities during the 100-years period since Wojciech Kętrzyński’s death.
Waplewo in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries was dominated by several noble families but the most important was the Zawadzki family. When the sole key to the Waplewo estate was in the hands of Kazimierz Zawadzki, he was able to build a stately residence. Towards the end of his life, Kazimierz became the castellan of Chełmno. He was a politician, an active participant in the Royal Prussia diets, a member of the parliament (Sejm) a dozen times and finally he was nominated as a senator. He was also known as a writer and publicist, but he was also known as a restless man who fell under the sentences of tribunals. He had been suing Gdańsk over the eldership of Puck for a long time. He was married to Ludwika Katarzyna Schlieben, and she left their only son, Jan Aleksander. After Jan Aleksander’s death, the Zawadzki Waplewo line died out. Waplewo became dominated by Konstancja Zawadzka, the only daughter of Jan Zawadzki, brother of Kazimierz. Waplewo was ruled over by other noble families and from 1760 by the Sierakowskis. This article outlines the process of the rise and fall of noble fortunes in Royal Prussia.
Historiografia polska do 1945 roku wykazywała zainteresowanie tylko znakomitymi postaciami, głównie Warmii. Liczne artykuły i publikacje książkowe pojawiły się na temat Igancego Krasickiego, Stanisława Hozjusza i Marcina Kromera. Dopiero w latach sześćdziesiatych, gdy w Olsztynie zawiązało się instytucjonalne środowisko humanistyczne pojawiły się poważne biograficzne artykuły odnoszące się głównie ludzi związanych z działaniami na rzecz Polski. Niewątpliwym dorobkiem biografistyki polskiej dotoczącej Warmii i Mazur są słowniki biograficzne Tadeusza Orackiego, które były odpowiedzią na podobny słownik wschodniopruski wydany w pierwszej połowie XX wieku. Gdy powstała oficyna wydawnicza Pojezierze i Ośrodek Badań Naukowych im. W. Kętrzyńskiego zaczęły pojawiać się serie biograficzne znakomitych ludzi ale działajacych na rzecz kultury i nauki polskiej na ziemiach pruskich. Nie brakowało wówczas też biografii związanych z kulturą niemiecką, pojawiły się książki o Herderze czy Ernście Wiechercie. Dorobek powojennej biografistyki historycznej jest spory a nawet duży jeżeli go porównanmy z innym regionami Polski. Biografie znakomitych ludzi żyjacych na ziemiach też byłych Prus Wschodnich zaczęto publikowac w licznych regionalnych czasopsimach a także monografiach miast i powiatów wydanych po 1990 roku. Zaczęto wówczas traktować owe dziedzictwo kulturalne jako wspólne europejskie. Nie sposób wyliczyć ile biograficznych publikacji powstało wskutek inicjatyw działaczy regionalnych a wpływały one wszystkie na kształtowanie się świadomości regionalnej.
Malbork Voivodeship was in terms of area and population the smallest province of Royal Prussia. Nobility, the political nation, in Malbork Voivodship lived the fewest. Voivodship Assembly gathered in Sztumie and descents were not crowded. The deliberations focused on discussing relations with the Duchy of Prussia in particular, the Prussian neighbor grew in strength, took the territory of Elblag and undertook continual incursions into the region. Adel made decisions on taxes, defended indygenat and privileges of Prussian province, was interested in improving the navigability of the Vistula River in its lower reaches. Adopted resolutions on the functioning of the judiciary and the demands put forward reform and improve the functioning of the state assemblies. In fact, interested in all this that has happened in the region, the province and the Republic.
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