On the 85th anniversary of the death of Maurycy Zamoyski
“For this the Lord God created you and gave you the Order to think and work for the Library of the Order. Everything else is invalid. Library is important!” (Prof. Ludwik Kolankowski)
The Zamoyski Library actually existed “since always”, i.e. from the collection of rich collections of manuscripts and old prints by the Chancellor and the Grand Crown Hetman Jan Zamoyski – a much earlier graduate, and later Rector of the Padewski Academy, founder of the Ordination, founder of Zamość and the Zamość Academy – the 3rd chronologically higher Polish university after the Krakow Academy and Vilnius Academy. In 1811 Stanisław Kostka Zamoyski – XII Ordinate – purchased the Blue Palace at Senatorska Street in Warsaw, where he created the Library (incarnated “for ever” to the Zamojska ordination by Constantine Zamoyski). There he collected palace collections from Zamość, a library of the Academy's technological library equipped by its founder and later donors, mainly its professors. After the first partition, erstwhile Zamość was in the Austrian partition, Emperor Joseph II of Habsburg closed this college in 1784. Stanisław Kostka joined most of his own library from the palace in Klemensów and valuable films of Chancellor Andrzej Zamoyski and Alexander Zamoyski. Transporting them to Warsaw undoubtedly saved them from looting in 1813 by besieging Order of Russian troops.
The first librarian was Józef Korzenowski (authored, among others, by “Karpackie gala” and the celebrated song “Red Belt, Behind a Belt of Arms”), which lasted until he received the position of prof. of pronunciation and poesy in the celebrated Volhyński Athens in 1823 – as the Siliconie advanced School was called due to its very advanced level of teaching in this school. Librarians included prof. of the Main School Józef Przyborowski, erstwhile exiled, distinguished historian Prof. Tadeusz Korzon, Jadwiga KorzoniowaAnd the last manager Prof. Ludwik Kolankowski (nearly Hucul from the Court) – a prominent historian, investigator of the Jagiellonian era and president of the Polish Historical Society. For any time (until the condition of the lungs allowed) the librarian was a beginner then author Stefan Żeromski, who after work prepared works in a service flat on the level specified as “People homeless” or “Pope”, and the description of the interior of the library of Prince Gintułt is – as he emphasizes Konrad Ajewski – an image of the rough prince.
In the second half of the 1960s 14th century, the Ordinate Tomasz Zamoyski (1832 – 1889) during the renovation of the Senator's palace, he added a peculiar pavilion for the usage of a constantly expanding valuable collection, which was subsequently made available to the public in 1868, including scholars and writers, and which continued until the outbreak of planet War II.
After the January Uprising, the Library became the only free investigation and discipline centre in the capital for Polish scholars, especially humanists, to make its collections available to people of culture and science, serving as a “secret technological public library”. These traditions continued at the time of the next successor at the ordination – XV Ordinata Maurice Ignacy Teodor Clement Zamoyski (30.VII.1871-5.V.1939). Referring to the beautiful traditions of his ancestors, in his time he became 1 of the most dedicated citizens, as well as 1 of the most prominent patrons of culture and art in Polish lands. He was widely known as an honest and self-sacrifice man for the nation, including the Polish people and the Republic, as he testified with his full life. Ignacy Jan Paderewski described him as Ccivis Semper Fidelis.
He most likely became curious in politics by gathering national activists in the early 20th century, among others. Roman Dmowski, Jan Ludwik Popławski, Zygmunt Balicki, Stanisław Grabski. From 1904 to 1905, it was in the Blue Palace that frequent meetings of bodies indiscriminately operating in the territory of the Kingdom of National Democracy took place. This was where discussions were held on a national issue aimed at developing a line of action against the invaders. Thus, the scope of the Library's influence went far beyond its essential function and service.
Prof. Tadeusz Korzon organized a technological book, which primarily serves historical sciences, but besides a dedicated Institute of Real past of Poland. Meetings of Warsaw scientists were held at the Korzonów State flat above the Library. According to Edward Krasiński, in his “Gawęda o prewar Warsaw”, Korzon, “old Cerberus” allowed “in the threshold he would envy the guarded temple of his native history” only “what he loved, what he sought the absolute truth, and in the resurrection he believed” (Krad Ajewski quote, “Blue Palace in Warsaw as an example of the patronship of Maurice Zamoyski).
At the time of the 15th Ordinator's appointment in the early 1990s, the Library had about 70,000 works (about 90 1000 volumes). Maurice dynamically developed his antennae's bibliophilic passions. He devoted quite a few importance and time and resources to the affairs of the Library, upgrading it and reorganizing it, among others, through the introduced method innovations and modernization of the strategy of cataloging collections, dissemination of books and another resources of the bookbook and their appropriate protection against destruction.
His desire was to make her a leading Polish institution, protecting cultural goods and science. Therefore, without saving funds for larger occasional purchases, he allocated an additional 1200 rubles per year for its expansion to acquisition fresh publishing and antiquarious rarities. Among the thousands purchased, including valuable publications obtained (about 5 1000 volumes were a gift of Jan Zamoyski of Trzebień) he acquired over 800 printings of the large Emigration, about 1,000 publications in the Lusatia language issued in Budziszyn (intended by the Nazis for destruction) through the priest Bishop Joseph Gawlin and then priest of the prelate Stefan Wyszynski. Gradually, there was a transformation of the Library of Zamość ordination into a large, over 100,000 copies, about 10,000 manuscripts and museum objects. A wonderfully equipped technological apparatus was created, standing completely and free of charge open to scholars and young people studying all over Europe (including Romanian, Czech French, Swedish) due to the fact that the value of the Library's resources was not only known in Poland. The library reading area had 48 seats, and the cellars were reinforced with fireproof floors.
In the Library of the Zamojsk ordination besides the editing of origin publications was undertaken. As early as 1899, the 15th Ordinate financed the publication of the prayer collection “Pious Thoughts of Zygmunt Krasiński”. However, the most crucial origin of the edition from the Library of the Zamość ordination became the rich correspondence of Chancellor and Hetman Jan Zamoyski. From the funds of the number and with the aid of the financial union of Zamoyski, 4 memorial volumes of the Archive of Jan Zamoyski were released.
As a consequence of the arrangement made by the 15th Ordinary, the interior of the library's main hall referred to the Vatican Library. As the last librarian of the book says, Bogdan Horodyski, the library area took on the look it had to finish: “The bronze bust of Jan Zamoyski was set up at the entrance to the gallery, below was the German flag, captured under Byczyna. 2 large Turkish flags were placed high, i.e. the conquest from Vienna Marcin Zamoyski and a purchased monument from the conflict of Lepanto. At the bottom of the hall there were 2 large oak tables, and in drawer cabinets collections of atlases, engravings, plans and a valuable collection of English cutlery in cabinets of large drawers. On the tables were large glazed cabinets designed for objects of peculiar value (cymelia). On top of them stood globes and models of Greek structures. The cabinets were adopted with patinated plaster busts of kings and excellent Polish chieftains.”
In time, an art gallery was created next to the Library, with a full of about 400 paintings (including the magnificent works by Francois Gerard and Angelika Kauffmann and image Jana Styka: „Henryk Walezy signs Pact conventa”) and miniature painting, valuable historical and artistic collections as well as collections of medals and coins, military, sculptures, glass and ceramics. The most celebrated painting from Maurice's collection was the work Jan Matejka "Pr Peter Skarga's sermon", which he temporarily placed in the Zachęta and later in the National Museum. This painting, along with respective another valuable paintings, was not available in the Blue Palace salons, was to be exhibited in the planned next pavilion of the Library of Ordination; in the end, his boy Jan gave the canvas to the Royal Castle in Warsaw (the work is in the depository of the National Museum in Warsaw).
The library besides collected household and historical memorabilia, including the aforementioned archive of Jan Zamoyski, Maurycy Zamoyski himself, as well as the papers of the Order. In 1933, the Ministry of Confessions and Public Enlightenment declared BOZ a higher utility institution. Eventually, through 1939, the library staff's preparatory and reorganization work led to the transformation of the Library of the Zamojsk ordination into a large 1 100 and tens of thousands of prints, about 10 1000 manuscripts and so many museum objects, a wonderfully equipped technological apparatus.
The Blue Palace has passed into past as an crucial centre of Polish culture, including the past of Warsaw itself. BOZ and counted in 1939 – according to Jan Zamoyski XVI ordinata – about 160 000 volumes – not counting beletrists (Robert Jarocki, “The Last Ordinat. Meetings and Conversations with Jan Zamoyski”, issue II). The last, very crucial inventory took place in 1926-1927 by Edward Cholewik in the publication: “Polish collections. Archives, libraries, offices, galleries, museums and another collections of souvenirs...”
After the death of the 15th Ordinate Prof. Ludwik Kolankowski, who was full aware of the value of the treasure of the Polish culture on which he took care of, said to Jan Zamoyski: “For this the Lord God created you and gave you the Order to think and work for the Orthodox Library. Everything else is invalid. The library is important!’.
The demolition occurred in 2 stages. In September 1939, about 50,000 works were destroyed as a consequence of respective German bombings from library resources, according to Prof. Kolankowski. In August 1944, the Germans deliberately bombed and set fire to it. They did not announcement 1 of the masked entrances to the basement and thus survived 820 manuscripts and 1,200 prints from the 15th and 16th centuries. The manuscripts were written in Polish, Latin, Greek, Cyrillic languages, like the "Suprasian Codex" of the 11th century, Arabic, Turkish, there were about 300 incunabulums, over 1,200 16th-century prints, including 144 works from the library of Zygmunt Augustus, more than 900 engravings and various archives. The oldest and best message of Gall Anonyma (called the Zamość Code) from the 14th century was preserved, Tyniecki Sacrament from the 11th century, written by Jan Kochanowski for a friend of the Chancellor, poem Dryas Zamchan (one of 2 existing autographs of the poet), a book by professors of the Academy of Zamość, including Simon Szymonowicz, Adam Burski, manuscript of the Catalogue of Gniezno bishops, maps from the 15th century copy of Claudius Ptolomy, 16th-century atlases, autograph of the fresh “The manuscript found in Saragossa” by Jan Potocki, letter of Erazm from Rotterdam, Cardinal J J.Ulesa Mazarin, Juliusz Słowacki, Zygmunt Krasiński, George Byron, Johann Wolfgang Goethe or Immanuel Kant. After the war, all surviving collections representing a maximum of 1.5% of the BOZ collection were donated by the last chief of Jan Zamoyski in 1948 before being arrested by UB as a perpetual deposit – the National Library.
This survivor (a certain part of the collection was stored in the monastery of the Paulins in Jasna Góra, where Jan Zamoyski placed it) a fragment of the treasures of our cultural heritage collected and preserved by 16 generations of the Primus inter pares household of Polish collectors (Konrad Ajewski, "Library of the Zamojski Order: From John to John". The exhibition in the National Library) was presented at the exhibition in the erstwhile Palace of Dobrogosta Krasiński in 2005 and then in Zamość on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the death of the Chancellor and the Hetman of the large Crown Jan Zamoyski, I ordinate. The author of the script and the commissioner of the exhibition was Dr Tomasz Makowski, presently manager of the National Library. He is besides the author of the exhibition guide and the electronic exhibition catalog.
It should be added that this royal gesture, as Tomasz Makowski rightly described it in the publication "The latest gifts and acquisitions for peculiar collections", was supplemented by the legacy of Jan Zamoyski, who died in 2002, arranged in 116 folders and manuscripts by T. Makowski with the consent of the father-in-law's family. There are, among others, individual documents, badges of awards (probably besides the Order of the White Eagle), materials confirming participation in the September campaign, in activities in the ZWZ-AK, papers related to imprisonment and rehabilitation, memories of household members, including father Maurycy and wife of Rose, Witold Lutosławski, Władysław and Róży Tyszkiewiczy and about BOZ curator Bogdan Horodyski, letters Ignacy Jan Paderewski to Maurice Zamoyski. These collections besides included materials for the activities of the last average as a senator of the Republic of Poland, a associate of various associations and 6 files of materials related to his activities in the National-Democratic Party, of which he was the founder and President.
Halina Ostovich
Think Poland, No. 25-26 (16-23.06.2024)
