DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.25050#0094
Hospital complex to make spac£ for the Municipal Theatre. The
protection of historical buildings proves that the ancient fabric of
the city was treated by the public opinion not only from the
utilitarian point of view, but also as an intrinsic value. As early as
1897, the Society of Lovers of Cracow History and Ancient
Buildings was founded. Regular sightseeing tours of Cracow were
organized for people from other points in Galicia and even outside
the Austrian zone.
The cultural development of Cracow was of a much greater
significance than its other achievements and gradually promoted
the city to the role of the spiritual capital of Poland. As in the early
years of the Republic of Cracow, the font of history was tapped for
patriotic feelings. A kind of “archaeological patriotism” was
practiced, consisting in grandiose celebrations of historical anni-
versaries and burials of eminent figures. In this city redolent with
history, the tradition of baroque ceremonies was revived with the
reburial of Casimir the Great (1869), the retrieval of Mickiewicz’s
ashes from France (1890) and the 500th anniversary of the Battle
of Grunwald (1910), which had to remind the nation of its former
glories.
From the same inspiration sprung the founding of museums.
In 1876, Prince Wladyslaw Czartoryski brought to Cracow his
family collection, built up in Pulawy by Princess Izabela nee
Flemming, and removed to Paris after the November Uprising of
1830-1831. In 1879 the idea of creating a national museum
germinated. It was opened in 1883, and systematically assembled
works of ancient and contemporary Polish art, attracting generous
donations and endowments, of which the most valuable were the
coin and engraving collections of Emeryk Hutten Czapski. The
first director of the National Museum was Wladyslaw Luszczkie-
wicz, a painter, longtime professor and director of the School of
Fine Arts, tutor of Jan Matejko, one of the first competent art
historians in Poland.
Poles from other occupation zones were attracted to Cracow
not only by its sights, museums and patriotic celebrations. Re-
87
protection of historical buildings proves that the ancient fabric of
the city was treated by the public opinion not only from the
utilitarian point of view, but also as an intrinsic value. As early as
1897, the Society of Lovers of Cracow History and Ancient
Buildings was founded. Regular sightseeing tours of Cracow were
organized for people from other points in Galicia and even outside
the Austrian zone.
The cultural development of Cracow was of a much greater
significance than its other achievements and gradually promoted
the city to the role of the spiritual capital of Poland. As in the early
years of the Republic of Cracow, the font of history was tapped for
patriotic feelings. A kind of “archaeological patriotism” was
practiced, consisting in grandiose celebrations of historical anni-
versaries and burials of eminent figures. In this city redolent with
history, the tradition of baroque ceremonies was revived with the
reburial of Casimir the Great (1869), the retrieval of Mickiewicz’s
ashes from France (1890) and the 500th anniversary of the Battle
of Grunwald (1910), which had to remind the nation of its former
glories.
From the same inspiration sprung the founding of museums.
In 1876, Prince Wladyslaw Czartoryski brought to Cracow his
family collection, built up in Pulawy by Princess Izabela nee
Flemming, and removed to Paris after the November Uprising of
1830-1831. In 1879 the idea of creating a national museum
germinated. It was opened in 1883, and systematically assembled
works of ancient and contemporary Polish art, attracting generous
donations and endowments, of which the most valuable were the
coin and engraving collections of Emeryk Hutten Czapski. The
first director of the National Museum was Wladyslaw Luszczkie-
wicz, a painter, longtime professor and director of the School of
Fine Arts, tutor of Jan Matejko, one of the first competent art
historians in Poland.
Poles from other occupation zones were attracted to Cracow
not only by its sights, museums and patriotic celebrations. Re-
87