From the Royal Castle to school. King Stanisław August’s legacy and the Volhynian Gymnasium collections

Abstract

The library and the cabinet collections of King of Poland Stanisław August Poniatowski reflect the trends of the Enlightement as well as the monarch’s interests. Their acquisition by one of the most important Polish schools, the Volhynian Gymnasium in Kremenets, saved them from dismemberment and gave rise to school collections. The acquisition was possible owing to history (the Partition of Poland, and the emergence of the Vilna Educational District) and a unique man – Tadeusz Czacki.

The collections at the Volhynian Gymnasium in Kremenets was open to the public on a daily basis. In this way, the Polish King’s Stanisław August wish to have the collection available for masses came true, after his death regrettably. School collections were very valuable. Having originated from the royal collection of the last Polish King, they became a reminiscence of the national potential of a country that disappeared from the map of Europe in 1795.

This article is a part of a future book and an attempt of documenting the transition of respective collections from the royal residence in Warsaw to Kremenets. The analysis of Polish, Lithuanian and Ukrainian archives enables to reconstruct the history of the royal collections and to show their quality and didactic utility.