Misplaced Pages

Wojciech Kętrzyński

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Piotrus (talk | contribs) at 20:51, 22 May 2009 (please explain on talk how is this relevant, since you don't seem to be able to do so in the edit summary). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 20:51, 22 May 2009 by Piotrus (talk | contribs) (please explain on talk how is this relevant, since you don't seem to be able to do so in the edit summary)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
This article does not cite any sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
Find sources: "Wojciech Kętrzyński" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (January 2007) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Kętrzyński-Monument in Kętrzyn.

Wojciech Kętrzyński (11 July 1838 – 15 January 1918), born Adalbert von Winkler, was a historian and the director of the Ossolineum Library in Lwów, Austrian occupied Poland. He focused on Polish history in a time when no independent Polish state existed. He was the father of Stanisław Kętrzyński.

Biography

Born to a policeman in Lötzen (East Prussia), Province of Prussia, within the Kingdom of Prussia, he studied at the Königsberg Albertina University and became interested in the history and identity of Masuria. By the 19th century, this region was largely inhabited by the Protestant and mostly Germanized Masurians, who spoke Polish and German.

In 1861 he changed his name to Wojciech Kętrzyński after the Slavic name of his grandfather, which is a direct translation of his German name "von Winkler". His father is identified as a Kashubian and his mother as a German; a number of German von Winkler families lived in Brandenburg and Berlin at the time. Prussian authorities imprisoned him during the process of 149 Polish patriots (the so-called Polenprozess), and he spent his jail time in Allenstein (Olsztyn), Berlin, and Glatz (Kłodzko) in Prussia. After being released from prison, Kętrzyński moved to the liberal Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria within Austria-Hungary to pursue his interests. He became the head (1873) and the director (1876) of the Ossolineum Library in Lwów, then capital of the Kingdom of Galicia. Kętrzyński died there during World War I.

Legacy

In recognition of his deeds after World War II, the town Rastenburg (Template:Lang-pl) in Masuria was renamed Kętrzyn after Kętrzyński in 1950. In Olsztyn a scientific institute was established named after him in 1963, called Ośrodka Badań Naukowych im. Wojciecha Kętrzyńskiego. Its primary mission is to document and research the history of Polish people (i.e. Slavic Masurians) and their culture in Warmia and Masuria, concentrating on their efforts to oppose Germanization. Another important subject of its research is the structure and administration of Royal Prussia.

Works

  • "Szkice Prus Wschodnich" zamieszczone w "Przewodniku Naukowym i Literackim" Lwów 1876.
  • "Nazwy miejscowe polskie Prus Zachodnich, Wschodnich i Pomorza wraz z ich przezwiskami niemieckimi" Lwów 1879.
  • "Gazeta polska z początku XVIII w.(Poczta Królewiecka 1718-1720) Lwów 1880.
  • "Aus dem Liederbuch eines Germanisierten (1854-1862)" 1883 - confiscated by Prussian and Austrian authorities.
  • "O ludności polskiej w Prusiech niegdyś krzyżackich" Lwów 1882.
  • "O powołaniu Krzyżaków przez księcia Konrada" Petersburg 1903.

External links

Categories: