''Szkoła Rycerska'' ( en, School of Chivalry) or ''Akademia Szlachecka Korpusu Kadetów Jego Królewskiej Mości i Rzeczypospolitej'' (English: ''Nobles' Academy of the Corps of Cadets of His Royal Majesty and the Commonwealth'') was the first state school in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi- confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Poland and Lithuania ru ...

18th century

The state Corps of Cadets was established in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

on 15 March 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski. The Corps of Cadets was housed in the

Kazimierz Palace The Kazimierz Palace ( pl, Pałac Kazimierzowski) is a rebuilt palace in Warsaw, Poland. It is adjacent to the Royal Route, at '' Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28''. Originally built in 1637-41, it was first rebuilt in 1660 for King John II Casim ...

(''Pałac Kazimierzowski'', now the rectorate of

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw ( pl, Uniwersytet Warszawski, la, Universitas Varsoviensis) is a public university in Warsaw, Poland. Established in 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country offering 37 different fields of ...

). The Corps' commandant was Prince

Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential Polish aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts and a candidate for the Polish crow ...

. The Corps of Cadets was closed in 1795 following the suppression of the Kościuszko Uprising, which had been led by one of the Corps' first alumni,

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...

. In the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, several private corps of cadets were also established: by A. Tyzenhauz at Grodno, K. Radziwiłł at

Nieśwież Nesvizh, Niasviž ( be, Нясві́ж ; lt, Nesvyžius; pl, Nieśwież; russian: Не́свиж; yi, ניעסוויז; la, Nesvisium) is a city in Belarus. It is the administrative centre of the Nyasvizh District (''rajon'') of Minsk Region ...

, W. Potocki at Niemirów, A. Sułkowski at Rydzyna.

Interbellum

In the period between the two

World Wars A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...

, the institution of the Corps of Cadets would be revived in Poland. Three state secondary schools of that name would be created: at

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

(later at Lwów), at Modlin (later at

Chełmno Chełmno (; older en, Culm; formerly ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional impor ...

) and at

Rawicz Rawicz (; german: Rawitsch) is a town in west-central Poland with 21,398 inhabitants as of 2004. It is situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship (since 1999); previously it was in Leszno Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the capital of Rawicz ...

After World War II

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, in the People's Republic of Poland, until 1956, there existed in Warsaw a Corps of Cadets of the Internal Security Corps (''Korpus Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego'').

Revival

The original Corps' work is continued by ''Fundacja Szkoła Rycerska''.

Notable alumni

Romualdas Giedraitis Romualdas is a Lithuanian masculine given name. List of people named Romualdas * Romualdas Aleliūnas (born 1960), Lithuanian designer of ceramics *Romualdas Brazauskas (born 1960), Lithuanian basketball referee *Romualdas Granauskas Romualdas Gra ...

Jakub Jasiński Jakub Krzysztof Jasiński ( lt, Jokūbas Kristupas Jasinskis) of Rawicz Clan (24 July 1761, in Węglew near Pyzdry in Greater Poland – 4 November 1794, in Warsaw, Poland) was a Polish general, and poet of Enlightenment.Jerzy Snopek "The Pol ...

Hans Moritz Hauke Count Hans Johann Moritz von Hauke (John Maurice Hauke, pl, Jan Maurycy Hauke; 26 October 1775 – 29 November 1830) was a Polish general and professional soldier of German extraction. He was a member of the Hauke-Bosak family. Life Hans Moritz ...

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Early life Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz was born 6 February 1758 in Skoki, nea ...

Karol Kniaziewicz Baron Karol Otto Kniaziewicz (4 May 1762 in Assiten, Courland (now Asīte, Latvia) – 9 May 1842 in Paris) was a Polish general and political activist. Karol attended the Knight School in Warsaw. He participated in the Polish-Russian war of 1 ...

Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha Prince Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha (1757–1798) was a Poland, Polish-Lithuanian noble (szlachcic) and one the creators of the 3 May Constitution. Biography Early life and career Kazimierz Sapieha was educated at the Corps of Cadets (Warsaw), Kni ...

Józef Sowiński Józef Sowiński (1777–1831) was a Polish artillery general and one of the heroes of Poland's November 1830 Uprising. Biography Józef Longin Sowiński was born on 15 March 1777 in Warsaw. After graduating from the famous Corps of Cadets ...

* Rajmund Rembieliński

Notes

References

*"''Korpusy kadetów''" ("Corps of cadets"), ''

Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN ''Internetowa encyklopedia PWN'' ( Polish for ''Internet PWN Encyclopedia'') is a free online Polish-language encyclopedia published by Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwow ...

'' (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), volume 2, Warsaw,

Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i P ...

, 1974, p. 566. Defunct schools in Poland 1795 disestablishments Educational institutions established in 1765 History of Warsaw Universities and colleges in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Educational institutions disestablished in the 1790s {{Poland-school-stub