The Princes Czartoryski Library (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Biblioteka Książąt Czartoryskich)'' – often abbreviated to Czartoryski Library – is a branch of the

National Museum in Kraków The National Museum in Kraków (), popularly abbreviated as MNK, is the largest museum in Poland, and the main branch of Poland's National Museum, which has several independent branches with permanent collections around the country. Established in ...

, located at 17 St Mark Street in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. It is a Polish foundation library established at the initiative of 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 cro ...

and Izabela Czartoryska nee Fleming in the second half of the

18th century The 18th century lasted from 1 January 1701 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCI) to 31 December 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the Atlantic Revolutions. Revolutions began to ch ...

History

The library collection of Adam Kazimierz and Izabela Fleming Czartoryski was initially housed in the Blue Palace in Warsaw, belonging to the

Czartoryski family The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; ) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian- Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia. The family, which derived their kin from the Gediminids dynasty, by the mid-17 ...

. In 1770, the library contained 1,645 prints and

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

and published its first catalog. After 1783, the collection was moved to the Czartoryski Palace in Puławy. The Puławy collection was continuously expanded with works of national significance, including the library of

Tadeusz Czacki Tadeusz Czacki (28 August 1765 in Poryck, Volhynia – 8 February 1813 in Dubno) was a Polish historian, pedagogue and numismatist. Czacki played an important part in the Enlightenment in Poland. Biography Czacki was born in Poryck in Volhynia ...

, known as the Porycki Library, which also included archives related to King

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

. By 1830, the library had gathered around 70,000 prints and 3,000 manuscripts. After the fall of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31) (), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

and the confiscation of the property, the collection was dispersed and stored outside the borders of

Russian partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...

– in

Sieniawa Sieniawa (), is a town in southeastern Poland, in Przeworsk County in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It had a population of 2,127 inhabitants (02.06.2009). History Sieniawa's history dates back to the 17th century, and the town owes its existenc ...

, Krasiczyn,

Kórnik Kórnik is a town with about 7,600 inhabitants (2018), located in western Poland, about south-east of the city of Poznań. It is one of the major tourist attractions of the Wielkopolska region and the Greater Poland Voivodeship because of the hi ...

, Kraków, and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. The collection was reunified by Adam Jerzy's son, Prince

Władysław Władysław is a Polish given male name, cognate with Vladislav. The feminine form is Władysława, archaic forms are Włodzisław (male) and Włodzisława (female), and Wladislaw is a variation. These names may refer to: People Mononym *Włodzis� ...

, who in 1874 placed it in the former Municipal Arsenal, which the city of Kraków had donated for this purpose. The library became an integral part of the museum, which was officially opened in 1876. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the library was closed, although Polish scholars and researchers still had access to its collections. The library's collections were looted, and only a part of them was recovered after the war. In 1950, the library and museum collections were placed under state care as a deposit at the National Museum in Kraków. A separate building was constructed for this purpose, designed by Marian Jaroszewski. The building was erected between 1958 and 1960 on the site of the rear wing of the Wodzicki Palace, which had been demolished in 1939, at 11 St John Street. The relocation of the book collection to the new location was completed in 1961. In 1971, the Czartoryski Library was granted the status of a

scientific library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...

with a

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

profile. On December 29, 2016, the Princes Czartoryski Foundation, the legal owner of the collections since 1991, transferred the library and other assets to the National Museum in Kraków.

Collections

The collection of the Princes Czartoryski Library consists of over 245,000 literary monuments dating from the 10th to the 20th century. The library holds a diverse collection of rare

incunabula An incunable or incunabulum (: incunables or incunabula, respectively) is a book, pamphlet, or broadside (printing), broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. The specific date is essentiall ...

, musicological works, calendars, maps, atlases,

herbals A herbal is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their medicinal, tonic, culinary, toxic, hallucinatory, aromatic, or magical powers, and the legends associated with them.Arber, p. 14. A her ...

, books,

periodicals Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

, and

ephemera Ephemera are items which were not originally designed to be retained or preserved, but have been collected or retained. The word is etymologically derived from the Greek ephēmeros 'lasting only a day'. The word is both plural and singular. On ...

. Since its inception, the library has been accompanied by illuminated medieval and early modern manuscripts, which were part of the museum collection of Princess Izabela Czartoryska. Among the

illuminated manuscripts An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...

displayed in the library are works such as the

King René's Tournament Book ''Le Livre des tournois'' (''Traicte de la Forme de Devis d'un Tournoi'') or ''King René's Tournament Book'' is a treatise describing rules for tournaments by the French prince René d'Anjou. It is best known from what appears to be Rene's own ...

, the Golden Codex of Pułtusk, and the Pontifical of Bishop Erasmus Ciolek. The library's collection also includes documents of historical significance, which testify to important events in the history of the Poland, such as the

Privilege of Koszyce The Privilege of Koszyce or Privilege of KassaClifford Rogers (editor): ''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Medieval Warfare and Military Technology'', Oxford University Press, 201/ref> was a set of concessions made by Louis I of Hungary to the Polish sz ...

(1374), the Privilege of Jedlno (1430), acts of the

Union of Horodło The Union of Horodło or Pact of Horodło was a set of three acts signed in the town of Horodło on 2 October 1413. The first act was signed by Władysław II Jagiełło, King of Poland, and Vytautas, Grand Duke of Lithuania. The second and thir ...

(1413) and the

Prussian Homage The Prussian Homage or Prussian Tribute (; ) was the formal investiture of Albert, Duke of Prussia ( 1490-1568), with his Duchy of Prussia as a fief of the Kingdom of Poland that took place on 10 April 1525 in the then capital of Kraków, Kin ...

(1525). The history of the Czartoryski family is recorded in their family documents, including the granting of the princely title to the Czartoryskis in 1442, the diploma of honorary citizenship of the city of Kraków for Władysław Czartoryski (1880), and materials documenting the museum activities of Izabela Czartoryska. The library also holds memorabilia from prominent figures in culture, science, politics, and religion. Among these are autograph letters from

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

Nicolaus Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, and the first presidents of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

.{{Cite journal , last=Wierzbicki , first=Paweł , date=2017 , title=Niezwykłe zbiory z niezwykłej kolekcji. Skarby bibliofilskie z Biblioteki Książąt Czartoryskich , journal=Rocznik Biblioteki Kraków , language=pl , location=Kraków , volume=1 , pages=242

Gallery

File:Codex aureus pultoviensis (69702090).jpg, ''Codex aureus pultoviensis (The Golden Codex of Pułtusk)'', 80s of the 11th century File:Psalterium-Horae BN 3121 I Rkps (46240909).jpg, ''Psalterium-Horae'', first quarter of the 14th century File:Lectiones Evangeliorum in diebus festis (63622323).jpg, ''Lectiones Evangeliorum in diebus festis'', Cologne, after 1461 File:Getijdenboek (63503802).jpg, ''Getijdenboek,'' Bruges, first quarter of the 15th century File:Pontificale cracoviense (64090358).jpg, ''Pontificale cracoviense (The Pontifical of Bishop Erasmus Ciolek)'', Kraków, 1510-1515 File:Livre d'heures (68569980).jpg, ''Livre d'heures'', early 16th century

References

External links

Digital collections of the Czartoryski Library
Libraries in Poland Czartoryski family Research libraries

History

Collections

Gallery

See also

References

External links