The ideas of the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

were developed later than in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

, as the Polish

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

was weaker, and

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

(nobility) culture ( Sarmatism) together with the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

political system In political science, a political system means the form of Political organisation, political organization that can be observed, recognised or otherwise declared by a society or state (polity), state. It defines the process for making official gov ...

(

Golden Liberty Golden Liberty (; , ), sometimes referred to as Golden Freedoms, Nobles' Democracy or Nobles' Commonwealth ( or ''Złota wolność szlachecka'') was a political system in the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and, after the Unio ...

) were in deep crisis. The period of Polish Enlightenment began in the 1730s–40s, peaked in the reign of Poland's last 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 ...

(1764-1795), went into decline with the Third Partition of Poland (1795) – a national tragedy inspiring a short period of sentimental writing – and ended in 1822, replaced by

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

.Jerzy Snopek
"The Polish Literature of the Enlightenment."
(PDF 122 KB) ''Poland.pl.''

History

Polish Enlightenment, while sharing many common qualities with the classical Enlightenment movements of

, also differed from them in many important aspects. Much of the thought of the Western Enlightenment evolved under the oppressive absolute monarchies and was dedicated towards fighting for more freedom. Western thinkers desired

Montesquieu Charles Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu (18 January 168910 February 1755), generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French judge, man of letters, historian, and political philosopher. He is the principal so ...

's separation and balance of powers to restrict the nearly unlimited power of their

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

s. Polish Enlightenment, however, developed in a very different background. The Polish political system was almost the opposite of the absolute monarchy: Polish kings were elected and their position was very weak, with most of the powers in the hands of the parliament (

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

). Polish reforms desired the elimination of laws that transformed their system into a near-anarchy, resulting from abuse of consensus voting in Sejm (

liberum veto The ''liberum veto'' (Latin for "free veto") was a parliamentary device in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It was a form of unanimity voting rule that allowed any member of the Sejm (legislature) to force an immediate end to the current s ...

) that paralyzed the Commonwealth, especially during the times of the Wettin dynasty, reducing Poland from a major European player to the puppet of its neighbours. Thus, while men of the Enlightenment in France and Prussia wrote about the need for more checks and balances on their kings, Polish Enlightenment was geared towards fighting the abuses stemming from too many checks and balances. Smuglewicz Prozor Family

The differences did not end there. Townsfolk and bourgeoisie dominated Western Enlightenment movement, while in the Commonwealth most of the reformers came from

(nobility). Commonwealth

(forming 10% of its population) considered the idea of equality to be one of the foundations of its culture, and reformers fought to expand it towards other social classes.

Religious tolerance Religious tolerance or religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, ...

was an ideal of the szlachta.

Constitution of 1791

Ideas of that period led eventually to the

Constitution of May 3, 1791 The Constitution of 3 May 1791, titled the Government Act, was a written constitution for the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that was adopted by the Great Sejm that met between 1788 and 1792. The Commonwealth was a dual monarchy comprising ...

and other reforms (like the creation of the

Commission of National Education The Commission of National Education (, KEN, ) was the central educational authority in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, created by the Sejm and King Stanisław August Poniatowski, Stanisław II August on October 14, 1773. Because of its ...

, first ministry of education in the world) which attempted to transform the Commonwealth into a modern

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

. Although attempts of political

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

were thwarted by the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

(

Targowica Confederation The Targowica Confederation (, , ) was a confederation established by Polish and Lithuanian magnates on 27 April 1792, in Saint Petersburg, with the backing of the Russian Empress Catherine II. The confederation opposed the Constitution of 3 May ...

) and military intervention of the Commonwealth's neighbours, ending in the

partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

, the cultural impact of that period persevered

Polish culture The culture of Poland () is the product of its Geography of Poland, geography and distinct historical evolution, which is closely connected to History of Poland, an intricate thousand-year history. Poland has a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic ma ...

for many years. The ideas of the Polish Enlightenment also had a significant impact abroad. From the

Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation (; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (''szlachta'') formed at the fortress of Bar, Ukraine, Bar in Podolia (now Ukraine), in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian C ...

(1768) through the period of the

Great Sejm The Great Sejm, also known as the Four-Year Sejm (Polish language, Polish: ''Sejm Wielki'' or ''Sejm Czteroletni''; Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Didysis seimas'' or ''Ketverių metų seimas'') was a Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

and until the aftermath of the Constitution of May 3, 1791, Poland experienced a large output of political, particularly constitutional, writing. Important institutions of the Enlightenment included the National Theatre founded in 1765 in Warsaw by King

; and in the field of advanced learning: the

established by the Sejm in 1773; the Society for Elementary Books; as well as the Corps of Cadets (Knight's military school) among others. In expanding the field of knowledge, there was the Society of Friends of Science set up in 1800 soon after the Partitions. Popular

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

s included

Monitor Monitor or monitor may refer to: Places * Monitor, Alberta * Monitor, Indiana, town in the United States * Monitor, Kentucky * Monitor, Oregon, unincorporated community in the United States * Monitor, Washington * Monitor, Logan County, Wes ...

and Zabawy Przyjemne i Pożyteczne (Games Pleasant and Useful).

Notable persons

Wojciech Bogusławski Wojciech Romuald Bogusławski (9 April 1757 – 23 July 1829) was a Polish actor, theater director and playwright of the Polish Enlightenment. He was the director of the National Theatre, Warsaw, (''Teatr Narodowy''), during three distinct pe ...

- father of Polish theatre * Franciszek Bohomolec - poet, writer, publisher, teacher * Tadeusz Czacki - education, economy, founder of Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Nauk and Liceum Krzemienieckie *

Joachim Chreptowicz Joachim Litawor Chreptowicz (4 January 1729 – 4 March 1812), of Odrowąż Coat of Arms, was a Polish-Lithuanian nobleman, writer, poet, politician of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northe ...

- Last Grand Chancellor of the Lithuania, journalist, poet, translator, and physiocrat * Jakub Jasiński - poet, general, radical supporter of revolution * Franciszek Salezy Jezierski - writer, political activist *

Franciszek Karpiński Franciszek Karpiński (4 October 1741 – 16 September 1825) was the leading Sentimentalism (literature), sentimental Polish people, Polish poet of the Age of Enlightenment. He is particularly remembered for his religious works later rendered ...

- poet * Franciszek Kniaźnin (Franciszek Dionizy Kniażin) - poet, writer *

Hugo Kołłątaj Hugo Stumberg Kołłątaj, also spelled ''Kołłątay'' (1 April 1750 – 28 February 1812), was a prominent Polish constitutional reformer and educationalist, and one of the most prominent figures of the Enlightenment in Poland, Polish Enlighten ...

- priest, social and political activist, political thinker, historian and philosopher *

Stanisław Konarski Stanisław Konarski, Sch.P. (actual name: Hieronim Konarski; 30 September 1700 – 3 August 1773) was a Polish pedagogue, educational reformer, political writer, poet, dramatist, Piarist priest and precursor of the Enlightenment in the Polish– ...

- precursor of education reform, author of ''O skutecznym rad sposobie'' * Onufry Kopczyński - teacher, precursor of

Polish grammar The grammar of the Polish language is complex and characterized by a high degree of inflection, and has relatively free word order, although the dominant arrangement is subject–verb–object (SVO). There commonly are no articles (although this ...

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

- military engineer, statesman, revolutionary. * Michał Dymitr Krajewski - writer, educational activist *

Ignacy Krasicki Ignacy Błażej Franciszek Krasicki (3 February 173514 March 1801), from 1766 Prince-Bishop of Warmia (in German, ''Ermland'') and from 1795 Archbishop of Gniezno (thus, Primate of Poland), was Poland's leading Polish Enlightenment, Enlightenment ...

- one of Poland's greatest poets, writer, bishop, co-organiser of Thursday dinners *

Stanisław Leszczyński Stanisław I Leszczyński (Stanisław Bogusław; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at various times Prince of Deux-Ponts, Duk ...

- king of Poland, political activist, writer ('' Głos wolny wolność ubezpieczający'') * Samuel Bogumił Linde - chairman of Towarzystwo do Ksiąg Elementarnych, creator of '' Słownik Języka Polskiego'' * Adam Naruszewicz - poet, translator, historian * Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz - poet, playwright, independence activist * Jan Piotr Norblin - painter * Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński - writer, social, science and cultural activist, founder of Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich * Grzegorz Piramowicz - writer, philosopher, educational activist *

- king, co-organiser of Thursday's dinners, great supporter of arts and sciences in Poland, *

Stanisław Staszic Stanisław Wawrzyniec Staszic (baptised 6 November 1755 – 20 January 1826) was a leading figure in the Polish Enlightenment: a Catholic priest, philosopher, geologist, writer, poet, translator and statesman. A physiocrat, monist, pan-Sla ...

- writer, economist * Jan Śniadecki - astronomer, mathematician, philosopher * Jędrzej Śniadecki - chemist * Stanisław Trembecki - poet (

Classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

style) * Tomasz Kajetan Węgierski - poet, explorer * Józef Wybicki - political activist, author of the words of Mazurek Dąbrowskiego, Polish

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

* Franciszek Zabłocki - poet, comedy writer, secretary of Towarzystwo do Ksiąg Elementarnych * Andrzej and Józef Załuski - founders of first Polish

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

, Biblioteka Załuskich * Andrzej Zamoyski -

kanclerz The Chancellor of Poland ( - , from ), officially, the Grand Chancellor of the Crown between 1385 and 1795, was one of the highest officials in the historic Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. This office functioned from the early Polish kingdom o ...

, politician, author of the Zamoyski Code

Architecture

The center of the

neoclassical architecture Neoclassical architecture, sometimes referred to as Classical Revival architecture, is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy, France and Germany. It became one of t ...

in Poland was

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

under the reign of

came to

in the 18th century. The best known architects and artists, who worked in Poland were Dominik Merlini, Jan Chrystian Kamsetzer,

Szymon Bogumił Zug Szymon Bogumił Zug (20 February 1733 – 11 August 1807), born Simon Gottlieb Zug, and also known as Zugk, was a renowned Polish- German classicist architect and designer of gardens. Born in Merseburg in Saxony, he spent most of his life in t ...

Stanisław Zawadzki Stanisław Zawadzki (1743–1806) was a Polish architect, representative of late-baroque and classicism, inclined towards Palladian architecture and precursor of the empire (style), empire style in Polish architecture, Major General of the Army ...

, Efraim Szreger,

Antonio Corazzi Antonio Corazzi (1792-1877) was an Italian architect working in Poland from 1819 to 1847, mainly in Neoclassical style. Biography Antonio Corazzi was the son of an impresario of the Avalorati Theatre in Livorno. In 1811, after graduating fro ...

, Jakub Kubicki, Christian Piotr Aigner, Wawrzyniec Gucewicz and

Bertel Thorvaldsen Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (; sometimes given as Thorwaldsen; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish-Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor and medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–183 ...

. The first stage, called the ''Stanislavian style'', followed by an almost complete inhibition and a period known as the ''

Congress Kingdom Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It was established w ...

classicism''. The most famous buildings of the Stanislavian period include the Royal Castle in Warsaw, rebuilt by Dominik Merlini and Jan Christian Kamsetzer, Palace on the Water, Królikarnia and the palace in Jabłonna. From the period of the Congress Kingdom are Koniecpolski Palace and the St. Alexander's Church in Warsaw, the Temple of the Sibyl in

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka River, Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was Cen ...

, rebuilding the

Łańcut Castle Łańcut Castle (Polish language, Polish: ''Zamek w Łańcucie''; pronounced: ) is a complex of historical buildings located in Łańcut, Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Poland. Historically the residence of the Pilecki, House of Lubomirski, Lubomirsk ...

. The leading figure in the Congress Kingdom was Antoni Corrazzi. Corazzi has created a complex of Bank Square in Warsaw, the edifices of the Treasury, Revenue and the Commission of Government, the building of the

Staszic Palace Staszic Palace (, ) is an edifice at Nowy Świat Street, ulica Nowy Świat 72, Warsaw, Poland. It is the seat of the Polish Academy of Sciences. History Origin The history of the Staszic Palace dates from 1620, when King of Poland, King Sigismund ...

Mostowski Palace Mostowski Palace () is an 18th-century palace in Warsaw, Poland, located at ''ul. Nowolipie 2'' (2 Nowolipie Street) — prior to World War II, at ''ul. Przejazd 15''. History The palace had been built in 1762-65 in the Baroque style for the Voiv ...

and designed the Grand Theatre. File:Warszawa - Pałac Łazienkowski (13).jpg, Łazienki Palace,

, 1764–1795 File:Pulawy palac marynki.jpg, Marynka's Palace,

, 1790–1794 File:Królikarnia w Warszawie 2023.jpg, Królikarnia Palace,

, 1782–1786 File:MZPP5.jpg, Gorzeński Palace, Dobrzyca, 1795–1799 File:Warszawa Pałac Prezydencki.jpg,

Presidential Palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...

, 1818 File:Warszawa, ul. Nowy Świat 72-74 20170517 003.jpg,

, 1820–1823 File:Muranów Komenda 2009.jpg,

, 1823–1824 File:Pulawy palac czartoryskich.jpg, Czartoryski Palace,

, 1840–1843 File:6 Poznan 031.jpg, Działyński House,

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

, 1773–1776 File:Pałac Zbaraskich, Kraków.JPG, Zbaraski House,

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 ...

, 1777–1783 File:Siedlce Ratusz 03.JPG, Town Hall,

Siedlce Siedlce () ( ) is a city in the Masovian Voivodeship in eastern Poland with 77,354 inhabitants (). The city is situated between two small rivers, the Muchawka and the Helenka, and lies along the European route E30, around east of Warsaw. It is ...

, 1766–1769 File:Odwach Poznań.jpg, Guardhouse,

, 1783–1787 File:Grand Theatre in Warsaw, 2022, 01.jpg, Great Theatre,

, 1825–1833 File:VarsaviaMunicipio.jpg, Commission Palace,

, 1823–1825 File:2007-07-20 Pomnik Słowackiego, Plac Bankowy, Warszawa.jpg, Treasury Ministry,

, 1825–1828 File:Gmach Giełdy i Banku Polskiego w Warszawie 2022.jpg, ,

, 1825–28

History

Constitution of 1791

Notable persons

Architecture

See also

Notes

Further reading