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The City and the Museum: Cracow's Collections and Their Publics in the Long Nineteenth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2018

Markian Prokopovych
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Extract

It is generally acknowledged that museums were an essential part of the national project in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Europe—and some retain this function even today. Classic works in nationalism studies, such as Eric Hobsbawm's, have highlighted the role they played in the birth of modern nations. Subsequent studies that focused on specific national contexts help us better understand the mechanisms by which museums contributed to the invention of national traditions as well as to the formation of historical consciousness, historical memory, and the functioning of modern states. As these and other scholars of museum history also demonstrate, museum founders, directors, curators, and the broader public were driven by agendas and aspirations other than nation-building within these larger processes. Analyzing how these agendas mixed with the aims of the national project in a specific locality in the making of museums can generate new insights into the formation of modern subjectivities in this period.

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Articles
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Austrian History Yearbook , Volume 49 , April 2018 , pp. 166 - 186
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Copyright © Center for Austrian Studies, University of Minnesota 2018 

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Footnotes

This article is based on the research conducted within the project “Promoting National and Imperial Identities: Museums in Austria-Hungary” at the University of Birmingham, funded by the Leverhulme Trust.

The author would like to express his thanks to Nathaniel D. Wood and the anonymous reviewers of the Austrian History Yearbook for their useful comments on the earlier draft of this article.

References

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9 Guichard-Marneur, “Drafting Futures.”

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11 For a good historical summary, see Wood, Nathaniel D., “The ‘Polish Mecca,’ the ‘Little Vienna on the Vistula’ or ‘Big-City Cracow’? Imagining Cracow before the Great War,” Urban History 40, no. 2 (2013): 229–31Google Scholar.

12 Further on Lemberg, see Prokopovych, Markian, Habsburg Lemberg: Architecture, Public Space and Politics in the Galician Capital, 1772–1914 (West Lafayette, 2008)Google Scholar.

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14 On how Cracow was routinely compared by nation builders to Mecca, Athens, and Rome to stress the importance of its literary, artistic, cultural, and ecclesiastic circles and institutions, see Wood, “The ‘Polish Mecca.’”

15 Unowsky, Daniel L., The Pomp and Politics of Patriotism: Imperial Celebrations in Habsburg Austria, 1848–1916 (West Lafayette, 2000)Google Scholar.

16 Wood, “The ‘Polish Mecca.’”

17 Ibid.; Wood, Becoming Metropolitan.

18 “Jubileusz Muzeum Narodowego” [National Museum Jubilee], Nowości Illustrowane, 23 Oct. 1909, 15–16.

19 “W sprawie wystawy starożytności” [On the issue of the antiquarian exhibition], Kurjer lwowski [Lwów Courier], 12 Aug. 1887, 3.

20 Katalog pierwszej wielkiej wystawy sztuki polskiej w Krakowie, we wrześniu 1887: Wystawa Krajowa Rolniczo-Przemysłowa w Krakowie 1887. Oddział Sztuki Polskiej [Catalog of the First General Exhibition of Polish art in Cracow, September 1887: Provincial Agricultural and Industrial Exhibition 1887: Section of Polish Art] (Cracow, 1887).

21 Dr. Majer Balaban, “O zabytkach historycznych żydów w Polsce (Wstąp do dziejów sztuki żydowskiej w Polsce. Ciąg dalszy)” [On historic artifacts of Jews in Poland: An introduction to the history of Jewish art in Poland. Continued], Kurjer lwowski, 15 June 1908, 3.

22 Żbikowski, Andrzej, Żydzi krakowscy i ich gmina w latach 1869–1919 [Cracow Jews and their district in 1869–1919] (Warsaw, 1994), 13Google Scholar, quoted in Wood, Becoming Metropolitan, 30.

23 Wood, Becoming Metropolitan, 31. Further on such taboos, which were characteristic for Habsburg Central Europe, see Gluck, Mary, The Invisible Jewish Budapest: Metropolitan Culture at the Fin de Siècle (Madison, 2016)Google Scholar.

24 See, e.g., “Wycieczka młodzieży gimnazjalnej do Krakowa” [A tour of the gymnasium youth to Cracow], Kurjer stanisławowski [Stanisławów Courier], 1 June 1902, 2.

25 Adolf Sternschuss, Godła domów krakowskich [Cracow houses’ emblems] (Cracow, 1899).

26 On Sternschuss, see Róg, Rafał, “Adolf Sternschuss. Miłośnik sztuki, co na stos rzucił swój życia los” [Adolf Sternschuss: Art lover who threw his life on a pyre], Mówią Wieki [Centuries Speak] 5 (2013): 28–30Google Scholar.

27 Stolot, Narodziny Muzeum, 4–7. On the establishment of the Scientific Society and the Society of the Friends of Fine Arts, see Rampley, Matthew, The Vienna School of Art History: Empire and the Politics of Scholarship, 1847–1918 (University Park, 2013), 66–67Google Scholar.

28 Stachowski, Antoni Henryk et al. , eds., Encyklopedia Krakowa [Cracow encyclopaedia] (Warsaw, 2000), 507Google Scholar.

29 Other committee members included another municipal employee, water inspector Teofil Żebrawski (1800–87), who was a prominent cartographer, architect, and mathematician and was also involved in some of the same restoration works with Kremer.

30 Further see Łepkowska, Barbara, Ludwik Łepkowski (1829–1905) i jego działalność na polu sztuki [Ludwik Łepkowski (1829–1905) and his activity in the field of art], vol. 1 (Cracow, 2006)Google Scholar.

31 Further on Popiel, see, e.g., Unowsky, The Pomp and Politics, 42–43. Wincenty Pol is also incidentally believed to have introduced the important term “kresy” (borderlands) to Polish historiography to define the eastern territories of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

32 See Beyer, Karol, Album fotograficzne wystawy starożytności i zabytków sztuki urządzonej przez c.k. Towarzystwo Naukowe w Krakowie 1858 i 1859 r. [Photo album of the exhibition of antiquities and historic artifacts organized by the k. k. Scientific Society in Cracow] (Warsaw, 1859)Google Scholar; Siemieński, Lucjan, Przegląd wystawy starożytności i zabytków sztuki urządzonej w Krakowie przez Komisyą delegowaną z oddziału archeologii i sztuk pięknych w c. k. Tow. Nauk. krakowskiem [Overview of the exhibition of antiquities and historic artifacts organized in Cracow by the committee of the archaeological and fine arts department of the k. k. Cracow Scientific Society] (Cracow, 1858)Google Scholar.

33 In 1872, the Scientific Society was also transformed into the Academy of Arts and Letters (Akademia Umiejętności) but remained in the same venue on Sławkowska until today. See Stolot, Narodziny Muzeum, 6.

34 Kuzicki, Jerzy, Orężem i pracą. Życie i działalność Walerego Wielogłowskiego (1805–1865) [With arms and work: Life and activities of Walery Wielogłowski] (Rzeszów, 2005)Google Scholar.

35 Stolot, Narodziny Muzeum, 7.

36 Wojtkowski, Andrzej, Edward Raczyński i jego dzieło [Edward Raczyński and his work] (Poznań, 1929)Google Scholar.

37 See Krzaczyńska, Zapomniane muzeum; Hapanowicz, Piotr, “Adrian Baraniecki—prekursor polskiego muzealnictwa przemysłowego” [Adrian Baraniecki—A precursor of Polish industrial museology], Muzealnictwo [Museology] 57 (2016): 16–25Google Scholar; Hapanowicz, Piotr, “Działalność Muzeum Techniczno-Przemysłowego w Krakowie i jego likwidacja w latach 1949–1950” [The activity of the Technical-Industrial Museum in Cracow and its liquidation in 1949–1950], Zarządzanie w Kulturze [Management in culture] 8 (2007): 43–62Google Scholar; Purchla, Krakau unter österreichischer Herrschaft, 69, 80, 88, 98.

38 Further on Dietl, see, e.g., Purchla, Krakau, 39–40; Guichard-Marneur, “Drafting Futures,” 115.

39 See “Krótki zarys historii budowy Muzeum techniczno przemysłowego w Krakowie” [A brief outline of the history of the Technical Industrial Museum in Cracow], Archiwum państwowe w Krakowie [State Archives in Cracow] MPA 16, sp. 352; also see Krzaczyńska, Zapomniane muzeum, 16–17.

40 Stolot, Narodziny Muzeum, 8; Guichard-Marneur, “Drafting Futures,” 116; Crowley, David, National Style and Nation-State: Design in Poland from the Vernacular Revival to the International Style (Manchester, 1992), 9–10Google Scholar, 12–15, 48–50, 61–65.

41 “Krótki zarys historii budowy.” Further see Kalinowski, Lech, “Marian Sokołowski,” in Stulecie Katedry Historii Sztuki Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego (1882–1892) [Centenary of the Art History Department of the Jagiellonian University (1882–1892)], ed. Kalinowski, Lech (Warsaw, 1990), 11–35Google Scholar; see also Stanisław Zarewicz, “Marjan Sokołowski,” Kurjer Lwowski, 4 Apr. 1911, 7–8; Grzybowska, Krystyna, Estreicherowie. Kronika rodzinna [The Estreichers: Family chronicle] (Cracow, 1999)Google Scholar; Encyklopedia Krakowa, 193. Ferdynand Weigel, a Lemberger, served as Cracow mayor in 1881–84. On the course lectures for 1897, see, e.g., “Dr Wiktor Czermak,” Dziennik krakowski [Cracow Daily], 1 May 1897, 4.

42 Dabrowski, Commemorations, 25–48.

43 Krzaczyńska, Zapomniane museum, 16–17.

44 Markiewicz, Henryk et al. , eds., Polski Słownik Biograficzny [Polish biographical dictionary], vol. 35 (Warsaw, 1994), 189–93Google Scholar. “Program konkursu dla rękodzielników w Galicji” [Program of the competition for Galician craftsmen], Kurjer lwowski, 28 Nov. 1888, 3–4; “Posiedzenie rady miejskiej z d. 20 lipca b.r.” [City Council Session on 20 July], Kurjer krakowski, 22 July 1897, 4–5.

45 Róg, “Adolf Sternschuss.” On the Higher School for Women, see Kras, Janina, Wyższe Kursy dla Kobiet im. A. Baranieckiego w Krakowie, 1868–1924 [Higher School for Women in the name of A. Baraciecki in Cracow, 1868–1924] (Cracow, 1972)Google Scholar.

46 See e.g., “Galicyjski przemysł” [Galician industry], Kurjer lwowski, 30 Aug. 1885, 4; “Gimnayzium żeńske w Krakowie” [Gymnasium for women in Cracow], Kurjer lwowski, 15 July 1897, 1–2; “Wyciecka młodzieży gimnazjalnej do Krakowa” [Visit of gymnasium students to Cracow], Kurjer stanisławowski, 1 June 1902, 2.

47 “Austrjaccy inżznerowie i architekci w Krakowie” [Austrian engineers and architects in Cracow], Kurjer Lwowski, 9 Sept. 1885, 1; “Virchow w Krakowie” [Virchow in Cracow], Kurjer lwowski, 7 Oct. 1902, 2. On the appreciation of Baraniecki's museum among ethnographers, see Bronisław Piłsudski, “Czeskie etnograficzne muzeum w Pradze” [Czech ethnography museum in Prague], Kurjer lwowski, 22 Sept. 1913, 1.

48 Krzaczyńska, Zapomniane museum, 29–33.

49 Unowsky, The Pomp and Politics, 61–64.

50 Hapanowicz, “Adrian Baraniecki,” 21.

51 Krzaczyńska, Zapomniane museum, 21–22.

52 Kras, Wyższe Kursy dla Kobiet.

53 “Potrzeba poparcia” [The need to support], Kurjer lwowski, 31 Mar. 1891, 1.

54 Lameński, Lechosław, “Tadeusz Stryjeński (1849–1943)—architekt, konserwator i przemysłowiec krakowski. Biografia” [Tadeusz Stryjeński (1849–1943)—Cracow architect, conservator and industrialist: A biography], Prace Humanistyczne [Acts in the Humanities] 1, no. 30 (1991), 59–101Google Scholar.

55 Bąk-Koczarska, Celina, Juliusz Leo - Twórca Wielkiego Krakowa [Juliusz Leo the creator of Greater Cracow] (Wrocław, 1986)Google Scholar. See also Wood, “The ‘Polish Mecca,’” 228, 234.

56 The partial collapse of the new construction prompted Stryjeński's eventual resignation in 1910. See “Krótki zarys historii budowy”; Adamczewski, Jan, ed., Mała encyklopedia Krakowa [Small encyclopaedia of Cracow] (Cracow, 1999), 504Google Scholar; Encyklopedia Krakowa, 599.

57 Purchla, Krakau, 57. Further see Pezda, Władysław Czartoryski.

58 Nowak, Janusz, “Władze gminy miasta Krakowa wobec Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich 1874–1939” [Cracow municipal government to the Princes Czartoryski Museum, 1874–1939], Krakowski rocznik archiwalny [Krakowski archival yearbook] 7 (2001): 96Google Scholar.

59 Guichard-Marneur, “Drafting Futures,” 117–18.

60 Nowak, “Władze gminy,” 98.

61 “Odczyt Władysława Czartoryskiego, wygłoszony na posiedzeniu Towarzystwa Historyczno-Literackiego, 8 stycznia 1882 roku w Paryżu” [Władysław Czartoryski's lecture, delivered at a meeting of the Historical-Literary Society, 8 Jan. 1882 in Paris], Otwieram świątynię pamięci. Zbiory Czartoryskich a narodziny idei muzeum w Polsce [I open the temple of memory: The Czartoryski Collection and the birth of the museum idea in Poland], ed. Janusz Wałek (Łódź, 2015), 315–20.

62 See Nowak, “Władze gminy miasta Krakowa,” 95–96. Further see Homola, Irena, Kraków za prezydentury Mikołaja Zyblikiewicza [Cracow under the presidency of Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz] (Cracow, 1976)Google Scholar.

63 Further see Purchla, Krakau, 56–57.

64 Nowak, “Władze gminy,” 96–99.

65 “Presydent ministrów” [Minister president], Kurjer lwowski, 9 June 1889, 4; “Z Krakowa donoszą” [Report from Cracow], Kurjer lwowski, 24 June 1898, 3

66 Quoted in Stolot, Narodziny Muzeum, 9.

67 Ibid., 10.

68 Apart from the photo documentation of the Wawel Castle complex and Sukiennice, Pryliński also renovated the Bishop's Palace, in 1881–84.

69 For more on Wawel restoration, see Rampley, The Vienna School, 196–98; Bałus, Krakau, 2002. For a suggestion to establish the National Museum in the Wawel Hill, see Ziemięcki, Teodor Nieczuja, Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie [National Museum in Cracow] (Cracow, 1878)Google Scholar; Ziemięcki, Teodor Nieczuja, Zamek na Wawelu i Muzeum Narodowe [The castle on the Wawel Hill and the National Museum] (Cracow, 1879)Google Scholar.

70 Patrice Dabrowski has analyzed the Jubilee in detail. See Dabrowski, Commemorations, 25–48; see also Guichard-Marneur, “Drafting Futures,” 119–20.

71 Uchwała Rady miasta Krakowa o utworzeniu Muzeum Narodowego w Sukiennicach jako własnośći Gminy m. Krakowa na pożytek całego narodu [Resolution of the City Council of Cracow on the creation of the National Museum in Cloth Hall as the property of the municipality of Cracow for the benefit of the whole nation]. See Stolot, Narodziny Muzeum, 12.

72 Guichard-Marneur, “Drafting Futures,” 120–21.

73 Stefan Muczkowski was the son of Józef Muczkowski, also a professor at the Jagiellonian University, who was involved in the museum of antiquities.

74 On how King Sobieski became a compromise figure to celebrate both Habsburg loyalty and the Polish nation, see, e.g., Prokopovych, Habsburg Lemberg, 170–72.

75 Sokołowski, Maryan, Wystawa zabytków z czasów Jana III w Sukiennicach krakowskich [Exhibition of monuments from the times of John III in the Cloth Hall of Cracow] (Cracow, 1884)Google Scholar; Guichard-Marneur, “Drafting Futures,” 122–23; Dabrowski, Commemorations, 48–74, 51–53.

76 Stolot, Narodziny Muzeum, 15.

77 Sprawozdania Muzeum Nadorowego, 1887–1898 [Reports of the National Museum, 1887–1898] (Cracow, 1888–99).

78 The circle included Marceli Czartoryski, Majer, Muszkowski, Kossak, Siemiradzki, Łepkowski (at that point archaeology professor at the Jagiellonian University), Sokołowski (now professor of art history at the same university). Additionally, the president of the Academy of Learning (Majer) and another representative of the Friends of Fine Arts (Otto Hausner) also participated. See Stolot, Narodziny Muzeum, 15–16.

79 For more on Schmidt-Ciążyński, see Śliwa, Joachim, “Konstanty Schmidt-Ciążyński (1817–1889): Zapomniany kolekcjoner i znawca starożytnej gliptyki” [Konstanty Schmidt-Ciążyński (1817–1889): Forgotten collector and expert of ancient cameos], Meander XLIII (1988): 9–10Google Scholar, 437–51.

80 Stolot, Narodziny Muzeum, 18–21.

81 Świeykowski, Emmanuel, Katalog malowideł, rysunków, sztychów i litografii Michała Stachowicza wystawionych w salach Sukiennic staraniem Towarzystwa Miłośników Historyi i Zabytków Krakowa [Catalog of paintings, drawings, sketches and lithographs by Michał Stachowicz exhibited in the Cloth Hall due to the efforts of the Society of Lovers of History and Monuments of Cracow] (Cracow, 1901)Google Scholar.

82 Róg, “Adolf Sternschuss.”

83 Dabrowski, Commemmorations, 35–36. On further divisions within Galician peasantry and the privileged status of the so-called Cracovian peasants, see Stauter-Halstead, The Nation in the Village, 9.

84 Guichard-Marneur, “Drafting Futures,” 123–24.

85 Dr. K. S., “Muzeum Narodowe” [National Museum], Ilustracya polska 20, 9 June 1904, 320.

86 “Jubileusz Muzeum Narodowego,” Nowości Illustrowane, 23 Oct. 1909, 15–16.