- Wojciech Kętrzyński
Wojciech Kętrzyński (
11 July 1838 –15 January 1918 ), born Adalbert von Winkler, was ahistorian and the director of theOssolineum Library inLwów , Austrian occupied Poland. He focused on Polish history in a time when no independent Polish state existed. He was the father ofStanisław Kętrzyński .Biography
Born to a policeman in Lötzen (Giżycko),
Province of Prussia , within theKingdom of Prussia , he studied at theKönigsberg Albertina University and became interested in the history and identity ofMasuria . By the 19th century, this region was largely inhabited by the Protestant and mostly GermanizedMasurians , who spoke Polish and German.In 1861 he changed his name to "Wojciech Kętrzyński" after the Slavic name of his grandfatherFact|date=March 2008, 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 andBerlin at the time. Prussian authorities imprisoned him during the process of 149 Polish patriots (the so-calledPolenprozess )Fact|date=March 2008, and he spent his jail time in Allenstein (Olsztyn), Berlin, and Glatz (Kłodzko) in Prussia. After being released from prison, Kętrzyński moved to the liberalKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria withinAustria-Hungary to pursue his interests. He became the head (1873) and the director (1876) of the Ossolineum Library in Lwów, then capital of theKingdom of Galicia . Kętrzyński died there duringWorld War I .Legacy
In recognition of his deeds after
World War II , the town Rastenburg ( _pl. Rastembork) in Masuria was renamed "Kętrzyn " after Kętrzyński in 1950. In Olsztyn a scientific institute was established named after him in 1963, calledOśrodka Badań Naukowych im. Wojciecha Kętrzyńskiego . Its primary mission is to document and research the history of Polish people and their culture inWarmia and Masuria, concentrating on their efforts to opposeGermanization . Another important subject of its research is the structure and administration ofRoyal 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
* [http://www.muzeum.ketrzyn.pl/home.htm Museum in Kętrzyn] pl icon
* [http://www.obn.olsztyn.pl Ośrodek Badań Naukowych im. Wojciecha Kętrzyńskiego w Olsztynie] pl icon
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