Powstanie styczniowe. W 160. rocznicę zrywu

This largest and longest-lasting national uprising was the end of an era in Polish history. It marked the end of Romanticism, but also the last attempt in the 19th century to rise to independence. Despite the enormous losses suffered by Polish society as a result of warfare, repression, exile and emigration, the idea of the fight for independence was passed on to the next generations, who drew inspiration from it and who ultimately led to the rebirth of the Polish state in 1918.

The exhibition at the Sukiennice presents mementoes of the January Uprising, their weapons and banners stored in the collection of the National Museum in Kraków, as well as iconography of the uprising's leaders, battles and skirmishes fought against the Tsarist army. Undoubtedly the most valuable are the three banners on display, including the banner that was most likely used by troops under the command of Edmund Taczanowski in 1863. On display are personal items such as a telescope left by the uprising's dictator Romuald Traugutt, a lock of Zygmunt Sierakowski's hair and a photograph of his daughter, Zygmunta Sierakowska, born in exile after her father's execution on 27 June 1863 and who died less than two years later. An unusual exhibit is a button made from bread by a prisoner of the Warsaw citadel in 1863. Also on display are weapons and equipment left behind by insurgents Longin Żukowski and Marcin Kolaszka, as well as a bayonet used by the troops of dictator Marian Langiewicz. A unique relic is the cap of General Antoni Jeziorański. The photographs of the insurgents are also a sign of the times. Their common feature is the exposed attributes of soldiers: weapons and uniforms. They are accompanied by photographs of uprising veterans. The exhibition is complemented by period documents and prints, as well as patriotic jewellery from the period preceding the uprising.

coordinator: Katarzyna Myszor
exhibition design: Wzorro Design S.C.