Stanisław August Poniatowski. The Enlightened King

On the 290th anniversary of the birth, 258th anniversary of the coronation and 227th anniversary of the abdication of King Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last ruler of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the National Museum in Krakow curated an exhibition presenting exhibits relating to his life and reign.

Stanisław August Poniatowski was the initiator and co-author of political reforms, one of the main authors of the 3rd of May Constitution; he made great contributions to the development of science and education, literature and theatre, architecture and painting. The aim of the exhibition is to show documents from the reign of this ruler, his images, private correspondence, diary with handwritten notes and official documents, showing him as an enlightened king, writer, diarist, patron of science and the arts.

Stanisław August Poniatowski was a great bibliophile who created a private library at the Royal Castle in Warsaw. His commitment to the creation of a library is evidenced by the fact that he often directed his own purchases, and seeing his book collection grow (in 1793, 13,000 volumes were amassed), he ordered the construction of the Royal Library. The library had a universal character, and was dominated by the three disciplines in which Stanislaus Augustus was most interested: philosophy, fiction and history. Among other things, the artefacts that Visitors will see in the exhibition are related to his bibliophilic passion, such as a catalogue of books written at the King's behest in 1766, i.e. at the beginning of the creation of his library, and a catalogue of mathematical instruments, which he collected with real passion. His interest in history and his understanding of the needs of historians is most evident in the great undertaking we know as the Naruszewicz Teki. The idea to copy the most important documents concerning the history of Poland (the entire collection contains 38,270 copies) came from the King, who also financed the entire project. The exhibition will feature the seventh volume of the Teki, which contains copies of 212 documents dating from 1360 to 1385.

The ruler also left behind one of the largest, third most valuable cartographic collections in Europe. On display is a plan of Warsaw dedicated to him from 1768. One of the most important documents from the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski is a diploma issued in 1765 for the establishment of the Order of the Cavaliers of Saint Stanislaus, which was to be awarded to those of merit to their homeland and to the king. These are just a few of the exhibits on display at the exhibition Stanislaw August Poniatowski. The Enlightened King.