Lübeck, the "mother" of Brick Gothic - Holstentor with two of the city's main churches in the background (left St. Mary, right St.Peter)

Castle of the Teutonic Order (Marienburg/Malbork) on the river Nogat in Pomerania (Poland) — the world’s largest brick Gothic castle

St. Mary's Church in Gdańsk, the largest Brick Gothic church in the world

Brick Gothic (German: Backsteingotik, Polish: Gotyk ceglany) is a specific style of Gothic architecture common in Northern Europe, especially in Northern Germany and the regions around the Baltic Sea that do not have natural rock resources. The buildings are essentially built from bricks. Brick Gothic buildings are found in the Baltic countries of Denmark, Finland, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Russia and Sweden. Brick gothic architecture in northern Italy is called "Lombard Gothic", and it's different from the Northern Europe's Brick Gothic. Brick Gothic architecture of the Iberian Peninsula is different in nature; it is discussed under Mudéjar Gothic.

As the use of baked red brick in Northern Europe dates from the 12th century, the oldest such buildings are classified as the Brick Romanesque. In the 16th century, Brick Gothic was superseded by Brick Renaissance architecture.

Brick Gothic is characterised by the lack of figural architectural sculpture, widespread in other styles of Gothic architecture; and by its creative subdivision and structuring of walls, using built ornaments and the colour contrast between red bricks, glazed bricks and white lime plaster.

Many of the old town centres dominated by Brick Gothic, as well as some individual structures, have been listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Distribution[link]

Brick architecture is found primarily in areas that lack sufficient natural supplies of building stone. This is the case across the Northern European Lowlands. Since the German part of that region (the Northern German Plain, except Westphalia and the Rhineland) is largely concurrent with the area influenced by the Hanseatic League, Brick Gothic has become a symbol of that powerful alliance of cities. Along with the Low German Language, it forms a major defining element of the Northern German cultural area, especially in regard to late city foundations and the areas of colonisation north and east of the Elbe. In the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, that cultural area extended throughout the southern part of the Baltic region and had a major influence on Scandinavia. The southernmost Brick Gothic structure in Germany is the Bergkirche (mountain church) of Altenburg in Thuringia.

Other national or regional identifications have also occurred. For example, buildings of the Brick Gothic style in Poland are sometimes described as belonging to Polish Gothic. Although the vast majority of Gothic buildings within the borders of modern Poland are brick-built, the term also encompasses non-brick Gothic structures, such as the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, which is mostly stone-built.

Marienkirche in Lübeck (Germany) - prototype of the Hanseatic brick cathedral

Stralsund (Germany): City Hall and St. Nikolai Church at the Old Market

Example of a Brick Gothic interior, Storkyrkan, Stockholm

St. Marien Church in Greifswald

Lehnin Abbey, detail

In the northwest, especially along Weser and Elbe, sandstone from the mountains of Central Germany could be transported with relative ease. This resulted in a synthesis of the styles from east of the Elbe with the architectural traditions of the Rhineland. Here, bricks were mainly used for wall areas, while sandstone was employed for plastic detail. Since the brick has no aesthetic function per se in this style, most of the northwest German structures are not part of Brick Gothic proper.

The lack of available stone did not necessarily lead to the development of distinctive brick architecture. For example, some areas in Southern Germany, such as Upper Bavaria or Upper Swabia also lacked building materials, but the artisans did not create typical brick-based styles. Instead, they clad brick cores with stone ashlar, and added architectural sculpture of worked stone. Examples include St. Martin's Church at Landshut and the Frauenkirche of Munich.

Heiligen-Geist-Hospital & surroundings in Lübeck, Photochrome circa 1876.

Treptower Tor, one of the 4 unique Brick Gothic city gates in Neubrandenburg (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern)

Historical conditions[link]

In the course of the medieval German eastward expansion, Slavic areas east of the Elbe were settled by traders and colonists from the overpopulated Northwest of Germany in the 12th and 13th centuries. In 1158, Henry the Lion founded Lübeck, in 1160 he conquered the Slavic principality of Schwerin. This partially violent colonisation was accompanied by the Christianisation of the Slavs and the foundation of dioceses at Ratzeburg, Schwerin, Cammin, Brandenburg and elsewhere.

The newly founded cities soon joined the Hanseatic League and formed the "Wendic Circle", with its centre at Lübeck, and the "Gotland-Livland Circle", with its main centre at Tallinn (Reval). The affluent trading cities of the Hansa were characterised especially by religious and profane representative architecture, such as council or parish churches, town halls, Bürgerhäuser, i.e. the private dwellings of rich traders, or city gates. In rural areas, the monastic architecture of monks' orders had a major influence on the development of brick architecture, especially through the Cistercians and Premonstratensians. Between Prussia and Estonia, the Teutonic Knights secured their rule by erecting numerous Ordensburgen (castles), most of which were also brick-built.

Development[link]

Brick architecture became prevalent in the 12th century, still within the Romanesque period. Wooden architecture had long dominated in northern Germany but was inadequate for the construction of monumental structures. Throughout the area of Brick Gothic, half-timbered architecture remained typical for smaller buildings, especially in rural areas, well into modern times.

In the areas dominated by the Welfs, the use of brick to replace natural stone began with cathedrals and parish churches at Oldenburg (Holstein), Segeberg, Ratzeburg and Lübeck, where Henry the Lion laid the foundation stone of the Cathedral in 1173. In the Margraviate of Brandenburg, the lack of natural stone and the distance to the Baltic Sea (which, like the rivers, could be used for transporting heavy loads) made the need for alternative materials more pressing. Brick architecture here started with the Cathedral of Brandenburg, begun in 1165 under Albert the Bear. Jerichow Abbey (at this time part of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg), with construction started as early as 1148, plays a key role regarding Brick Gothic in Brandenburg.

Characteristics of Brick Gothic[link]

Romanesque brick architecture remained closely connected with contemporary stone architecture and simply translated the latter's style and repertoire into the new material. In contrast, Brick Gothic developed its own typical style, characterised by the reduction in available materials: the buildings were often bulky and of monumental size, but rather simple as regards their external appearance, lacking the delicacy of areas further south. Nonetheless, they were strongly influenced by the cathedrals of France and by the gothique tournaisien or Schelde Gothic of the County of Flanders.

Later, techniques that led to a more elaborate structuring of the churches became prevalent: recessed wall areas were often painted with lime plaster, creating a marked contrast to the darker brick-built areas. Furthermore, special shaped bricks were produced to facilitate the imitation of architectural sculpture.

Brick as the basic material[link]

Since the bricks used were made of clay, available in copious quantities in the Northern German Plain, they quickly became the normal replacement for building stone. The so-called monastic format became the standard for bricks used in representative buildings. Its bricks measure circa 28 x 15 x 9 cm to 30 x 14 x 10 cm, with interstices of about 1.5 cm. In contrast to hewn-stone Gothic, the bricks and shaped bricks were not produced locally by lodges (Bauhütten), but by specialised enterprises off-site.

Schinkel's Friedrichswerder Church (1831)

19th century Neogothic[link]

In the 19th century, the Neogothic style led to a revival of Brick Gothic. Important architects of this style included Friedrich August Stüler in Berlin and Simon Loschen in Bremen. Although the style became popular especially from the 1860s onwards, one of the best known examples, Karl Friedrich Schinkel's Friedrichswerder Church at Berlin was completed in 1831. 19th-century Brick Gothic "Revival" churches can be found all over Northern Germany, Scandinavia, Poland, Lithuania, Finland, and Russia.

See also[link]

• List of Brick Gothic buildings
• European Route of Brick Gothic
• Gothic architecture

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Brick Gothic

• European Brick Gothic Route.
• Exhibition Wege zur Backsteingotik 2002–2005
• Permanent exhibition Wege zur Backsteingotik, Wismar

Bibliography[link]

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (November 2009)

• Hans Josef Böker: Die mittelalterliche Backsteinarchitektur Norddeutschlands. Darmstadt 1988. ISBN 3-534-02510-5
• Gottfried Kiesow: Wege zur Backsteingotik. Eine Einführung. Monumente-Publikationen der Deutschen Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Bonn 2003, ISBN 3-936942-34-X
• Angela Pfotenhauer, Florian Monheim, Carola Nathan: Backsteingotik. Monumente-Edition. Monumente-Publikation der Deutschen Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Bonn 2000, ISBN 3-935208-00-6
• Fritz Gottlob: Formenlehre der Norddeutschen Backsteingotik: Ein Beitrag zur Neogotik um 1900. 1907. Reprint of 2nd ed., Verlag Ludwig, 1999, ISBN 3-9805480-8-2
• Gerlinde Thalheim (ed.) et al.: Gebrannte Größe - Wege zur Backsteingotik. 5 Vols. Monumente-Publikation der Deutschen Stiftung Denkmalschutz, Bonn, Gesamtausgabe aller 5 Bände unter ISBN 3-936942-22-6
• B. Busjan, G. Kiesow: Wismar: Bauten der Macht – Eine Kirchenbaustelle im Mittelalter. Monumente Publikationen der Deutschen Stiftung Denkmalschutz, 2002, ISBN 3-935208-14-6 (Vol. 2 of series of exhibition catalogues Wege zur Backsteingotik, ISBN 3-935208-12-X)

This article incorporates information from this version of the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.

Juliusz Słowacki
Born	Juliusz Słowacki, (1809-09-04)4 September 1809, Kremenets (Krzemieniec), Russian Empire (Russian partition)
Died	3 April 1849(1849-04-03) (aged 39), Paris, France
Occupation	Poet, essayist
Language	Polish
Nationality	Polish
Alma mater	Vilnius Imperial University
Period	1830 - posthumously
Genres	dramas, lyrical poems
Literary movement	Romanticism
Notable work(s)	Kordian Balladyna Beniowski
Influences Lord Byron, William Shakespeare, William Blake, Gnosticism, Indian philosophy
Influenced Antoni Lange, Tadeusz Miciński
Signature

Juliusz Słowacki (Polish pronunciation: [ˈjuljuʂ swɔˈvat͡ski]; 4 September 1809 – 3 April 1849) was a Polish Romantic poet. He is considered one of the "Three Bards" of Polish literature — a major figure in the Polish Romantic period, and the father of modern Polish drama. His works often feature elements of Slavic pagan traditions, Polish history, mysticism and orientalism. His style includes the employment of neologisms and irony. His primary genre was the drama, and secondly, lyric poetry. His most popular works include the dramas Kordian and Balladyna and the poem Beniowski.

Słowacki spent his youth in Stolen Lands, in Kremenets (Polish: Krzemieniec) (now Ukraine) and Vilnius (Polish: Wilno) (now Lithuania). He briefly worked for the government of the Kingdom of Poland. During the November 1830 Uprising, he was a courier for the Polish revolutionary government. When the uprising ended in defeat, he found himself abroad and thereafter, like many compatriots, lived the life of an émigré. He settled briefly in Paris, France, and later in Geneva, Switzerland. He also traveled through Italy, Greece and the Middle East. Eventually he returned to Paris, where he spent the last decade of his life. He briefly returned to Poland when another uprising broke out during the Spring of Nations (1848).

Life[link]

Youth[link]

Mother, Salomea

Home in Vilnius

Słowacki was born on 4 September 1809 at Kremenets (Krzemieniec), Volhynia, formerly part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, then in the Russian Empire, now in Ukraine.^[1][2] His father, Euzebiusz Słowacki, a Polish nobleman of the Leliwa coat of arms, was a professor of the history of literature, rhetoric, poetry and Polish language.^[3] He was a teacher at the Liceum Krzemienieckie (Krzemieniec Lycée) in Kremenets, and from 1811, he headed the academic department (katedra) of rhetoric and poetry at the Vilnius Imperial University in Vilnius (Wilno).^[1][2][4] He died in 1814, leaving Juliusz to be raised solely by his mother, Salomea z Januszewskich Słowacka, a noblewoman of disputed descent, either Jewish^[5] or Armenian.^[1][2] In 1818 she married a professor of medicine, August Bécu.^[1][2] She ran a literary salon, and young Juliusz was exposed to many influences there.^[6] It was there in 1822 that Słowacki, then only 13 years old, met Adam Mickiewicz, the first of the Three Bards of Polish literature.^[7][8] Two years later, in 1824, Mickiewicz was arrested and exiled by the Russian authorities for his involvement with the patriotic Philomaths society; Słowacki likely met with him on his final day in Wilno.^[7]

Słowacki was educated at the Liceum Krzemienieckie and later attended a Vilnius Imperial University preparatory gymnasium in Wilno.^[1] From 1825 to 1828 Słowacki studied law at the Vilnius Imperial University.^[1][2] His earliest surviving poems date to that period, although it is presumed he wrote some earlier, none of which have survived.^[2]

In 1829 he moved to Warsaw, where he found a job in the Congress Poland's Governmental Commission of Revenues and Treasury.^[1][2] In early 1830 he began his literary career, debuting with the novel Hugo, published in the periodical Melitele.^[2] That year, the November Uprising began, and Słowacki published several poems with patriotic and religious undertones.^[2] His Hymn, first published in Polak Sumienny ("The Conscientious Pole") on 4 December 1830, and other works such as Oda do Wolności (An Ode to Freedom) gained him much acclaim and was quickly reprinted several times.^[2][9]

In January 1831 he joined the diplomatic staff of the revolutionary Polish National Government, led by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski.^[2] Initially he served as a copist.^[10] On 8 March he was sent on a courier mission to Dresden^[2] (although some sources say this was not an official mission, but Słowacki's private voyage^[1]). Many others left Warsaw around that time, in the aftermath of the battle of Olszynka Grochowska, and expected Russian advance on Warsaw.^[11] In Dresden Słowacki was well received by the local emigree Polish community, and even welcomed as the "bard of fighting Warsaw."^[12] In July, he volunteered to deliver messages from the National Government to its representatives in London and Paris, where he heard about the failure of the Uprising.^[1] Details of his mission (what letters he was carrying, and to whom) are not known.^[13]

Emigré[link]

Słowacki, by James Hopwood

Słowacki, by Tytus Byczkowski

Like many of his countrymen, Słowacki decided to stay in France as a political refugee.^[1] In 1832 he published his first collections of poems and his first two dramas (Mindowe and Maria Stuart).^[1][2] He also met Mickiewicz again; reportedly, Mickiewicz approached his younger colleague and shook his hand.^[2] However, Słowacki's poems, written in the 1820s, were unpopular among his Polish compatriots, as they failed to capture the sentiment of a people living under foreign occupation.^[14] Słowacki was also angered by Mickiewicz, who not only stole the limelight with his Księgi narodu polskiego i pielgrzymstwa polskiego (Books of the Polish nation and pilgrimage), but his part three of Dziady (1832) cast Słowacki's stepfather, professor Bécu, in the role of a villain.^[15] In a letter to his mother Słowacki wrote that immediately after reading that work he was ready to challenge Mickiewicz for a duel; that did not come to pass but from that moment on, Słowacki would see Mickiewicz as his main rival.^[15][16] Few days later, antagonized by worsening reception of his works among the Polish émigré community in Paris, including sharp criticism from Mickiewicz, Słowacki left on a trip to Geneva, Switzerland.^[17] The French authorities denied him the right to return to France as part of a larger program to rid the country of the potentially subversive Polish exiles who had settled there.^[14] From 1833 to 1836 he lived in Switzerland.^[2] A third volume of his poems, published in 1833 and containing works from the period of the Uprising, was far more nationalist in tone, and won more recognition in his homeland.^[14] At the same time, he wrote several works featuring romantic themes, and beautiful scenery, such as W Szwajcarii (In Switzerland), Rozłączenie (Separation), Stokrótki (Daisies) and Chmury (Clouds).^{[2][9][14][18]} In 1834 he published the drama Kordian, a romantic drama, illustrating the soul searching of the Polish people in the aftermath of the failed insurrection; this work is considered one of his best creations.^{[1][9][14][17]}

In 1836, Słowacki left Switzerland and embarked on a journey that started in Italy.^[2] In Rome he met and befriended Zygmunt Krasiński, the third of the Three Bards.^[1][19] Krasiński is also considered the first serious literary critic of Słowacki's work.^[19] Słowacki would dedicate several of his works, including Balladyna, to Krasiński.^[2] From Rome, Słowacki went to Naples and later, to Sorrento.^[1] In August he left for Greece (Corfu, Argos, Athens, Syros), Egypt (Alexandria, Cairo, El Arish) and the Middle East, including the Holy Land (Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho, Nazareth) and neighboring territories (Damascus, Beirut).^[1][2] It was a journey Słowacki described in his epic poem Podróż do Ziemi Świętej z Neapolu ("Travel to the Holy Land from Naples"); his other works of that period inclucded the poem Ojciec zadżumionych (The Father of the Plague-stricken), Grób Agamemnon (Agammemnon's Grave), Rozmowa z piramidami (A talk with the pyramids), Anhelli and Listy poetyckie z Egiptu (Poetic Letters from Egypt).^[1][2][14] In June 1837 he returned to Italy, settling briefly in Florence, and moved back to Paris in December 1838.^[1][2][17]

In 1840 Mickiewicz was elected to the position of professor of Slavic literature at Collége de France; it was one of the events that cemented his position over Słowacki in the Polish émigré community.^[2] The rivalry between the two Bards for primacy would continue till the ends of lives.^[2] In 1841 Słowacki traveled briefly to Frankfurt, but Paris would become his main home till his death.^[1] In 1840 and 1841 he wrote two notable dramas: Mazepa, the only of his dramas that was put on stage during his lifetime, and Fantazy, published posthumously, well-received by critics.^[17] Over the next few years Słowacki wrote and published many works, including Testament Mój (My Last Will), in which he described his faith that his works would endure after his death.^[2][17] Between 1841 and 1846, he published Beniowski, considered by some his best lyrical poetry.^[14][17][18] Starting as a story of a historical figure, it developed into a discussion of the poet's own life and opinions.^[18] In 1842 he joined the religious-philosophical group, Koło Sprawy Bożej (Circle of God's Cause), led by Andrzej Towiański.^[2] This group included, among others, Mickiewicz.^[2] Towiański's influence is credited with a new, mystical current in Słowacki's works, seen in works such as the poem Beniowski and the drama Ksiądz Marek (Father Mark).^[2] Słowacki left the Circle a year later, in 1843.^[2]

In the summers of 1843 and 1844 Słowacki traveled to Pornic, a resort on the Atlantic coast in Brittany.^[1][2] It was there, in 1844, that he wrote Genezis z Ducha (Genesis from the Spirit).^[2] This work introduced his own philosophical system that would have a visible influence on his works in his last decade.^[14][18] Around 1839 Słowacki put his capital into the Parisian stock market.^[20] He was a shrewd investor who earned enough from the investments to dedicate his life to his literary career; he was also able to pay the costs of having his books published.^[20]

Last years[link]

Montmartre tomb, Paris

In the late 1840s Słowacki attached himself to a group of like-minded young exiles, determined to return to Poland and win its independence.^[14] One of his friends was the pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin.^[21] Others included enthusiasts of his work, such as Zygmunt Szczęsny Feliński, Józef Alojzy Reitzenheim and Józef Komierowski.^[2] Despite poor health, when he heard about the events of the Spring of Nations, Słowacki traveled with some friends to Poznań, then under Prussian control, hoping to participate in the Wielkopolska Uprising of 1848.^[1][2] He addressed the National Committee (Komitet Narodowy) in Poznań on 27 April.^[2] "I tell you," he declared as the rebels faced military confrontation with the Prussian Army, "that the new age has dawned, the age of holy anarchy." But by 9 May, the revolt was crushed.

Arrested by the Prussian police, Słowacki was sent back to Paris.^[1] On his way there, he passed through Wrocław, where in mid-June he was reunited with his mother, whom he had not seen for almost twenty years.^[1] He returned to Paris in July 1848.^[1] His poem Papież Słowiański (The Slavic Pope), published in late 1848, gained new fame a century later when it seemed to foretell the 1978 ascent of Karol Wojtyła to the throne of St. Peter as Pope John Paul II.^[2][22] His final dramas (Zawisza Czarny, Samuel Zborowski), attempted to explain history of Poland through Słowacki's genesic philosophy.^[14] In March 1849 Słowacki, his health failing, was visited three times by another Polish writer and poet, Cyprian Norwid, who later wrote about his visits in Czarne kwiaty (Black Flowers).^[2][14] Up to his final days, Słowacki was writing poetry; a day before his death he dictated passages of his final work, Król-Duch (King-Spirit).^[2] This grandiose, visionary-symbolic poem, "summary of the entire Romantic culture", Słowacki's masterpiece, weaving together Poland's history and its contemporary political and literary thought, was never finished.^[2][14]

Słowacki died in Paris on 3 April 1849 from tuberculosis, and on 5 April he was buried in the Montmartre Cemetery in Paris.^[1] He never married.^[2] Only about 30 people attended his funeral.^[1] Krasiński, although estranged from Słowacki in the last few years,^[8] wrote of the funeral:

Słowacki's tombstone at Montmartre was designed by his friend and executor of his last will, painter Charles Pétiniaud-Dubos; it did not weather the passage of time well however, and in 1851 a new, similar tombstone was put in place, this one designed by Polish sculptor Władysław Oleszczyński.^[1] In 1927 Słowacki's remains were moved to Wawel Cathedral in Poland, but an empty grave still remains at Montmartre.^[23]

Work[link]

Kraków funeral, 1927

Słowacki was a prolific writer; his collected works (Dzieła wszystkie) were published in 17 volumes.^[24] His legacy includes 25 dramas and 253 works of poetry.^[25] He wrote in many genres: dramas, lyrical poems, literary criticism, letters, journals and memoirs, fragments of two novels, and a political brochure; he was also a translator.^[24] His letters to his mother are among the finest letters in all Polish literature.^[9] Although the majority of his works were in Polish, he also tried his hand at several works in French language (Le roi de Landawa, Beatrice Cenci).^[8] Many of his works were published only posthumously, often under arbitrary titles, as Słowacki never named them himself.^[24] He also left notes on works that he never began or never completed.^[24][25] Słowacki is also considered the father of modern Polish drama.^[25][26]

Polish historian of literature Włodzimierz Szturc divides Słowacki's work into four periods: Wolter's circle (pseudoclassicism), Christian ethic, Towiański's ethic and genesic ethic.^[27] Other scholars offer slightly different periodizations; for example dividing his works into a classical period, a Swiss period, a Parisian period and a genesis period.^[25] Jarosław Ławski combines Towiański's period with the genesic ones, speaking of a "mystical" period.^[24] Overall, Słowacki's early work was influenced by Byron and Shakespeare, and included works that was often historical in nature, like (as in Maria Stuart or Mindowe), or exotic, Oriental locales (as in Arab).^[14][18] His work took on a more patriotic tone following the failed November Insurrection of 1830–1831.^[14] His final works are heavy in mystical and philosophical undertones.^[24] In the 1840s he developed his own philosophy, or mystical system, with works such as Król-Duch and Genesis z Ducha being an exposition of his philosophical ideas ("genesic philosophy") according to which the material world is an expression of an ever-improving spirit capable of progression (transmigration) into constantly newer forms.^[14][17] As Ławski notes, his philosophical works can transcend clear boundaries of simple literary genres.^[18][24]

Słowacki's works, situated in the period of romanticism in Poland, contain rich and inventive vocabulary, including many neologisms.^[9][25] They use fantasy, mysticism and symbolism and feature themes related to Poland's history, essence of Polishness, and relation to a larger universe.^[25] Ławski, enumerating the main characteristics of Słowacki's writings, notes first that he was a "creationist", in the sense of creating new meanings and words (many of his characters bear names he invented himself, such as Kordian^[28]).^[24] Second, he notes that Słowacki was not only inspired by works of others, from poets and writers to scholars and philosophers, but that his texts were often a masterful, ironic-grotesque polemic with other creators.^[24][29] For example, Słowacki was so impressed by Antoni Malczewski's Maria that he wrote a sequel to it, Jan Bielecki.^[24] Likewise, Kordian is seen as building on William Shakespeare's Hamlet,^[29] and as Słowacki's response to Mickiewicz's Dziady.^[17][30] This Ławski calls "ivy-like imagination", comparing Słowacki's approach to that of an ivy, growing around works of others and reshaping them into new forms in a sophisticated literary game.^[24] Third, Słowacki was a master of irony; he used it not only on others, but on himself, and even on irony itself - the "irony of irony".^[24] He is thus seen as one of the forerunners to the literature of irony and grotesque, popular in the 20th century.^[8]

Legacy[link]

Tomb, Wawel Cathedral, Kraków

After his death, Słowacki acquired the reputation of a national prophet.^[8] He is now considered to be one of the "Three Bards" (wieszczs) of Polish literature.^[2][31]

Słowacki was not a very popular figure in Paris, nor among his contemporaries.^[8][14][32] He wrote many dramas, which can be seen as his favorite genre, yet he was a playwright who never saw any of his work performed on stage (only Mazepa was staged during his lifetime, and not in his presence).^[8][17] His works, written in Polish, dense with Slavic myths, philosophy and symbols, were difficult to translate to other languages.^[8][14] Słowacki's unpopularity among other Polish émigrés can be attributed to his unwillingness to pander to contemporary tastes; and in particular, his refusal to comfort his compatriots, shaken by the loss of Polish statehood and the failure of the November Uprising.^[8] Though a patriot as well, Słowacki's ironic and sometimes pessimistic attitude was not appreciated by his contemporaries, nor was his denial of Polish uniqueness.^[8] Whereas Mickiewicz followed the Messianic tradition and in Konrad suggested that Poland's fate was in the hands of God, Słowacki's Kordian questioned whether his country was not instead a plaything of Satan.^[8][18][30] In Anhelli, Słowacki's describes the tragic fate of Polish exiles in Siberia, painting a gloomy vision of Poland's destiny; the same topic was taken by Mickiewicz in the Books of the Polish Nation and of the Polish Pilgrimage as a call for Poles to spread hope and spirituality across Europe.^[14][18] While a small circle of his friends talked about his wit, perseverance and inspiration, in popular memory he was a "sickly man of weak character", egocentric, bitter due to his failed rivalry with Mickiewicz.^[8] Mickiewicz himself wrote of Słowacki's work as a "beautiful church, but without God inside".^[8]

After his death, however, Słowacki gained a cult-like status in Poland; in particular, in the cultural center of Kraków.^[1] Several obituaries and longer articles appeared in the Polish press upon Słowacki's death.^[1] His works, many of them published posthumously for the first time, found growing acceptance among a new generation; an 1868 work noted that "Słowacki took the fancy of the Polish youth. He was its singer, its spiritual leader in the full meaning of the term".^[32] Through undoubtedly a poet of the romantic era, he was increasingly popular among the positivists and the authors of the Young Poland period in the late 1800s and early 1900s.^[25][32] His works were popularized by other writers, such as Adam Asnyk and Michał Bałucki, and his dramas were shown in theaters.^[1] He became a major literary figure for the new generation of Polish writers.^[1] He also became respected abroad; a 1902 English language book edited by Charles Dudley Warner noted that "the splendid exuberance of his thought and fancy ranks him among the great poets of the nineteenth century".^[9]

In 1927, some eight years after Poland had regained independence, the Polish government arranged for Słowacki's remains to be transferred from Paris to Wawel Cathedral, in Kraków.^[1][33] He was interred in the Crypt of the National Bards, beside Mickiewicz.^[33] Słowacki's interment at Wawel Cathedral was controversial, as many of his works were considered heretical by Polish Catholic-Church officials.^[1][22] It took almost two decades and the backing of Józef Piłsudski, for whom Słowacki was a favorite poet, to obtain the Church's agreement to interring Słowacki at Wawel Cathedral.^[1][22][33] At the 1927 ceremony, Piłsudski commanded:

Several streets and schools in modern Poland bear the name of Juliusz Słowacki. Three parks are dedicated to him: in Bielsko-Biała,^[34] in Łódź^[35] and in Wrocław.^[36] There are several monuments of Juliusz Słowacki, including ones in Warsaw (2001)^[37] and Wrocław (1984).^[38] Among the most notable landmarks bearing his name is the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków.

In 2004, a Juliusz Slowacki Museum in Kremenets, Ukraine, was opened in his family's former manor house.^[39][40] In 2009 the Polish Sejm (parliament) declared that year, the two-hundredth anniversary of Słowacki's birth, to be the Year of Juliusz Słowacki.^[41]

He was commemorated on several Polish postage stamps.

Selected works[link]

Drama[link]

Słowacki monument, Wrocław

• Balladyna (1835, published 1839, performed 1862)
• Fantazy (1841, published 1866, performed 1867)
• Horsztyński (1835, published 1866, performed 1871)
• Kordian (1833, published 1834, performed 1899)
• Ksiądz Marek (Father Marek, 1843, published same year, performed 1901)
• Książę niezłomny (Prince Unroken, 1843, published 1844, performed 1874)
• Lilla Weneda (1839, published 1840, performed 1863)
• Maria Stuart (1830, performed 1862)
• Mazepa (1839, published 1840, performed in Hungarian 1847, performed in Polish 1851)
• Sen srebny Salomei (The Silver Dream of Salomea, 1843, published 1844, performed 1900)
• Samuel Zborowski (1845, published 1903, performed 1911)

Poetry[link]

Longer works

• Anhelli (1838)
• Arab (1830)
• Lambro, powstańca grecki (Lambro, a Greek insurgent, 1833)
• Beniowski (1841–1846)
• Genezis z Ducha (Genesis from the Spirit, 1844)
• Godzina myśli (An Hour of Thought, 1832–1833)
• Hugo. Powieść krzyżacka (Hugo. Teutonic Order Novel, 1830)
• Król-Duch (The Spirit King, portions published 1847, published in full 1925)
• Ojciec zadżumionych (The Father of the Plague-stricken, 1838)
• Podróż do ziemi świętej ("Voyage to the Holy Land", 1866)
• W Szwajcarii (In Switzerland, 1835, published 1839)
• Wacław (1838)

See also[link]

Family coat-of-arms, Leliwa

• Gawęda
• History of philosophy in Poland
• List of Poles

Notes[link]

a ^{^} There are actually two versions of Piłsudski's pronouncement: "bo królom był równy" ("for he was the peer of kings"),^[33] and "by królom był równy" ("that he may be the peer of kings").^[1]

References[link]

External links[link]

Polish Wikisource has original text related to this article: Juliusz Słowacki

• Slowacki´s biography
• A multililngual site created by Dr. Z. W. Wolkowski for the sesquicentennial of Słowacki's death, containing biographical texts, poetry, translations and other information about the poet.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Juliusz Słowacki

The Three Bards

Mickiewicz Słowacki Krasiński