One of the most prominent Polish collectors of historical relics, Tomasz Niewodniczanski, has donated a part of his priceless collection to the Royal Castle in Warsaw.
A ceremony was attended by his wife, Maria-Luiza Niewodniczańska, the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski and the Director of the Royal Castle Andrzej Rottermund. Tomasz Niewodniczanski, a resident of the German town of Bitburg, was not able to come to Warsaw for health reasons. He is 75 years old.
The donation includes maps and plans of Polish towns and letters and manuscripts of Polish kings - from Casimir the Great onwards) - prominent writers such as Mickiewicz, Norwid, Gombrowicz and composers such as Chopin.
In 1998 Niewodniczanski donated a collection of maps of the Pomeranian region to the University of Szczecin and in 2002 donated over 200 maps of Silesia to the Ossolineum Library in Wrocław. His collection of historical artifacts and maps is one of the most important and most interesting collections of its kind in the world. (mk/pg)