Vytautas the Great

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, ‘Vilnius from its Foundation to 1750’, vol. I, 1840, title pages.

Michał Baliński’s ‘A History of the City of Vilnius’ appeared in 1836, and the fourvolume Wilno od początków jego do roku 1750 (Vilnius from its Foundation to 1750) was published in 1840–1841. It was written by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1812–1887), a writer and historian from Warsaw, and the most prolific author of the 19th century, who published over 300 works about the country’s past and present. He entered Vilnius University in 1829, but he did not complete his studies due to the outbreak of the anti-Russian uprising. He was arrested in 1831 for his participation as a student in clandestine activities, and was held for a year in the monastery of the Church of St Peter and St Paul, which had been converted into a prison. After he was released, he began to collect material about Vilnius, and when he settled on his estate in Wołyń, he wrote a history of the city. Kraszewski was a romantic, he was in love with the past of Vilnius. He based his writings on written sources, but sometimes invented his own stories. The first volume of Kraszewski’s work was devoted to the history of the rulers.

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski, ‘Vilnius from its Foundation to 1750’, vol. I, 1840, title pages.

Michał Baliński’s ‘A History of the City of Vilnius’ appeared in 1836, and the fourvolume Wilno od początków jego do roku 1750 (Vilnius from its Foundation to 1750) was published in 1840–1841. It was written by Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1812–1887), a writer and historian from Warsaw, and the most prolific author of the 19th century, who published over 300 works about the country’s past and present. He entered Vilnius University in 1829, but he did not complete his studies due to the outbreak of the anti-Russian uprising. He was arrested in 1831 for his participation as a student in clandestine activities, and was held for a year in the monastery of the Church of St Peter and St Paul, which had been converted into a prison. After he was released, he began to collect material about Vilnius, and when he settled on his estate in Wołyń, he wrote a history of the city. Kraszewski was a romantic, he was in love with the past of Vilnius. He based his writings on written sources, but sometimes invented his own stories. The first volume of Kraszewski’s work was devoted to the history of the rulers.