Treść książki
Przejdź do opcji czytnikaPrzejdź do nawigacjiPrzejdź do informacjiPrzejdź do stopki
Conrad’sCracow
AcoupleofmonthslaterApolloinformedKazimierzKaszewskiofhisplans:
11
MostprobablyIshallliveinCracow:atleasttherewillbegoodschoolsandanatmosphere
oftraditionemanatingfromalmosteverybuilding.IfyouhavefriendsinCracow,pleasemen-
tionmetothem.NeverbeforedidIneedsomuchtoseeatleastafewkindfaces;toclaspa
fewkindhands.13
TwodayslaterhewrotetoStefanBuszczyński:
IfGodallowsmetoregainmyhealthandmystrength,thenassoonasIleavehere(during
thelastdaysofJuly)I’llbeinCracowinordertofindapermanentplacetolive,asI’vemade
upmymindtosettledownthere.14
HerewemaynotethespecialrolethatfelltoCracow—ascomparedwithother
importantPolishcities—atthatparticularmomentinhistory.InthewordsofJacek
Purchla:
ThisuniquenessofCracow—comparedwiththePolishlandsoftheRussianpartition
(whichwereinmourningandsufferingrepressioninthewakeoftheJanuaryUprising)and
thoseofthePrussianpartition(whosepopulationwasbeingsubjectedtotheever-increasing
pressuresofgermanization)—wasthenwellunderstood.ItwaspreciselywhyCracow—
which,despitethepartitions,continuedtobeashiningsymbolofPoland’spastgreatness—in
the1860sbecamethehomeoftheCStańczycy’politicalmovement.Deprivedofitsroleasa
regionalcapital—partlyasaresultoftheactivitiesoftheStańczycythemselves—Cracow
atthattimebecame“thespiritualcapitalofthenation”.Theconservativecamp’schoiceof
Cracowforthisrolewasdeliberateandwasmadeforhistoricalreasons,aswellasbeingthe
outcomeofpoliticaldevelopmentsinthe1860s.15
InCracowApollowastobecomeamemberoftheeditorialstaffofthe“Kraj”
(TheCountry)newspaper,whichhadbeenfoundedbythe“RedPrince”Adam
Sapieha.InalettertoStefanBuszczyńskihewritesabouthisfutureeditorialduties:
Chłapowskiwashereyesterday;anunderstandingwasreachedtotheextentthatIpromised
tocometoCracowaboutthe20th;thatIshalljointheeditorialstaff;thatIshallbeexofficio
responsibleforMuscovy,theterritoriesannexedbyher,andforEngland;thatifIdeemitnec-
essaryIshallwriteoneleadingarticleperweekformysection;thatincaseofneedIshallnot
refusetowriteliteraryarticles,butshallonlydosooccasionally.16
ApolloKorzeniowski’sfirstCracowaddresswas6(now12),PoselskaStreet,
whichwasnotfarfromtheofficesofthe“Kraj”newspaper(at14,KanoniczaStreet).17
13A.KorzeniowskitoK.Kaszewski,24thJune1868.[In:]ConradunderFamilialEyes,ed.cit.,
p.119.
14A.KorzeniowskitoS.Buszczyński,26thJune1868.[In:]PolskiezapleczeJosephaConrada-
Korzeniowskiego,ed.cit.,vol.1,p.214.
15JacekPurchla.MatecznikPolski.PozaekonomiczneczynnikirozwojuKrakowawokresieautonomii
galicyjskiej.Kraków:Znak,1992,p.38.
16A.KorzeniowskitoS.Buszczyński,7thFebruary1869.[In:]ConradunderFamilialEyes,ed.cit.,
p.127.
17Cf.BoguniaandBogunia-Paczyński.“Apollo,ConradiKraków.Dwaprzyczynkidobiografii
Korzeniowskich”,ed.cit.
