Where Is Poland?

Chapter 8

Lwów

Brandes left Kraków to head onwards to multiculturalLwów – a beautiful city built in the Viennese style. In 1894, Lwów was chosen as the location for one of the greatest economic enterprises of the partition era: thePolishGeneralExhibition. It drew delegations from all three partitions, despite the closedborders.

'Ethnography of Galicia', postcard, 1907. Source: Polona.pl

Lwów – Львів – לעמבערג‎ – Lemberg

Founded in the mid-thirteenth century, Lwów was a city of many different nationalities and cultures. Some of the first settlers were Ruthenians, Poles and German, soon joined by Armenians, Jews, Greeks and even Italians. It was also known as urbs catholicissima, the ‘most catholic city’ (‘catholic’ here in the original sense of ‘all-encompassing, diverse’), since it was the only place in the world which was home to archbishoprics of the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Towards the end of the nineteenth century, when Brandes was in Lwów, the vibrant city had around 160,000 residents, including around 52% Poles, 28% Jews and 18% Ukrainians. Although Poles dominated the city’s administration and cultural life, with a Polish-language university being founded in 1882, the Galician autonomy also provided a haven for the Ukrainian national movement. The city was home to the Shevchenko Scientific Society and the Prosvita educational society. There were also active labour, peasant and Zionist movements.

As Martin Pollack wrote in his book about prewar Galicia:

The Mickiewicz monument was the favourite spot for gatherings and demonstrations of all kinds; revolutionary songs were sung in Polish, Ruthenian, in Yiddish. Nationalists cursed ‘Jewish moneylenders’ while Zionists exalted Palestine as the land of milk and honey.

Polish General Exhibition in Lwów, 1894. Photo: Edward Trzemeski. Source: SilesianDigital Library

Poland in miniature

In 1894, Lwów was chosen as the location for one of the greatest economic and cultural enterprises of the partition era: the Polish General Exhibition. It looked to the future and showcased the finest achievements of Galician industry and art. The Polish General Exhibition was to be a new beginning and a Poland-in-miniature.

Preparations for the exhibition took two years and absorbed more than Kraków’s annual budget. An area of around 46 hectares, adjacent to Stryjski Park, was covered with 129 buildings and pavilions designed by some of the finest architects in a wide range of styles. They were filled with some of the greatest achievements of Polish industry and arts, while some pavilions were dedicated to ethnography. Restaurants, cafés and bakeries were scattered throughout the site. To make visitors’ lives easier, one of the first electric tram services in Eastern Europe was launched, and a cable car was suspended over Stryjski Park. At night, the illuminated fountain enchanted visitors.

Polish General Exhibition in Lwów in 1894. Photo: Polona.pl

The exhibition showcased Galicia’s economic and industrial achievements, but above all it was a presentation of national art and culture spanning all three partitions – 'a great demonstration of the unity and vitality of the Polish nation'.

Entrance gate for the Polish General Exhibition in Lwów, 1894. Photo: Edward Trzemeski. Source: Polona.pl

Closed Borders

Despite the closed borders between the three different partitions, trips and delegations from all corners of Poland flocked to Lwów for the exhibition. Over four and a half months, the exhibition was visited by well over a million guests; for many it was their first encounter with contemporary Poland, even if it was a Poland-in-miniature.

Georg Brandes observed the exhibition from across the border, in the Russian-held partition, where he was then staying:

At present there is an exhibition of Polish industry and art at Lemberg. The government has ordered that no one in Russian Poland shall exhibit. (In several cases it has been done, nevertheless.) But then the question arose whether the papers might write about the exhibition. The first month it was absolutely forbidden even to mention it. Later each paper got permission to insert four articles from Lemberg, none to exceed a hundred lines, and all to be on the products of industry, not a word about art. The authorities were afraid that the boys of the country would be taken to the exhibition at Lemberg, that they would witness political demonstrations, hear Polish songs and speeches — and this was prevented by the simple device of refusing passports.