The Ossolinski National Institute (Ossolineum) in Wrocław is the winner of the 9th edition of the Professor Aleksander Gieysztor Award. The Award is made by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation operating at Citi Handlowy for outstanding contribution to the preservation of the Polish cultural heritage. The award ceremony was held on March 18, 2008 in the Royal Castle in Warsaw.
Ossolineum is an institution that is deeply embedded in the Polish culture and I am glad that thanks to the Professor Aleksander Gieysztor Award we can express our appreciation for its achievements - said Sławomir Sikora, CEO of Citi Handlowy, when presenting the Award.
The Jury of the Professor Aleksander Gieysztor Award recognized the Ossolinski National Institute for collecting and caring for rare books, archival records and other bibliophilic treasures of great importance to the Polish culture for 190 years. The Award was granted following the recovery of the most valuable archival materials which were an integral part of the pre-war collection of the Institute and remained in Ukraine.
"In the Ossolinski National Institute we accept the Professor Aleksander Gieysztor Award made by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation's with great pleasure and gratitude. It is a sign of recognition for the Institute's 190-year service to the Polish science and culture in the difficult 19th century and in the tragic and difficult 20th century. Thanks to wise founders, priceless collections and hard work of successive generations of employees Ossolineum is an institution that is treated by Poles as a symbol of a winning battle for the preservation of the national identity" - said Adolf Juzwenko, PhD, Director of Ossolineum, at the award ceremony in the Royal Castle.
The Foundation called the Ossolinski National Institute was established in 1817 by Józef Maksymilian County Ossoliński (1748-1826), a bibliophile, book collector and member of many scientific organizations. After the Second World War the Ossolineum was moved to Wroclaw and in 1953 it became an integral part of the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN). At the beginning of the nineties efforts were made to reestablish the Foundation. The success came in 1995 when the Polish Sejm's act made it possible to gradually restore the original organizational structure of the Institute, i.e. a three-unit structure: the Library, the Museum of the Lubomirski Princes and the Editorial House. Today the Ossolinski National Institute has about 1,800,000 items in its collection. These are collections of books, periodicals, manuscripts, maps, seals, medals, numismatic objects, bookplates, photographs, drawings, prints, paintings and documents of social life.
In previous years the Professor Aleksander Gieysztor Award was made to, among others, the Social Committee for Stare Powązki Cemetery, Prof. Tadeusz Chrzanowski - President of the Social Committee for Renovation of Historical Sites in Kraków, Stefan Sutkowski - Director of the Warsaw Chamber Opera, the Society for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Prof. Stanisław Waltoś, Director of the Jagiellonian University Museum and Prof. Kazimierz Piotr Zaleski, Director of the Polish Library in Paris.
The Professor Aleksander Gieysztor Award has been made by The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation since 2000. The patron of the Award was the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences, a member of the Council of The Citi Handlowy Leopold Kronenberg Foundation, an outstanding Polish historian and a scientist of international standing.
The Award is PLN 50,000 and it is made for outstanding achievements in the following areas: museum curatorship, conservation, archival and library work; preservation and promotion of the Polish cultural heritage in Poland and abroad; projects undertaken by local authorities to safeguard the national heritage; individual and collective initiatives to collect and preserve heritage remnants; promotion of the knowledge of the need and methods to preserve the cultural heritage in Poland.
