Józef Weyssenhoff

Józef Weyssenhoff (8 April 1860 – 6 July 1932) was a Polish novelist, poet, literary critic, publisher. Close to the National Democracy political movement after 1905, he paid tribute to the tradition of the Polish landed gentry in the Eastern Borderlands. He lived several years in Bydgoszcz in the 1920s.

Biography Early years Weyssenhoff was born on 8 April 1860, in the family estate of Kolano in Podlasie. His ancestors came from Samogitia, today's Latvia, but at the time located in the Russian Empire. They were a well-polonized clan with roots from the 14th century, known as Weyss also knowh as Weyssenhoff. His father, Michał Jerzy Weyssenhoff, died prematurely, in 1866 aged 38. He was leaving to his widow, Wanda Weyssenhoff née Łubieńska, the burden of raising children and running the estate.

First editing works After leaving university, he administered his inherited estates in Samoklęski in Lublin region. In 1891, he moved to Warsaw. There, he edited and published his first monthly magazine in 1896, the "Warsaw Library", subtitled Journal dedicated to science, arts and industry . Known as living a flourishing life, Polish literary critic Adam Grzymała-Siedlecki reported that Weyssenhoff lost his estate of Samoklęski at cards with the brother of the Tsar Alexander III, during a stay at the St. Petersburg River Yacht Club.

Weyssenhoff traveled extensively in Europe. He published a book related to his journey to Greece in 1895 ("Z Grecyi").

Initially, Weyssenhoff lived at 29 Gdańska Street. At that time, he was already a writer with a definite prestige. In particular, he had already published renowned novels: "Soból i panna", a romance story in 1912, and "Puszcza" (Wilderness) in 1915.

Thanks to his reputation, the municipal authorities allocated him a comfortable apartment at 1 Zacisze street, today's 1 Józef Weyssenhoff Square. Besides, like the writer Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Weyssenhoff was granted a monthly subsidy. He lived alone in Bydgoszcz, but he had faithful friends who regularly visited him:

Amateur of hunting, he was one of the founders of the Bydgoszcz Hunting Society. As far as literary work is concerned, he devoted his stay to writing "Jan bez ziemi" (Jean sans terre) published in 1929 and "Mój pamiętnik literacki" (My Literary Diary) in 1925. Wanda Maria born in 1888 in Warsaw; Jan Wirgiliusz Weyssenhoff, born on 27 November 1889, in Warsaw. He was a physicist, professor at the University of Vilnius, the University of Kraków and Lviv Polytechnic National University, as well as member of the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences. He died on 11 August 1972, in Kraków; Aleksandra Zielewicz, born in 1891 in Samoklęski estate. She died in 1956, in Brazil; Róża Weyssenhoff, born in 1895 in Warsaw.

Among Weyssenhoff's ancestors was Jan Weyssenhoff (pl) (1774-1848), a Major General, who took part in the Polish–Russian War of 1792, the Kościuszko Uprising (1794), the Napoleonic Wars and the November Uprising of 1830–1831.

Józef's cousin was the painter Henryk Weyssenhoff (1859-1922). Henryk illustrated two of Józef's books, "Erotyki" (1911) and "Soból i Panna" (1913).

Józef's niece was (1930-1984). She was a Polish writer, author of books related to the figures of the Catholic Church and an economist. During World War II, she lived in Warsaw and participated in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944.

Józef's nephew was (1886-1933), a Polish poet, publisher and main shareholder of the "Biblioteka Polska" Publishing Institute in Bydgoszcz and Warsaw.

Themes and works Weyssenhoff is considered as a great stylist, in particular in his descriptions of nature and hunting. He wrote novels, short stories, poems and memoires. Additionally, he translated into Polish some of Heinrich Heine's works.

Weyssenhoff's themes tend to refer to the tradition of Henryk Sienkiewicz, although his cosmopolitanism and sybaritism often opposed his contemporary aristocratic environment. He also liked to praise the virtues and traditional culture of the Eastern Borderlands nobility.

After 1905, he published a series of political novels: about his activism "Budzisz, Dni polityczne" (Wake up, Political days) (1916); against the aspirations of democratic and liberal movements and revolutionary actions. "Hetmani" (1911) was built as a satire of the Polish Legions in World War I; championing the formation of an independent Polish state ("Cudno and Ziemia cudeńska"-1921).

Main works

"Lyrica" (1894); "Z Grecyi" (In Greece) (1895); "Żywot i myśli Zygmunta Podfilipskiego" (Life and thoughts of Zygmunt Podfilipski) (1898), a satirical novel; "Sprawa Dołęgi" (1901), supporting Polish nationalism; "Za błękitami" (1903); "Zaręczyny Jana Bełzkiego" (The engagement of Jan Bełzki) (1903); "Syn marnotrawny" (The prodigal son) (1905); "Narodziny działacza" (The birth of an activist) (1906); "Forminga, urywek indyjskiej powieści" (Forminga, excerpt from an Indian novel) (1906); "W ogniu" (In fire) (1908); " Unja" (Union) (1910); "Erotyki" (1911), poetry;

"Soból i panna" (1911), a novel loosely based on the manorial lifestyle of the Weyssenhoff family; "Hetmani, powieść współczesna" (1911), a novel; "Gromada:powieść" (1913), a novel; "Gniazda sieroce" (Orphan nests) (1914); "Puszcza" (Wilderness) (1915), a novel recalling the culture of the Eastern Borderlands nobility; "Budzisz, Dni polityczne" (Wake up, Political days) (1916),; "Noc i świt" (Night and Dawn) (1924); "Cudno i ziemia cudeńska" (Wonder and the land of wonders) (1921); "Pisma", t. 1-13 (Correspondences) (1927–1928); "Mój pamiętnik literacki" (My literary diary) (1925), written during his stay in Bydgoszcz; "Jan bez Ziemi" (Jean sans terre) (1929); "Pod Piorunami" (Under the lightnings) (1930).

Awards and decorations Poznań literary award, 1929; Officer Cross of the Order of the Polonia Restituta (2 May 1923); Golden Cross of Merit (23 May 1932).

Commemorations Zacisze Street, where Weyssenhoff lived while in Bydgoszcz, was renamed Weyssenhoff Square.

In 1960, a red granite commemorative plaque has been unveiled at the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth; it was placed on the front wall of the building he lived in at 1 Weyssenhoff Square. The text mentions "Between 1924 and 1928, has lived here the Polish writer Józef Weyssenhoff (1860–1932), eulogist of nature and hunting."