Gdańszczanie w północnych Niderlandach w XVII–XVIII w. Naukowe i artystyczno-kolekcjonerskie wrażenia z podróży.
Gdansk Residents in the Northern Netherlands in 17th- 18th c. Scholars' and Art Collectors' Travel Impressions

Summary/Abstract: The article focuses on modern-era trips of Gdańsk residents to the Netherlands, or the Republic of United Provinces. The author addresses the topic through the prism of manuscripts preserved in the collection of the Gdańsk Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences: travelogues by Georg and Nathanael Schroeder, Heinrich and Andreas Zernecke and Karl Friedrich Gralath. Gdańsk residents got familiar with Dutch culture, wealth of artworks (including paintings and porcelain), different collections, including libraries, coins and medals, timepieces, and natural objects as well as curios, such as anthropological and ethnographic items. They visited studios of scholars (e.g. Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit) and artists, continued studies at Dutch universities (Leyden, Franeker, Groningen, Utrecht). Apart from confessional matters, the travellers from Gdańsk were especially interested in the defence potential of the Netherlands, the fortifications of the local towns, navigable canals, and rich arsenals. After returning to Gdańsk, in their private and social life they tried to implement good practices in many areas they encountered in the Netherlands. In intellectual, scientific and artistic terms, thanks to their travels, the citizens of Gdańsk enriched their libraries and established then fashionable nature collections, which became real work studios. Works of art imported from abroad or brought by agents were a capital investment, stimulated artistic passions, shaped the aesthetics of everyday life and in many cases influenced the tastes of the residents of the town on the River Motława.

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