Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich i jego zbiory w latach 1817‒1939
Ossoliński National Institute and its collections in 1817–1939

Summary/Abstract: The aim of the article is to show the history and collections of the Zakład im. Ossolińskich in the years 1817–1939. By means of the analysis of the preserved documents and the existing literature on the subject, an attempt was made not only to show the history of the institution, selected collections from the library’s resources, but also to present its organization and people who have passed through its walls over the past 120 years. This is all the more important as, unlike many other Polish libraries, the complete history of the Ossolineum has never been written. The reason for this situation was that after 1945 almost all archives that could be used to learn about the history of the Institute remained in Lviv, and access to them was very difficult for Polish researchers, and sometimes even impossible. This situation began to change slowly after 1989. It was then that smaller or larger contributions were written about the history of the Ossolineum. Only recently, broader publications showing various aspects of the functioning of the Ossoliński National Institute. According to the founder’s intention, the institution, consisting of a library, publishing house and museum, was to not only collect various types of prints, manuscripts, works of art, but also make its collections available to all interested parties. The starting date of the article was determined by the establishment of the Institute, which took place in 1817. The founder spent several years considering where the institution would have its seat. Ultimately, after his death in 1827, the collections collected by Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński were transported to Lviv and placed in the rebuilt former church and convent of Carmelite sisters. It was then that the collections collected by the Lubomirski family from Przeworsk were finally added to the Ossolineum. Over a period of over 100 years, numerous manuscripts, archives, books, magazines and works of art have been added to the collection of the Ossolineum. The end date of the presented article is set in 1939. The outbreak of World War II began a new dramatic period in the history of the Ossolineum, which ended with its transfer to Wrocław in 1945.

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