EVENTS - 07.2010

In the 600th anniversary The Largest Battle of Medieval Europe
The Battle of Grunwald (in German literature referred to as the first battle of Tannenberg) is the largest battle in the history of Medieval Europe. It took place in the fields near Grunwald on the 15th of July 1410, during the great war between the forces of the Teutonic Knights supported by Western-European knights under the command of Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen, and joined Polish, Lithuanian, Russniak and Smolensk forces, accompanied by Czech, Moldavian and Tartar units, under the command of Polish king Władysław II Jogaila (Polish: Jagiełło). The battle was won by the Polish-Lithuanian army, yet it did not lead to a complete destruction of the Teutonic Knights.
In spring 1409, on the initiative of Lithuanian prince Vytautas, in Samogitia there was an uprising against Teutonic Knights who were conquering the land with the use of terror and crime. Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Ulrich von Jungingen appealed to the Polish king to remain neutral in this conflict between the Knights and Lithuania, which supported Samogitia. Yet the king refused, so in August 1409 Teutonic troops crossed Polish borders.
In Krakow and Malbork preparations started for the final clash. Both parties focused on diplomatic activities. Already in December 1409, the Order of the Teutonic Knights entered into an alliance with Hungarian king Sigismund, who tried to break the Polish-Lithuanian Union. Princes from Western Pomerania and knights from Western Europe also decided to support the Order. While the Union made peace with the Grand Duchy of Moscow and entered into alliance with Moldavia. All parties recruited knights. The Poles were joined by almost 3,000 Czech people.
In the morning on the 15th of July 1410, the two armies met. The Polish and Lithuanian forces were located in the east of Łodwigowo (German: Ludwigsdorf) and Stębark (German: Tannenberg), partially in the woods, near the Łubień lake. The left wing was composed of the Polish knights, mostly heavy cavalry, under the command of marshal Zbigniew from Brzeź. The right wing, mainly light cavalry, were knights from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania commanded by Grand Prince Vytautas. These were companies from all around Lithuania, as well as back-up forces of Tartars, Moldavians and probably Serbians. In the center, there was regular infantry from the Czech territory, Silesia and Smolensk. The whole army was commanded by King Władysław Jogaila.
The battle lasted over six hours and finished before the sunset. The army commanded by the Polish king was almost all the time winning.
The result of the battle had a significant influence on the political relations in Europe at the time. Not only did it break the power of the Order of the Teutonic Knight, but it also made the Jagiellonian dynasty that ruled in Poland one of the most important dynasties in Europe.
Every year, in the anniversary of the battle, members of knightly brotherhoods from all parts of Europe act out the Grunwald events of the 15th of July 1410. The show always attracts crowds of spectators. (KAS)

The construction of the museum under way
In Warsaw, the building of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews has begun. It is to show the world that has already disappeared and remind visitors that Poland was a country where a significant part of the population was Jewish for many centuries, and that Warsaw, before the outbreak of the Second World War, was the largest Jewish city in Europe. The museum will have three floors, very interestingly designed by the Finnish studio Lahdelma&Mahlamaki, which won an international architectural competition for it. There will be a large crack running through the entire building, which refers to the parting of the Red Sea. In addition to multimedia exhibitions, there will also be an auditorium, a library, and an educational center. The investment will cost 152 million zloty. The Museum of the History of Polish Jews will stand across from the Monument to the Victims of the Ghetto, in the Warsaw district of Muranów, which was part of the Jewish ghetto during the war, where the Germans imprisoned the Jewish population of the city. The museum is supposed to open before April of 2013, before the 70th anniversary of the uprising in the Warsaw ghetto.

A beach on the Vistula
Ne­ar Sa­ska Kę­pa, star­ting in Ju­ly, the­re will be a ge­nu­ine be­ach on the Vi­stu­la. In this way the War­saw au­tho­ri­ties will re­turn to a tra­di­tion from a few de­ca­des ago, when Var­so­vians lol­led abo­ut, swam and sun­ba­thed along the Vi­stu­la. A lot has chan­ged sin­ce then. The Vi­stu­la is not the sa­me as it used to be and the­re are swim­ming po­ols in ne­ar­ly eve­ry di­strict of our ci­ty. Ho­we­ver, a be­ach along the ri­ver and re­al sand are not any­thing li­ke a mo­dern po­ol com­plex. That is why the be­ach along the Vi­stu­la en­joys such gre­at po­pu­la­ri­ty.

Concerts at the Chopin monument
Like every year, from the 24th of May to the end of September, concerts will take place every Sunday from 12:00-16:00 at Łazienki Park, at the Frederic Chopin monument. The most eminent pianists from the older and younger generations take part in these performances. The atmosphere at these concerts is exceptional because of their setting. It is worth going!

A Polish scientist most important
The Polish scientist Maria Skłodowska-Curie (1867-1934), who was born in Warsaw (there is a museum to this scientist in her family home on Fresa Street), and who was awarded two Nobel Prizes, has been acknowledged as the greatest female scientist of all time. The survey, according to the „Daily Telegraph”, was carried out by the prestigious magazine „New Scientist”. Skłodowska, who discovered through her experiments that cancer could be treated with the help of radiation, received 25,1% of the votes, which is nearly two times more than the second name on the list, Rosalind Franklin – who had 14.2%, says the „Daily Telegraph”. This British scientist was the co-discoverer of the double-helix in DNA (the structural element of a DNA molecule). The results of the survey clearly show the need for teaching and raising awareness about many female scientists who currently make a much more significant contribution to modern science than ever before – says dr Roger Highfield, the editor of „New Scientist”.