First Romantic

The anniversary exhibition "First Romantic", dedicated to the 220th anniversary of Adam Mickiewicz takes place from December 7 to January 10 in the gallery "Atrium" (3rd floor).

Adam Bernard Mickiewicz was a Belarusian Polish-speaking poet, public figure, educator and publicist, whose life has become a symbol of the fate of a whole generation.

The future poet was born in 1798 in the village of Zaosye, Navahrudak district, in a noble family. He spent his childhood in Navahrudak. While studying at the Faculty of History and Philology of the University of Vilna he founded a secret student society with his friends, therefore he was arrested and deported from Belarus, where he has never returned.

In 1829 he received permission to travel to Western Europe, he lived in Italy, Switzerland and France. From 1839 he taught Slavic literature in Paris. The life of Adam Mickiewicz, filled with works for the benefit of society, ended in Turkey, where he died on November 26, 1855.

The formation of Adam Mickiewicz as a poet fell on the period of the spring of romanticism in world literature. His "Song of the Filarets" (1820) marked the beginning of a romantic trend in Belarusian literature. Adam Mickiewicz raised the greatness and beauty of the Belarusian region to the extraordinary height, revealing in his work the richness of traditions and rituals, plots of ballads and legends, images and motifs.

The work of Adam Mickiewicz became a manifestation of the national liberation movement on the territory of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Throughout his life, the poet argued that there can be no happiness for a person in an unfree and unhappy country and, with his poetry, gave patriots and associates hope in the most hopeless moments when no rational argument could help.

The exposition presented to readers allows to get acquainted with the most significant publications on the study of the life and work of the poet, as well as collections of selected works. A special place at the exhibition is occupied by his immortal poems "Pan Tadeusz", "Grazyna", "Konrad Wallenrod", "Dziady", published in different years. Some books talk about contemporaries and friends of the poet.

The exhibition presents about 100 documents, including publications of the 19th – 20th centuries, portraits of Adam Mickiewicz and illustrations to his works.

The opening hours of the exhibition corresponds to the library’s opening hours. Entrance to the exhibition is available by the library ticket or ticket of the library's social and cultural center.

For more info: (+375 17) 293 29 80.

The article is created by the Gallery and Exhibition Department.