BUILDING A COLLECTION BY REV. JAN WIŚNIEWSKI, A GREAT DONOR OF THE DIOCESAN MUSEUM IN SANDOMIERZ

The article is an attempt to show collectingachievements of Rev. Jan Wiśniewski (1876–1943), whoafter building an unusual, astonishingly vast and versatilecollection of art and national memorabilia, donated it tothe Diocesan Museum in Sandomierz. His collecting wasrooted in the 19th century, in the spirit of growing patrioticawareness and interests in the history of one’s owncountry, resulted from the lack of independence. Apartfrom collecting, Rev. Wiśniewski conducted comprehensiveresearch. As an amateur historian, he edited and publishedat his own cost 15 volumes of the Monografia dekanatówand Historyczne opisy kościołów. He started his collectionin Radom, then continued accumulating items in Borkowicewhere he became a parish priest. It was there, in theparsonage, that he arranged the Museum of NationalMemorabilia. His exhibits were often displayed as loansoutside his museum. As confirmed in written sources,Rev. Jan Wiśniewski had many contacts among collectors,antiquarians, art dealers and bibliophiles, some of them ofgreat renown. His collection became a cornerstone of theDiocesan Museum in Sandomierz, which seems to be hisintention from the start, as much as saving from demolitionthe historic elements of churches’ interiors. He was buildinghis collection in order to make it public and pass on to thefollowing generations.