Philomats
The Society of Philomats ( Towarzystwo filomatów in Polish ) was an underground student association in Wilna (Vilnius) from 1817 to 1823. It advocated greater Polish independence in the Russian Empire and was then banned.
From 1830 onwards, some student underground movements with similar goals developed in the Prussian province of West Prussia .
history
Société philomatique
In Paris there was a Philomatic Society ( Société philomatique ) since 1788 , which dedicated itself to the care of the sciences and research. Regional organizations developed from this, some of which still exist today.
Philomats in Vilnius
At the University of Vilnius / Vilnius a society of philomats was founded in 1817 , who wanted to use knowledge and sciences to create a stronger Polish national consciousness and to achieve greater political independence in the Russian Empire. This included some important intellectuals such as the poet Adam Mickiewicz .
Despite the rather idealistic orientation of the members, who rarely appeared as active resistance fighters, repression and persecution by the Russian rulers resulted, which led to the organization being banned in 1823.
Philomats in West Prussia
Since 1830, secret organizations of Polish students with the same goals have been formed, especially at grammar schools in West Prussia . In smaller towns and in the countryside there were predominantly Polish people who felt they were disadvantaged by the Prussian policy of Germanization and the authorities. They were also supported by some teachers (such as Antoni Chudziński ).
Since around 1870 their activities have been made difficult, discovered in some schools and banned. Nevertheless, some of them survived until Polish independence in 1919/20.
Members
- Adam Mickiewicz , Polish national poet, was the most famous member who was exiled to Russia because of his membership .
- Ignacy Domeyko was one of the youngest members of the organization.
Web links
- Filomaci Encyklopedia PWN (Polish)
- Towarzystwo Filomatów i Filaretów sciaga.pl