Stańczycy

Stańczycy was a Polish political group that emerged in the 1860s and was active in the western part of Galicia . It was named in connection with the pamphlet “Teka Stańczyka” (Stańczyk's briefcase) that appeared in the monthly “Przegląd Polski” (Polish Review) in 1869.

In the form of fictitious political letters from the court jester of the Polish kings Stańczyk (* around 1480, † around 1560), the authors discussed their conservative view of Polish society in Galicia. They blamed the citizens of Poland for their loss of independence and for their tendency towards anarchy; they praised the Austro-Hungarian emperor as the rightful ruler of Galicia. They sharply criticized Poland's past and were loudly described as traitors by the patriotically minded Poles.

The "Stańczyks" wanted to use peaceful means to gain more freedom for the population of Galicia. They saw the revolutionary movements as the cause of all defeats. They were predominant in the Polish circle of the Austro-Hungarian Imperial Council .

Leading members were: the rector of the Jagiellonian University Stanisław Tarnowski , the historian Józef Szujski, the theater director Stanisław Koźmian, Galicia governor Michał Bobrzyński and the abbot of the Resurrectionist Order, Valerian Kalinka.

The group's press organs were the daily “Czas” and the monthly Przegląd Polski .

In 1907 the group was transformed into the Party of Polish Right (Stronnictwo Prawicy Narodowej).

source

• Marcin Król: Stańczycy: antologia myśli społecznej i politycznej konserwatystów krakowskich , "Pax", Warszawa 1982 ISBN 8321103456