Anna KURSKA On the metamorphoses of the image of Święty Krzyż

Anna KURSKA
106
Hereditas Monasteriorum
vol. 4, 2014, p. 49–106
Anna KURSKA
Institute of Polish Philology
Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce
On the metamorphoses of the image of Święty Krzyż in 19th century
accounts of tours of Poland
Summary
The article is an attempt to present – with reference to geopoetics and geocriticism – how 19th century accounts of trips to the Świętokrzyskie Mountains depicted Święty Krzyż (Mount Holy Cross, also known as Łysa
Góra or Łysiec). The author follows a chronological approach to show more clearly the evolution of the image
of the place and to capture the factors which influenced its metamorphosis. To this end, she uses accounts
by Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Klementyna Hoffmanowa, née Tańska, Bohdan Dziekoński, Kazimierz Władysław
Wójcicki, Oskar Flatt, Jadwiga Łuszczewska (Deotyma), Julian Bartoszewicz, Franciszek Maksymilian Sobieszczański, Antoni Brykczyński, Władysław Zapałowski, Józef Siemiradzki, Tadeusz Dybczyński, Paweł Bolesław
Podczaszyński, Władysław Sierakowski, Michał Elwiro Andriolli, Franciszek Kostrzewski as well as anonymous
travellers whose works were published in 19th century periodicals.
The author reveals three strategies used to create representations of Święty Krzyż in the travelogues. The most
common strategy is associated with the use of mythical and historical stories concerning the location. Using
a poetic language, they were supposed not only to “conceal” the ruins of the church and the monastery situated
on Łysa Góra, but also to create a new image of Święty Krzyż and restore its significance. Another approach
reveals a relation between the site with its cultural tradition, and nature, the land and its scenery. This applies
particularly to accounts by Wójcicki, Dziekoński, Flatt and Łuszczewska, who present diametrically opposed
images: from gloomy representations to an epiphanic vision of Święty Krzyż, illuminated by the blaze of the
rising sun. The third strategy is associated with an attempt to describe and reconstruct the appearance of some
places situated on Święty Krzyż as well as the architecture and the interior of the church and the monastery. It is
also about presenting the attitude of the travellers who were rather inattentive in exploring the material world
around them, concentrating instead on their spiritual experience.
Keywords
geopoetics, geocriticism, journey, Święty Krzyż (Mount Holy Cross), travelogue, sightseeing, Romanticism