Wielokulturowy pejzaż Wileńszczyzny. Od Władysława Syrokomli do Czesława Miłosza

Abstract

The separation of the Vilnius region from the land of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a slow process that lasted many years. Its distinct importance as the region directly related to Vilnius stabilised as late as in the 19th century, as a form of opposition against the “appropriation” during the partitions and the transformation of the former Grand Duchy into the western provinces of the Russian Empire. The authors of literary works of that era strongly emphasised the links between the landscape and historical memory and culture. This is clearly noticeable in the works by Władysław Syrokomla on his wanderings “around Vilnius”. The multi-culturality of the Vilnius region was closely related to its borderland nature and multi-ethnicity. This was the basis for the project created by local residents in the second half of the 19th century that stipulated a cantonal structure of the Lithuanian state (or autonomy), with a separate Vilnius “canton”. This idea was repeated in the first years of the 20th century, in the federational concept of Józef Piłsudski. Both concepts were strongly base on the spatial vision that linked the landscapes of the Vilnius area with its cultural resources. The short period of existence of the state of Central Lithuania (whose area corresponded to the Vilnius region) ended with it being incorporated into the Second Republic of Poland. In the interwar period there were several attempts, particularly in literature and art, to reactivate the distinctive nature of the Vilnius region and its specificity as a natural and cultural landscape. Traces of this trend are visible in Vilnius literature and art, also in the avant-garde poetry of the “Żagary” group. It was also this trend that was the place of origin of the war and emigration works of Czesław Miłosz that creates a nostalgic memory image of a “city with no name” and its surroundings.