Slovakia - Poland - Portugal

Slovakia

• The Slovaco-Polish relations have long, thousand years tradition, and also a very rich history. What is more, it is the tradition of the outstanding friendship. Basically there where no conficts between the Polish and the Slovakian. In the south of Tatra mountains we have a neighbor who has a three hundered years longer history than ours. This history was very interesting and some time stormy, unexpected action turns, with interesting heros. And all this is strictly connected with Polish history and the greatest European powers.

• Great Moravia was a West Slavic empire existing in Central Europe between 833 and the early 10th century. Its core territory laid on both sides of the Morava river, in present-day Slovakia and the Czech Republic, but the empire also extended to what is today Hungary, Poland, Austria, Germany, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia and Ukraine.

• The Great Moravian Empire reached its greatest territorial extent under King Svatopluk I (871-894). Weakened by internal struggle and frequent wars with the Frankish Empire, Great Moravia was ultimately overrun by Magyar invaders in the early 10th century and its remnants were later divided between the Kingdom of Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, and the Holy Roman Empire.

• May 10, 1848, the Slovak demand an autonomy, freedom of language and education fom Austria-Hungary. In other point, they demand freedom and justice for the Poles in Galicia

• Ludwik the Hungarian (Ľudovít I. Veľký), was King of Hungary (so also of Slovakia), Croatia, and Dalmatia etc. from 1342 and of Poland from 1370 .

• He was the eldest son of the Charles Robert and Elisabeth, daughter of Ladislaus the Short and sister of Casimir the Great

• Jadwiga, his daughter was a Polish monarch who reigned from 1384 to 1399.

Ludwik the Hungarian Jadwiga

• Gabriel Bethlen (de Iktár), Slovak: Gabriel Betlen was a prince of Transylvania (1613-1629), duke of Opole and Racibórz (1622-1625) .

• 1440-1444 it is the time of the reign of Wladyslaw III Warnenczyk. A Portuguese legend says that the king of Poland and Hungary survived the battle of Warna in 1444 to settle in Madeira.

• Juraj Jánošík, or Jur, Juro, Jurko Jánošík (1688-1713), Polish: Jerzy Janosik, Hungarian: Juraj Jánosik was a famous Slovak outlaw, often described as the "Slovak Robin Hood."

• This Slovak equivalent of Robin Hood or William Tell has been topic of many Slovak and Polish legends, books and films. According to the legends he stole from nobles and gave the stolen items to the poor. The Janosik myth was also known in neighboring Silesia, the Margraviate of Moravia and later spread to the Kingdom of Bohemia. The actual robber had little to do with the modern legend, which content partly reflects the ubiquitous folk myths of a hero taking from the rich and giving to the poor. However, the legend was also shaped in important ways by the activists and writers in the 19th century when Jánošík became the key highwayman character in stories that spread in the Slovak counties and among the local Gorals and Polish tourists in the Podhale region north of the Tatras. The image of Jánošík as a symbol of resistance to oppression was reinforced when poems about him became part of the Slovak and Czech middle and high school literature curriculum, and then again with the numerous films that propagated his modern legend in the 20th century. During the anti-Nazi Slovak National Uprising, one of the partisan groups bore his name.

Moric Benovsky • Moric Benovsky (born 1746 as Benyovszky Móritz

Ágost - died May 23, 1786) was a Slovak noble in the Kingdom of Hungary, adventurer, globetrotter, explorer, colonizer, writer, chess player, the King of Madagascar, a French colonel, Polish military commander, and Austrian soldier. Three peoples claim Beňovský as one of their own: Slovaks, Hungarians, and Poles. Beňovský was a nobleman of the Kingdom of Hungary. His father, Samuel Benyovszky from the Trenčín county, was of Slovak origin. His mother, Rozália Révay, was the widow of a general and came from the Révay family. In the 16th century, the family moved from Syrmia to present-day Slovakia, became a predominantly Slovak family, and occupied the post of heads of the Turiec county. Vrbové was a purely Slovak village, when Beňovský was born there.

• The Benyovszky family has a long history. The ancestors of the Benyovszky family left Hungary to Poland, when the king was Charles I, because they were the relatives of Felicián Zach, a supporter of Matthew Chák. In 1396, Benjamin and Urbán returned to Hungary and they fought at Nicopolis.

• Because of their deeds, Sigismund gave them lands at the Váh, and they became counts. Benjamin was the ancestor of the Benyovszky, and Urbán of the Urbanovszky family. George Benyovszky lived in the 16th century. He had three children: Gabor, Adam and Burián. Burián's son name was Michael, whose son was Samuel, who later become a general in the Austrian army and he was the father of Móric Beňovský.

• As a young man Beňovský left Hungary to join the Polish Confederation of Bar fighting for freedom against the Russian Empress Catherine. He became a close associate of his Polish compatriots. Until his death Poles were his brothers-in-arms. In many occasions he also declared himself a Pole. However, as many nobles of the 18th century, Beňovský was a cosmopolitan in the best tradition, serving different great powers and mastering numerous languages.

• The Thurzons- a powerful Hungarian lordly family of middle-class origin. Their representatives from Slovakia had their provinces of good not only in Orawa region but also in Poland and Śląsk region. There were also two other known Thursons of the same name, Jan. The first, Jan was of middle class, and a Cracow banker, who along with the family of the bankers form Augsburg, set up comercially-industrial company. During 30 years this company controled the trade of mine minerals on the territory of the Central Europe. The other Jan Turzo, in the years 1506-1520, was the bishop of Wrocław and little before that – the president of the Academy of Cracow.

• The Poles in Slovakia is not a typical emigration- they are neither political nor historical(due to historical events)People who live here are highlanders fom frontier areas. There also the Poles who came there to study or to work and they found there a spouse. Polonia of Slovakia is not numerous and live in dispersion.

• The results of the census showed that 2602 people declared Polish nationality . The only organization of Polonia is the “Polish Club- Association of the Poles and their Friends in Slovakia” which acts since 1994.

• On November 8, 1412, Polish king Wladyslaw Jagello lended to German imperior and Hungarian king Sigismond of Luxemburg a sum which value was equal to 7.5 tons of pure silver. Sigismond pawned 16 towns of Spisz with Stara Lubowla and Podoliniec at the headto to Jagiełło. These cities constitued the seigniory of Spisz administered by Polish lord, Starosta. Though formally this territory always belonged to the Hungarian Kingdom. One of first Starostas was the most famous Polish knight, Zawisza Czarny. the most known administrator was Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski. It was him who during the “Swedish flood” gave a refuge to king Jan Kazimierz in Lubowla castle. Following his advice the symbols of the Polish royal power were deposited in that castle.Following his advice the symbols of the Polish royal power were deposited in that castle

• Contract between the government of the Republic of Poland and the government of the Republic of Slovakia concerning the co-operation in the fields of the culture, education and sccience drawn up in Bratyslawa on March 23, 2000y.

• University of Comenius in Bratysllawa, the greatest and oldest school of Slovakia. The patron of this university, John Amos Comenius a very great European humanist, who created the bases of education and modern pedagogy three centuries ago, can be at the same time the patron of the meeting of our two neighbouring nations. A part if his biography was connected with Poland, with the town of Leszno where he was the teacher and director of a college. The birth of the university of Bratyslawa was the fulfilment of the idea of Komeński. It was first university of that kind where the Slovaks could study in Slovakian language to develop thier culture and their identity. Also here, in the twenties the first organizations set up which formed the Slovakian political life. Therefore this school has played an important part for more than 80 years in the history of Slovakia. But there are also Polish traces; one can find there Polish names on the list of the doctors honoris causa, such as the Polish notable philisopher Tadeusz Kotarbiński or an American political economist of the Polish origin, Zbigniew Brzeziński.

Portugal

In short, the relations between the Poles and the Portuguese resulted formerly from the fact that we were the rampart of Christemdom and today we are the gate of the European economic expension.

This is why if there were any occasions a Pole and a Portuguese engaged in a fight already five hundred years ago.

The lord Mikolaj from Popielow, a Polish traveller arrived in Portugal at John II the Perfect with a letter of recommandation for the imperor of Germany – Fryderyk III and he left as fruit of this voyage the description of the court of the Portuguese king from the 15th and 16th century).

• Gaspar da Gama called Gaspar da India – a Hebrew of Poznań - travelled with Vasco da Gama on his vessels sailing from India. This very elegant man spoke a few foreign languages.

• In 1579 the king of Portugal received in audience the Radziwill brothers – Jerzy and Stanislas who made the pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Jacob in Santiago de Compostela.

In 1518 –in a letter Polish king Zygmunt recommended his knight Jan Twardowski who helped Portugal in his war against the Moors in Africa to the Portuguese monarch – Manuel I. Tarnowski received the belt of knight in the St. Julian church in Lisbon.

In 18th, century a man on the court of Zygmunt III Waza, Jacob Sobieski (the father of the future king of Poland) who was sick arrived in Portugal on the pilgrimage and he had the chance to learn about the hospitality of the Portuguese.

• The important fact which proves the hospitality of the Portuguese is the story of a known adventurer, Count Maurice Beniowski and his 70 companions who fleeing of the exile in Kamchatka arrived in Portuguese Makau.

• Beniowski can be regarded as the member of three nations: Hungarian, Slovakian and Polish. He was born in Slovakia but he was a Hungarian nobelman who strongly identified with Poland and often declared himself a Pole.

There are also Polish literary plots in Porugal. They can be found in the poem “Poland the Martydom” of José Maria Cunha Seixas. Also Emilia Plater, the heroine of the uprising of November (1830). In leaflets in Coimbra, she was named “the Polish Jeanne d'Arc”.

Napoleon Marszalek who was one of many volunteers wanting to engage in the army of Józef Bem, he went from Poland to Portugal by bicycle. He did not know any foreign language yet he came to Portugal without problems.

Józef Bem

Napoleon Marszalek moved toward the group of 100 companions – volunteers who under the commands of general Bem were to help the army of Maria da Gloria to leave to Spain for the war in defense of Portugal.

The expedition was not successful, because Pedro did not want Bem to join. He felt hurt and he demanded the refund of the expenses. After an argument, he called the Treasurer, Silva Carvalho for a fight. As a result, Bem was put in prison, in the tower of Belem for two months.

The participation of the Poles in the civil

war.(1832)

The most known volunteer who appears in the documents as José Conrado Carlos de Chelmicki, simply called Józef Chełmicki who was born on February 19th, 1813 in Warsaw.

He took share in the uprising of November and after he came in Porto which was besieged by the army of Don Miguel. He was engaged in the rank

of second lieutenant of the sappers.

After the war, he remained in the Portuguese army and was promoted to the rank of a general.

At the university of Coimbra (one of the oldest universities in Europe) during the uprising of 1863 money was collected for the Polish insurgents. In 1863 in Lisbon a concert was organized in favour of Poland at which the king Luis I was present. After the two uprisings Poland gained a lot of popularity. At this time a lot of girls were called POLONIA.

• In December 1929, the marshal Józef Piłsudski visited Portuguese Madeira with his personal doctor- Eugenia Lewicka.

• During the Second World War, Mr Fryderyk Danielski created here the point of transfer.