The Library in Wierzchosławice was established at the beginning of 1947 as the Municipal Library…

At the beginning it’s collection consisted of a set of fewer than 100 volumes, handed over by the District Library on January 28 of that year. The lack of suitable premises greatly hindered and delayed the actual start of its activity. The book collection was placed in the Wincenty Witos People’s House, which was then occupied by the Municipal Office, but it was not provided with even a little bit of good working conditions were not provided for the Library. That’s why in the first year, there were difficulties finding someone willing to manage it. After the inspection of the Library in Wierzchosławice in November 1948, the director of the District Library noted in the Chronicle that it had a location “in a corner, in a passageway — unsuitable and the worst in the district.” In 1950 — probably due to premises issues — it was moved to the Primary School building, where it shared a room with the school library.
In 1978, after the construction of a new, majestic office building to which the Municipal Office and other occupants of the People’s House moved, three rooms with a total area of 80 square meters were allocated to the Library in the “Ludowiec.”
Ten years later, a major renovation of the People’s House began, and the Library had to relocate again. It was placed in two rooms in a nearby building occupied by an agricultural mill. In November 1993, after the renovation was completed, the Library returned to the People’s House and occupied rooms on the upper floor. From 1998, after yet another move, it was relocated to the “Zajazd” building, taking over a spacious ground-floor area.

The founder and first head of the Library was Antonina Niedojadło. Janina Rojek distinguished herself through many years of work and dedication to promoting reading. Others who worked there included: Krystyna Wojciechowska, Janina Karaś, Maria Golonka, Beata Krużel, Beata Gubernat, Anna Kawa, Katarzyna Katra, Ewa Klimek, Anna Głowacka, and Iwona Gleisner. Since 1990, the head of the Library has been Anna Mikos. Among the volunteers running local library branches, the following stood out: Maria Jackowska, Franciszek Wydro, Kazimierz Salawa, Edward Gutowski, Stanisław Wzorek, Józefa Stawarz, Bogusława Krzak, Anna Molczyk, Urszula Fronczyk, Wanda Kurowska, Wanda Czeczot, and Ewa Oćwieja. With good work results, the Library expanded its cultural activities — among many other, organizing meetings for young readers, literary lectures, contests, author meetings, and publishing several informational brochures.In 2005, the Municipal Council granted the Library the name of Władysław Stanisław Reymont, who had visited Wierzchosławice 80 years earlier at the invitation of Wincenty Witos.

 

C  a  l  e  n  d   a  r

of the Life and Works of Władysław St. Reymont

1867 Born in the village “Kobiele Wielkie”, the son of Józef Rejment, a local organist, and Antonina née Kupczyńska.

1868-1880 The Rejment family moves to Tuszyn near Łódź. Stanisław attends school and learns tailoring in Warsaw.

1882 – 1884 Begins his first poetic attempts. Obtains a journeyman tailor’s diploma.  

1885 – 1888 Works in traveling theaters. His theatrical experience later inspires works such as Komediantka and Fermenty.

1889 – 1892 Works for the Warsaw–Vienna Railway. His first works appear in the press under the pseudonym Księżak.

1893 – 1894 Favorable reviews of his published works influence his decision to quit the railway and move to Warsaw. Publishes Zawierucha and Pielgrzymka do Jasnej Góry in Tygodnik Ilustrowany. Travels to England and France.

1895 – 1899 Travels to Italy and France. Book editions of Pielgrzymka do Jasnej Góry and Komediantka are published. Writes Fermenty. Ziemia obiecana (The Promised Land) is serialized in Kurier Codzienny; the novelette “Lili. Żałosna idylla” in Kurier Warszawski.

1900 – 1901 Reymont is injured in a train accident and receives compensation. Conceives a new concept for his novel Chłopi (The Peasants).

1902-1904 Marries Aurelia Szabłowska; they travel to France. Publishes a new version of Chłopi in Tygodnik Ilustrowany.

1906 -1907 Chłopi is staged at the Łódź Theater and the Warsaw Philharmonic. Two volumes of short stories, Na krawędzi and Burza, are published. 

1908-1909 Works on the historical trilogy Rok 1794. Travels to Florence. Publishes the 4th volume of Chłopi. Receives the Lewental Prize for Chłopi.

1910 – 1911 Publishes Z ziemi chełmskiej and the novelette collection Marzyciel. Releases the novel about spiritists Wampir.

1912 Purchases the estate of Charłupia Wielka for a year. Translations of his works appear abroad.

1916 – 1919 Publishes the second and third parts of Rok 1794. The Academy of Learning awards him the Mikołaj Rej Prize for Chłopi. His candidacy is presented in Stockholm for the Nobel Prize. Travels to France and America

1920 – 1921 Travels again to America to collect material for a novel about peasant emigrants. Upon returning, he buys the estate of Kołaczkowo. Receives the Order of Polonia Restituta, 4th Class, “for services rendered to the Republic of Poland in the field of literature.”

1923 – 1924 Publishes the novels Osądzona and Księżniczka. Works on the allegorical novel Bunt. His health deteriorates. Bunt and Legenda are published in book form. On November 8, the Swedish Academy awards him the Nobel Prize in Literature for Chłopi. Due to ill health, he does not attend the ceremony; the Polish envoy in Stockholm, Alfred Wysocki, delivers the award to him in France.

1925 Reymont returns to Poland. Takes part in harvest celebrations in Wierzchosławice, the home village of Wincenty Witos. Dies during the night of December 5–6 and is buried in the Avenue of the Meritorious at Powązki Cemetery.

 Based on: B. Koc, Władysław Reymont, Warsaw, 1973, pp. 81–102.