- 'I am moved to think that many years ago, in the Gdańsk Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences, I tore the pages of her book, and today I can share with readers a colourful her-story about an inhabitant of our Pomeranian lands,' says dr Magdalena Izabella Sacha from the Philology Department of the University of Gdańsk. A meeting with the author of a three-volume publication entitled The Education of Women in Gdańsk Pomerania in the Early 19th Century. The activities of Louise von Krockow, will take place on February 13, at the castle in Krokowa, the residence of its heroine.

Countess Louise von Krockow (1749-1803) is still a fascinating representative of the Enlightenment era. The publisher of her pedagogical treatise immortalised her as 'quiet greatness'. - 'After more than two hundred years, Louise von Krockow can still inspire us as a strong, interesting female figure of her epoch,' says dr Magdalena Izabella Sacha, author of the three-volume publication.

- 'She is the "amazon on a horse", the initiator of the castle reconstruction, the creator of the park in Krokowa, the mother of seven children, married twice (her second husband was 27 years younger...), and also - or perhaps most importantly - a playwright, epistolographer and the author of a project on girls' education, which did not really exist at that time,' - she adds.

Her publication entitled The Education of Women in Gdańsk Pomerania in the Early 19th Century. The activities of Louise von Krockow published by the Gdańska Galeria Miejska and the co-publisher University of Gdańsk Publishing House is based on the project of a school for orphaned and impoverished girls, which Louise von Krockow published three times between 1793 and 1800 - the last edition was published in Königsberg.

The occasion for the promotion of the publication is the anniversary of Louise von Krockow's 273rd birthday. The jubilee meeting will be held on February 13, at Krokowa castle. It will begin at 12.00 with a concert of chamber music for violin and piano performed by Anna Wandtke and Dominika Glapiak duo.

Another item on the agenda will be a meeting with dr Magdalena Izabella Sacha from the Department of Cultural Studies of the Institute for Cultural Research at the Faculty of Philology UG, concerning a three-volume publication entitled The Education of Women in Gdańsk Pomerania in the Early 19th Century. The activities of Louise von Krockow (1.00 pm). The author's meeting will also be attended by Patrycja Orzechowska, the book's graphic designer, repeatedly awarded for her artistic achievements. The meeting will be hosted by the editor Tatiana Slowi from Radio Gdańsk.

The edited book consists of three volumes: a reprint of the original edition of the pedagogical treatise by Louise von Krockow entitled Rath Und That zu einem guten Werke from 1800, held in the Library of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk, a translation of the book into Polish with a scientific editorial commentary entitled With counsel and deed to good work. Dressing table gift for the ladies and from the study by dr Magdalena Izabella Sacha entitled Cicha

Wielkość / Stille Größe. Louise von Krockow (1749-1803) and her vision of women's education in two languages, Polish and German.

- 'When I worked in Krokowa as the director of the Regional Museum, I walked in Louise's footsteps and felt her spirit in the renovated castle and the revitalised space of the landscape park she established... I greatly admired her,' recalls the author.

Perhaps that is why the reviewer wrote warmly about the publication and the author. - 'The stream of serious source accounts has here the valuable features of a story about the whole family, emotional attitudes and economic situation and farm employment, illnesses, neighbourly contacts and interesting adventures,' - wrote prof. dr hab. Irena Kadulska from the Faculty of Philology, UG. - 'It sounds captivating and authentic thanks to the principle of vivid narration adopted by the author and colourful stylistic constructions [...]. Thanks to this, [the Countess's] portrayal comes across as warm, without any sense of alienation,' she added.

Dr Magdalena Izabella Sacha has already dealt with Polish-German issues in her MA thesis entitled 'Topos Mazur jako raju utraconego w literaturze niemieckiej Prus Wschodnich (Olsztyn 2001)'. Her doctoral thesis is devoted to the subject of cultural activities of prisoners in Buchenwald concentration camp ('When you deigned to come to the camp...', Gdańsk-Bydgoszcz 2014). Between 2001 and 2009, she ran the Regional Museum in Krokowa at the North coast, a branch of the Museum of West Prussia in Münster. Since 2004, she has been an assistant professor in the Department of Cultural Studies at the University of Gdańsk and lectures on the basics of cultural knowledge, museum studies and regional knowledge. She is a member of the Kashubian Institute in Gdańsk, the Cultural Community 'Borussia' in Olsztyn and Macierza Ziemi Cieszyńskiej in Cieszyn.

Note: At the auction for the benefit of WOŚP, the publication reached the amount of 385 zł. The publication is available for purchase: Gdańsk City Gallery, Günther Grass Gallery in Gdańsk, ul. Szeroka (price per set: PLN 110) and from the UG Publishing House (soon).

February 13, 2022 (Sunday), at 01.00 pm

Krokowa Castle, ul. Zamkowa 1, Krokowa

Organised by: 'European Meetings' Foundation Kashubian Cultural Centre Krokowa.