Weyssenhoff was born on 8 April 1860, in the family estate of Kolano in Podlasie. His ancestors came from Samogitia, today's Latvia, but at the time located in the Russian Empire. They were a well-polonized clan with roots from the 14th century, known as Weyss also knowh as Weyssenhoff. His father, Michał Jerzy Weyssenhoff, died prematurely, in 1866 aged 38. He was leaving to his widow, Wanda Weyssenhoff née Łubieńska, the burden of raising children and running the estate.[1]
He spent his childhood between Vilnius and Samogitia, then moved to Warsaw to follow gymnasium.
He followed law studies between 1879 and 1884 at the University of Tartu in Kreis Dorpat, Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. During this period, he became a member of the Polish student corporation Konwent Polonia (Polish: Korporacja Akademicka Konwent Polonia), established in 1828 in the very presmises.[2]
First editing works
After leaving university, he administered his inherited estates in Samoklęski in Lublin region. In 1891, he moved to Warsaw. There, he edited and published his first monthly magazine in 1896, the "Warsaw Library", subtitled Journal dedicated to science, arts and industry (Polish: Biblioteka Warszawska. Pismo poświęcone naukom, sztukom i przemysłowi). Known as living a flourishing life, Polish literary critic Adam Grzymała-Siedlecki reported that Weyssenhoff lost his estate of Samoklęski at cards with the brother of the TsarAlexander III, during a stay at the St. Petersburg River Yacht Club.[3]
Weyssenhoff traveled extensively in Europe. He published a book related to his journey to Greece in 1895 ("Z Grecyi").[4] In 1908, he settled for three years in Steglitz, then a suburban borough of Berlin. When World War I broke out, he was in Russia where he stayed during the conflict.
In 1918, he returned to the re-created Polish state and settled in Warsaw.
Life in Bydgoszcz and later years
In April 1924, probably on an advice of his nephew Władysław August Kościelski, Weyssenhoff moved to Bydgoszcz: Kościelski was the main shareholder of the "Biblioteka Polska" Publishing Institute in the city (Polish: Zakłady Graficzne "Biblioteka Polska" w Bydgoszczy), at the time one of the largest in Poland.[5]
Initially, Weyssenhoff lived at 29 Gdańska Street.[1] At that time, he was already a writer with a definite prestige. In particular, he had already published renowned novels: "Soból i panna", a romance story in 1912, and "Puszcza" (Wilderness) in 1915.
Thanks to his reputation, the municipal authorities allocated him a comfortable apartment at 1 Zacisze street, today's 1 Józef Weyssenhoff Square.[6] Besides, like the writer Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Weyssenhoff was granted a monthly subsidy. He lived alone in Bydgoszcz, but he had faithful friends who regularly visited him:[1]
He actively participated in the social and cultural life of Bydgoszcz, giving lectures on the works of great Polish writers, such as Adam Mickiewicz, Henryk Sienkiewicz or Juliusz Słowacki. Together, with Adam Grzymała-Siedlecki, Weyssenhoff actively joined the activities of the committee for the construction of the Henryk Sienkiewicz Monument in Bydgoszcz, the first to be erected in Poland.[7]
Amateur of hunting, he was one of the founders of the Bydgoszcz Hunting Society. As far as literary work is concerned, he devoted his stay to writing
"Jan bez ziemi" (Jean sans terre) published in 1929 and "Mój pamiętnik literacki" (My Literary Diary) in 1925.[6] The latter, according to Grzymała-Siedlecki, was supposed to be an introduction to a larger work.
In 1928, Weyssenhoff left Bydgoszcz and moved to Witold Ploter's estate near Włocławek before settling in Warsaw definitively. In 1929, he received the Poznań literary award. In 1932, just before his demise, an academic ceremony was held in Bydgoszcz, celebrating the 40th anniversary of his artistic career.
He was an esthete, collector of old prints, manuscripts, but also numismatics and engravings.[1]
He died on 6 July 1932, in Warsaw. He was buried at the Powązki Cemetery of Warsaw.
Personal life and family
Weyssenhoff married Aleksandra Emilia Bloch, the daughter of Jan Gotlib Bloch, a Polish banker and railway tycoon, devoted to modern industrial warfare. Weyssenhoff and Alexandra lived separately from 1895 onwards. Alexandra passed away in 1939.
They had four children:[8]
Józef's cousin was the painterHenryk Weyssenhoff (1859-1922). Henryk illustrated two of Józef's books, "Erotyki" (1911) and "Soból i Panna" (1913).[11]
Józef's nephew was Władysław August Kościelski [pl] (1886-1933), a Polish poet, publisher and main shareholder of the "Biblioteka Polska" Publishing Institute in Bydgoszcz and Warsaw.[12]
Themes and works
Weyssenhoff is considered as a great stylist, in particular in his descriptions of nature and hunting. He wrote novels, short stories, poems and memoires. Additionally, he translated into Polish some of Heinrich Heine's works.
Zacisze Street, where Weyssenhoff lived while in Bydgoszcz, was renamed Weyssenhoff Square.
In 1960, a red granite commemorative plaque has been unveiled at the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth; it was placed on the front wall of the building he lived in at 1 Weyssenhoff Square. The text mentions "Between 1924 and 1928, has lived here the Polish writer Józef Weyssenhoff (1860–1932), eulogist of nature and hunting."
^ abcdDanowska, Ewa (2015). Józef Weyssenhoff (1860–1932) – pisarz, bibliofil, kolekcjoner. Nieznane oblicze twórcy. Kielce: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jana Kochanowskiego. ISBN9788371336386.
^Konieczny, Jerzy (1990). Adam Grzymała-Siedlecki w obronie Henryka Sienkiewicza. Kronika Bydgoska XII. Bydgoszcz: Towarzystwo Miłosnikow Miasta Bydgoszczy - Bydgoskie Towarzystwo Naukowe. pp. 301–303.
^Mila, Leszek (28 September 2019). "Józef Weyssenhoff". geni.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
^Karczmarczyk, Waldemar (2021). "Weyssenhoff Jan (1774-1848)". napoleon.org.pl. Włodzimierz Nabywaniec i Przemysław Dunaj. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
^"Henryk Weyssenhoff". sztuka.agraart.pl. Agra-Art SA. 2017. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
^Janusz Kutta, Marek Romaniuk, Stanisław Błażejewski (1994). Bydgoski Słownik Biograficzny. Bydgoszcz: Kujawsko-Pomorskie Towarzystwo Kulturalne. pp. 68–69.
^Weyssenhoff, Józef (1894). Lyrica. Kraków: Druk. "Czasu".
(in Polish) Danowska, Ewa (2015). Józef Weyssenhoff (1860–1932) – pisarz, bibliofil, kolekcjoner. Nieznane oblicze twórcy. Kielce: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jana Kochanowskiego. ISBN9788371336386.
(in Polish) Janusz Kutta, Marek Romaniuk, Stanisław Błażejewski (1994). Bydgoski Słownik Biograficzny. Bydgoszcz: Kujawsko-Pomorskie Towarzystwo Kulturalne. pp. 68–69.
(in Polish) Reychman, Kazimierz (1936). Szkice genealogiczne: Serja 1. Warsaw: F. Hoesick. pp. 25–27.