Historic constitution in historical archives
PR dla Zagranicy
Paweł Kononczuk
03.05.2016 12:22
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Historic manuscript in historical archives
The original manuscript copies of the 3 May, 1791 Constitution preserved in Polish archives are all special, each having a unique history.
Original manuscript of Poland's 1791 constitution. Photo: PAP/Jacek Turczyk
Original copies were at one stage zealously tracked by opponents who aimed to destroy them. Fortunately, a few copies have survived to this day and are now on display in the Central Archives of Historical Records in Warsaw, where Michał Owczarek tried to find more on their history. He spoke to director Hubert Wajs.
“Three weeks after enactment, an English newspaper wrote about the Constitution and in June [1791] the whole text was translated into English,” Wajs said.