Young Poles know the history of Vilnius best

Three out of six winners of the Second History of Vilnius Olympiad, are students of Polish schools in Vilnius.

Barbara Mikulewicz, form G4a (I place, John Paul II Secondary School, teacher Wiktor Łozowski), Adriana Wołosewicz, form 11 (II place, Wł. Syrokomla High School, teacher Maria Narkiewicz) and Sebastian Salwiński, form G1b (II place, John Paul II Secondary School, teacher Janina Wołodkiewicz) received highest scores on the test and seized the wining places in their age groups.

The History of Vilnius Olympiad took place for a second time, it was aimed at students of forms 8-12. Over 50 students of Vilnius schools took part in it. The contest was organized with cooperation of Lithuanian History Teachers Association with department of history of Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences and Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania, where the competition took place. The participants were split into two age groups: forms 8-10 and 11-12. This year’s contest of historical knowledge included the turn of sixteen and seventeen century ‘Vilnius under the rule of Waza dynasty’.

It is heartening that in the group of young enthusiasts of the history of Vilnius, it is students of Polish schools of the capital that seize places of honor on the podium.

‘I hope that the traditional History of Vilnius Olympiad will inspire and in future gather more and more numerous crowd of history enthusiasts, and their knowledge will broaden our horizons and shape the idea of statehood not only in the capital, but also all of Lithuania’ – in such way, before the start of the competition, were the contestants greeted by Eduardas Kauklys, vice-director of the Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania.

One must hope that the contest will indeed become a motivation and encouragement for students of Polish schools to look turn to history and get to know the roots and through it confirm that presence of Poles in the Vilnius Region is not a coincidence.

Teresa Worobiej

‘Rota’