“Legendary Vilnius” – a gift from Niemież for the capital

The presentation of the album “Legendary Vilnius” took place on May 17 at the Junior High School of st. Rafał Kalinowski.

“This book is the careful work of like-minded people. It is an expression of the respect and love of students, teachers and their friends for our beautiful Vilnius – says Krystyna Masalska, the initiator of the publication of the book, to “Kurier Wileński”.

— On the occasion of the 700th anniversary of Vilnius, an idea was born to implement a transcontinental project that would connect teachers and their students not only from different countries, but also from different continents. We were looking for a way to make Polish and Lithuanian schools abroad interested in the jubilee of the city, and we managed to achieve it. Thanks to the help of teachers and students who became interested in participating in our competition, the legends known in Polish and Lithuanian versions were also translated into Italian, English and Turkish. The latter translation is an expression of the wealth of our local community, because the translation was made by the Tatar Community in Niemież. Representatives of schools from the city of Vilnius and Vilnius region (Lithuania), London (Great Britain), Rome (Italy) and Chicago (USA) contributed to this project, the teacher notes.

Mainly teachers and students of the Middle School in Niemież were involved in the release of the album. The following people participated in its preparation: Swietłana Wojtkiewicz, Anna Mackel, Bożena Bieleninik, Asta Diržiuvienė, Marina Beganskienė and Honorata Wołyniec. The album had no external sponsors, it was financed by the school.

“I would like to thank all participants of the project. Thanks to them, this book was created, on the pages of which you can read the texts of the most famous Vilnius legends, such as “The Iron Wolf” and “The Founding of Vilnius” in several languages, which is an expression of the multiculturalism of Vilnius, but also Niemież, which has always connected people of different religions and languages . This is a tradition we want to be faithful to and pass on to others,” says Masalska.

The album is richly illustrated. It uses drawings that students sent to the international art competition “Legendary Vilnius”, which preceded the release of the album. The competition met with great interest among the participants, there were also teachers willing to join the work. A special organizing committee was established, composed of representatives of methodological circles of history and art in Vilnius and the region, as well as associations of historians and artists. The works were sent not only by schools from the Vilnius and Vilnius region, but also from institutions with which the organizer established cooperation through the Virtual Polish School in Lithuania, i.e. from the United States, Italy and Great Britain. In total, 504 works from 68 schools were submitted to the competition. The works were evaluated in three age categories, and the best 38 works were presented in the form of an exhibition at the Vilnius City Council.