Janowski Jan - Polish bibliographer, scientific writer and cleric. Interest in his person is caused by the fact that he made a huge contribution to the development of Polish culture of the 18th century. In addition, he was one of those who helped the Zaluski brothers arrange the first free Polish library.
Janowski Jan: a biography of the early years
The future writer was born in December 1720 in the small town of Mendzykhud. His family belonged to the so-called Puddle Estate, distributed among the direct descendants of the Serbs. But despite this, German became the native language for Jan, since all his relatives spoke it.
Senior Yanovsky was a man of work, and therefore almost always was at work. He earned his bread by trading in timber, and part-time he sewed clothes in one of his workshops. Yanovsky sent his son to study at the school of the Holy Cross, which was located in Dresden.
In the future, spiritual education will help Jan get the most important position in his life. It should be noted that the young Pole was an extremely gifted young man and quickly assimilated the material that the teachers reported. Moreover, he took an active part in the spiritual life of the school and even sang in the choir of boys in the local chapel.
Higher education
As mentioned earlier, Jan Yanovsky was a diligent and diligent student. Thanks to this, in 1738 he received a scholarship, which he subsequently spent on studying at the University of Pforz. As before, he showed himself only on the good side, which allowed him to impress many of his friends. Among them was a certain B. Kh. Jonish - a man who subsequently greatly influenced the fate of Jan Yanovsky.
However, at the university, the young man acquired not only knowledge, but also a new passion. According to available data, it was during his student years that Jan Yanovsky aroused his interest in books and literature. He devoted all his free time to studying his hobby, not stinting on frequent trips to the best libraries in the country.
The acquaintance that changed everything
In 1945, Jan Yanovsky once again visited the library in Dresden. Here the young man met with his friends, who, like him, loved books with all their hearts. Among them was B. H. Jonisch, a bibliographer and scholar already known at that time. It was he who brought together Yanovsky and Andrzej Zalouski.
This acquaintance changed everything. The men quickly found a common language, and soon Andrzej offered Jan to work for his brother Józef Zaluski. The position was very attractive - personal secretary and librarian. And if the first promised good earnings, the second allowed you to stay in the library for as long as you like.
Yan Yanovsky almost immediately accepted the offer of the brothers. In June 1745, he finally moved to Warsaw, where he rented a small apartment. The next five years, he diligently performed all the duties of a secretary, and, if necessary, helped his brothers in the library.
Church Service
On November 30, 1750, Jan Yanovsky accepted the Catholic faith. Moreover, given his spiritual education, he was immediately promoted to a lower spiritual rank. Together with the new faith, he received the middle name Andrei-Jozef.
In December of the same year, he was appointed canon to the Skalbmir College. He stayed at this sacred post until 1760, after which he was transferred to one of the Kiev cathedrals. By and large, all this time he did just that, compiling catalogs of Catholic books, for which he received great thanks from the church.
Zaluski Library
The main merit of Andrzej and Jozef Zaluski is the creation of the first free library in Poland. Preparations for its opening began in 1742, and the official start took place on August 8, 1747. Naturally, Jan Yanovsky was also directly involved in the development of such an ambitious project.
Initially, he was assigned only secondary tasks. He monitored the construction, compiled catalogs of available books, participated in auctions and so on. However, over time, the brothers gained respect for Yanovsky, and he became part of their team. For example, it is reliably known that Jan helped Jozef write the Bibliotheca Polona Magna Universalis bio-bibliographic dictionary.
Given all the merits of Yanovsky, it is not surprising that in September 1747 he was put at the head of the new library to them. Zalouskih. Together with his associates, he managed to collect more than 300 thousand books and 10 thousand manuscripts, which was a real feat for those times.
Memory in history
What did Janowski Jan leave behind? There is, of course, no photo of the bibliographer, since the first camera will appear only after his death. However, there is a small engraving depicting a Pole at a more mature age. But even so, the memory of him will live forever, because the fruits of his work are still stored in the National Library. Zalouskih. In addition, the library itself is proof that Jan Andrei-Jozef Janowski was a worthy and great man.
The only sad thing is that this Polish writer could not follow his dream to the very end. Work with books led to the fact that his vision began to gradually deteriorate. As a result, in 1775 he was completely blind. Yanovsky spent the rest of his life as a clergyman. He died on October 29, 1786 in Warsaw.