|
||
|
|
|
|
Vilnius as the Capital of the Republic of Central Lithuania.
Detailed Polish-language map of the city of Vilnius, Lithuania, published by Józefa Zawadzkiego, after information from the head of the city survey bureau, Stanisław Janusziewicz. Interestingly, the imprint line at lower-right says that the map was produced by the graphic studios of the publishing institution of the "Polish Library" in Bydgoszcz.
The cover of the accompanying booklet gives a date of 1922, whereas the map states that it was published in 1921. From 1920 to 1922, Vilnius was the capital of the short-lived Republic of Central Lithuania established by Polish general Lucjan Żeligowski, who seized the city supported with his army – in 1922 it became the part of Województwo Wileńskie, and until 1939 Vilnius was a part of Poland.
The map is an interesting document showing the toponymic transition of Vilnius from the Russian Empire to modern Eastern Europe.
The booklet of 16 pages mentions 133 key city buildings on 2 pages. In 1923, the city had about 167,000 residents. The majority of the booklet is concerned with city names with “old” (i.e., Russian) toponyms and the “new” (i.e., “non-Tsarist” Polish toponyms). It is clearly visible how much Poles disliked the Russian government, as literally all the street names of Russian origin were renamed.
Rarity
Rare. WorldCat locates 3 copies of this map with only one outside Poland (University of Chicago Library).
