Conversation with Andrzej Turowicz

Abstract

Tyniec is a small village close to Krak6w, the ancient capital of Poland. On the bank of the river Wisia (Vistula), on a huge rock, a Benedictine Abbey was founded in the 11th century. The monastery from those days was rebuilt in the 15th and 17th centuries and nowadays is a great attraction for tourists. Several dozen friars and priests live in the monastery. One of them is a particularly interesting person, a Polish mathematician, a priest, and a monk, Professor Andrzej Turowicz. The 83-year-old priest leaves the monastery two or three times a year on special occasions. Any meeting he attends attracts many mathematicians who want to hear his stories. It is said that Professor Turowicz knew all the famous Polish mathematicians from the pre-war period. His excellent stories about mathematics and mathematicians of this time, coloured by interes t ing anecdotes , are l is tened to wi th bated breath. Andrzej Turowicz studied mathematics at the Jag ie l lonian Un ive r s i t y in Krak6w. He w o r k e d in Krak6w for some years and then in 1937 he moved to Lw6w (Lvov), where he started lecturing at the Technical University. In 1941 he came back to Krak6w and stopped working on mathematics. Immediately after the war he entered the Benedictine order and became a priest. In 1946 he started teaching mathematics at the Krzysztof Ciesielski (left), Andrzej Turowicz (center), and Zdzis~aw Pogoda (left) during the interview.