Projekt programu uroczystości rocznicy uchwalenia Ustawy Rządowej a ich przebieg w Warszawie w 1792 r.

Abstract

Draft programme of the celebrations of the anniversary of the Governance Act and the course of the celebrations in Warsaw in 1792 The aim of the article is to present the work on the programme for the Warsaw celebrations of the first anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of 3 May. The subject matter of the article has not so far been examined in historiography in great detail. The source materials used are: the correspondence of Polish politicians and diplomats of foreign states (Russia, Prussia, Austria) residing in Poland, and a hitherto unknown draft of the programme of the celebrations planned for 3 May 1792. The article contains a timeline of the work on the celebrations of the first anniversary of the Governance Act. The author also analyses the work of the Sejm concerning the anniversary of the 3 May revolution. The idea to organise such celebrations was put forward by Hugo Kołłątaj in late February 1792, after the completion of assemblies convened to adopt a position on the constitution promulgated in the previous year. Wojciech Szczygielski calls the campaign carried out at the time a “3 May referendum”. The final version of the scenario of the celebrations was formulated in late April that year. The author points to the changes in the planning of the various elements of the ceremony: name-day wishes for the king, audience at the Holy Cross Church and laying of the foundation stone for the construction of the Church of Divine Providence. Of crucial importance was a change in the ideological tone of the planned celebrations. Like during the work on the Constitution of 3 May, two ideologies, monarchism and republicanism, clashed during the preparations of the programme for celebrations. The latter won.