Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-12-05
Poland,. Greate.t Nrisfortune.

Po1and's Greatest Misfortune.
At the beginning Of the seventeenth century era
COW received mortal blow from the transferenee OF
the capital to warssw BY that time the mad period
OF elective kings had already In full swing and
cracow repeatedly fell the victim OF the rival jeal-
ousies of the candidates In 1856 Charles Gustavus
throne, came and sacked Cfacow. disarrning its
citizens expeIling all its clergy and professors.
stroying It's churches and schools and exactng
heavy contribution from the Inhabitants. No sooner
han he gone than the Transylvanian prince the
famous George Rakoczy. came and completed the
work Of devastation Again. in 100. Charles XII OF
Sweden. suffering defeat everywhere wreahed hfe
vengeance upon craoow by first piundering and then
burning II. His Polish protagonist King August II
who also elector of Saxony nothing better
to do than to carry off the copper roof OF the royal
palace TO Dresden, under the pretext needing it
for making fitting symbol OF the impending
doom. Russia and Prussia were already Poland's
track, and the so-cailod confederation Of the bar
with its chief seat at Cracow. was formed in order
TO offer resistance TO the two preying Powers.
suvaroff took Cracow by storm in 1772, and Poland
underwent her FIRST partition. Twenty years later
Poland was partitoned for the second time and
then the great rising under Kosciusko broke out In
1874 with cracow as the center OF national defensa
This time II was the end OF Poland. King Stanislas
resigned his crown and Cracow was taken and
piliased by the Austrians and Prussians. and the
latter carried off to Berlin the contents of the Royal
Treasury-ffve diadems. four scspters three globes
two golden chains and the sword OF Bolesias the
Great which had grded the oins OF the Polish kings
AZ inc cOrOnAUon CorOknony Tor seven centur1eA
nta of Ancient Glory.
Cracow became an Austrian city but with
the restoration Of the duchy OF Warsaw by Ma
poeon II Incorporated with n. BY the Treaty
OF Vienna which destroyed the duchy and sanctioned
the threefold partition OF Poland. Craeow, with a
small adjacent territory. constituted free in
dependent. and permanently neutral" republic under
the protection OF tho three Powers" The outcome
OF this protection" is well known. In 1876 Austria
attacked and annexed the republic against the pro-
tests OF England ana France. Since then cracow has
been turned into first-cass and the royal
palace became barracks and a military hospital
The university itself at first turned into Ger
school, but is Polish character was restored IN
1870. Now the visitor to Craoow sees only the
remnants OF It's ancient glory. F1orians oate-per
haps the finest monument OF Gothic architecture in
Poiand-stil marks the site OF the ancient walls In
the old market plaoe-Rynek Glowny. now rechrist-
ened Ringsplatz-stiT stand st. Marys church OF tho
thirteenth century with s exquisite high altar and
the old Clothhouse. containing the national
museum. Not far from Il IL ST. Annes church. with
the tomb Of coperncus. who, though born at Thorn,
studied and died at Cracow. Above all there the
Cathedral, the Polish Westminster. with the tombs
OF the Sobieskis. the Kasimirs. the Ponlatowshs
and Of Koseiusko himself and with statues from the
great ehisel OF Thorwaldssn. But along with these
monuments the visitor will find belts OF forts
thirty the other twelve miles In circumference
guarding the approaches 10 the city against a Rus
sian attack and barracks depots without number