Leon Pininski
Encyclopedia
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
scientist, diplomat, art historian and politician. A professor of Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
and one-time rector of the Lwów University (1928–1929), he devoted most of his life to political career in his hometown of Lwów (modern Lviv, Ukraine), initially in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
and then in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
Leon Piniński was born in Lwów, then in Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
Galicia. An heir to Piniński aristocratic family (holding the rank of hrabia
Hrabia
Hrabia is the title used for a rank of Polish nobility roughly corresponding to that of a Count. An earlier counterpart, komes, was used for a non-hereditary office in Piast Poland and faded from use before the establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.The wife of a hrabia is a hrabina,...
- Count), he was also the owner of the Grzymałów manor. After receiving basic education at home, he passed his matura
Matura
Matura or a similar term is the common name for the high-school leaving exam or "maturity exam" in various countries, including Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Serbia,...
exam at the renowned college of Tarnopol. He then graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Lwów University. Piniński also continued his studies in Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, Berlin and Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. In 1891 he became a professor of Roman law at his alma mater
Alma mater
Alma mater , pronounced ), was used in ancient Rome as a title for various mother goddesses, especially Ceres or Cybele, and in Christianity for the Virgin Mary.-General term:...
and soon afterwards he was admitted to the Polish Academy of Skills.
However, soon afterwards he gave up his scientific career and devoted himself to local politics. A member of the Podolacy aristocratic faction, he soon became one of the most popular conservative politicians of Lwów. In 1889 he was elected to the Imperial Council
Imperial Council
The term Imperial Council might refer to any of the following:* State Council of Imperial Russia* Imperial Council of Austria...
in Vienna. In addition to that, in 1894 he was also elected to the Galician Sejm. His term in both offices ended in 1898, when he became the governor of the province of Galicia. During his term in that office he became engaged in a struggle against the growing popularity of Socialist ideas. He also tried to counter the rise of Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism
Ukrainian nationalism refers to the Ukrainian version of nationalism.Although the current Ukrainian state emerged fairly recently, some historians, such as Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Orest Subtelny and Paul Magosci have cited the medieval state of Kievan Rus' as an early precedents of specifically...
. Extremely conservative, in 1903 he was dismissed from that post and replaced with Andrzej Kazimierz Potocki, a liberal and rich industrialist and a mogul.
Although Piniński retained a seat in the Austro-Hungarian House of Lords, he retired from public life and devoted his time to extensive studies on law as well as art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
. During the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he briefly returned to politics, but was nowhere near as successful, as he used to be in his earlier days. Following the rebirth of Poland Piniński returned to his alma mater as a professor of Roman law and was also giving lectures on criminal and civil law. In 1928 and 1929 he briefly served as a rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of the Lwów University. At the same time, he continued his studies on history of art and managed to gather an extensive collection of works of art. Most of it he later donated to the Wawel Castle
Wawel Castle
The Gothic Wawel Castle in Kraków in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hen's...
Museum and the Ossolineum
Ossolineum
The Ossolineum or Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich a meritorious department for Polish science and culture , which was founded for the Polish Nation in 1817 by Józef Maksymilian Ossoliński, and was opened in 1827 in Lviv.It was one of the most important Polish...
Institution. A large part of his collection was later robbed by the Germans during the World War II and was never returned to Poland. Piniński himself retired in 1930s and died in Lwów, where he is buried.