Polonezköy
Encyclopedia
Polonezköy or Adampol is a small village at the Asian side of Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, about 30 kilometers away from the historic city center, within the boundaries of the Beykoz
Beykoz
Beykoz is a district in the suburbs of Istanbul, Turkey at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. Beykoz includes everything from the streams of Küçüksu and Göksu up to the opening of the Bosphorus into the Black Sea, and the villages in the hinterland as far as the river of Riva...

 district. It was founded in 1842 by Polish
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...

 settlers.

History of Polonezköy

Polish-Turkish relations have been good since the 18th century, and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 was the only major power in the world which never recognized the dissolution and partitioning of 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...

 between Austria
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

 and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

, while (Istanbul) remained as the only capital city in the world to maintain a "Polish Ambassador" until the end of the First World War and the subsequent re-creation of 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...

.

Polonezköy (Adampol) was founded by Duke Adam Czartoryski
Adam Czartoryski
Adam Czartoryski can refer to:* Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski , Polish nobleman and man of letters* Adam Jerzy Czartoryski , Polish nobleman and minister of the Russian Empire* Adam Karol Czartoryski...

 in 1842. He was the Chairman of the Polish National Uprising Government and the leader of a political emigration party. The settlement was named Adam-koj (Adamköy) after its founder, which means the "Village of Adam" in Turkish (Adampol means "Town of Adam" in Polish).

Duke Adam Czartoryski wanted to create the second emigration centre here (the first one was in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

). He sent his representative, Michał Czajkowski, to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. Michał Czajkowski, after converting to Islam in 1850, became known as Mehmed Sadyk Pasza (Mehmet Sadık Paşa). He purchased the forest area which encompasses present-day Adampol from a missionary order of Lazarists. Plans were made to establish Adampol on this area in the future.

At the beginning, the village was inhabited by 12 people, but there were no more than 220 people when the village was most populated. In the course of time, Adampol developed and was flooded by a lot of emigrants from the rebellion in November 1830, during the Crimean War in 1853, and by runaways from Siberia and from captivity in Circassia
Circassia
Circassia was an independent mountainous country located in the Caucasus region of Eurasia and was the largest and most important country in the Caucasus. Circassia was located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea...

. The first inhabitants busied themselves with agriculture, raising and forestry. After Polish independence in 1918, many returned to Poland. Before World War II, the first tourists already began to arrive to the village. The remaining inhabitants of Adampol (Polonezköy) took Turkish citizenship in 1938.

Adampol's town chronicles registered the visits of famous people such as Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...

 (1847), French writer Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert was a French writer who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. He is known especially for his first published novel, Madame Bovary , and for his scrupulous devotion to his art and style.-Early life and education:Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821, in Rouen,...

 (1850), Czech writer Karel Droz (1904), the first President of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....

 (1937), Pope Nuncio Angelo Roncalli - the future Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...

 (in 1941 some children received confirmation from him during his visit) and the first Polish diplomat after the Second World War, Adam Rapacki
Adam Rapacki
Adam Rapacki was a Polish politician and diplomat.-Life:Rapacki was born in Lemberg, Austria-Hungary in 1909. He was a member of the Polish Socialist Party from 1945 to 1948 as well as its successor, the Polish United Workers' Party...

, then the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the PRL, accompanied by Turkish dignitaries (1961).

In 1985 the village was visited by the President of Turkey Kenan Evren
Kenan Evren
Ahmet Kenan Evren was the seventh President of Turkey; a post he assumed by leading the 1980 military coup. He was also the last president to be born in the Ottoman Empire.- Biography :...

, and in 1994 by Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish politician, trade-union organizer, and human-rights activist. A charismatic leader, he co-founded Solidarity , the Soviet bloc's first independent trade union, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1983, and served as President of Poland between 1990 and 95.Wałęsa was an electrician...

. The next President of Poland, Aleksander Kwaśniewski
Aleksander Kwasniewski
Aleksander Kwaśniewski is a Polish politician who served as the President of Poland from 1995 to 2005. He was born in Białogard, and during communist rule he was active in the Socialist Union of Polish Students and was the Minister for Sport in the communist government in the 1980s...

, twice came to Adampol (in 1996 and 2000) where he visited the Memorial House of Zofia Ryży. Two years later Adampol celebrated the 160th anniversary of its founding.

Polish citizens (descendants of the founders of Adampol) often come back to Turkey in order to visit the settlement of their forefathers. Nowadays, there are about 1,000 people in Adampol and around 40 of them speak Polish fluently. There is a festival in Adampol (Polonezköy) every summer which enhances the cultural relationship between Adampol and Poland. The inhabitants pay some folk bands from 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...

 on their own and invite them to come to Adampol.

Famous Turks with partial Polish ancestry include the poet and playwright Nazım Hikmet
Nazim Hikmet
Nâzım Hikmet Ran , commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet , was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements"...

, and the soprano opera singer Leyla Gencer
Leyla Gencer
Leyla Gencer, or Ayşe Leyla Çeyrekgil was a world-renowned Turkish operatic soprano.Known as "La Diva Turca" and "La Regina" in the opera world, Gencer was a notable bel canto soprano who spent most of her career in Italy, from the early 1950s through the mid-1980s, and had a repertoire...

.

Monuments and places of interest

  • Memorial House of Zofia Rizi, housing souvenirs, old and new photos, books and documents, and historic interior decoration.

  • Our Lady of Częstochowa Church, was a religious center for the Polish residents.

  • The Polish Cemetery, with some interesting graves, especially Ludwiga Śniadecka's grave, who was a loved-one of Słowacki. There are also 92 other graves, which have been renovated by the Fight and Martyrdom Memory Protection Council.

External links

  • http://www.polonezkoy.com
  • http://www.polonezkoy.com/index_eng.asp (English)
  • http://www.polonezkoy.com/zofiarizi-eng.html (The House of the Memory of Zofia Ryży)
  • http://www.polonezkoy.com/cemetery.html (Polish Catholic Cemetery)
  • http://www.istanbul.gov.tr/Default.aspx?pid=379
  • http://www.adampol-polonezkoy.pl Memorial House of Zofia Ryży
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