The year 1830 is one of the most important dates in the history of both Belgium and Poland. The Belgian Revolution erupted on August 25, and on November 18, the new state’s independence was solemnly declared. On November 29, the November Uprising, the anti-Russian uprising in Poland, broke out. Between those two well-known historical events, there exists an often forgotten, but direct connection: the decision to initiate the uprising in Warsaw was taken in response to rumors about the planned deployment of Polish troops by the tsar in an intervention to suppress the Belgian revolution. After the fall of the November Uprising, a wave of emigrants, including many soldiers and officers, reached a newly independent Belgium, and, subsequently, some of them joined the Belgian army.

Belgium’s central location on the one hand, and the active participation of Belgians in the cultural life of other European countries, on the other, made the country a recurring element in the biographies of many outstanding Polish writers, artists, and musicians of the time. Eminent poets, such as Adam Mickiewicz, Cyprian Kamil Norwid, and Juliusz Słowacki, musicians, such as Fryderyk Chopin, who was friends with several of his outstanding Belgian peers, as well as scientists and scholars, including the historian and geographer Joachim Lelewel, either visited Belgium, or lived here briefly, or for longer periods of time.

Hence, the idea to present such mutual connections in a series of short texts which showcase the impact of those outstanding Polish personages — Polish intellectuals and artists — on the newly formed Kingdom of Belgium, was conceived. By publishing this compact yet insightful work, the Polish Institute Brussels takes its first step in documenting the history of Poles who takes Belgium, lived here, and left a lasting mark on the young country. By sharing their stories with a broader audience, we hope to highlight their contributions to the Belgian culture, science and society, and to raise the awareness of the shared chapters in the Polish and Belgian history.

It is worth noting that Poland and Belgium officially established diplomatic relations in 1919, which makes for over a century of cooperation and exchange between our nations. We take a great pride in continuing this partnership, in view to making a lasting impact on the European landscape we share. The Polish presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2025 was, therefore, another inspiration to embark on this work.

This publication spans the 19th and the early 20th century, but the selection is by no means exhaustive. We view it as a first chapter in presenting the stories of outstanding Polish men and women, who left their mark on Belgium, to a wider audience.

The author of the texts is Jan Zieliński, a literary historian and translator, who served as a diplomat in the Embassy of the Republic Poland in Bern from 1991 to 1997. Later on, he became a lecturer in Polish literature at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, and, from 2007 to 2021, worked as professor of world literature at the Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw.

The Polish Impact. 15 Stories of Great Poles in Belgium

Copyright: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland/Polish Institute Brussels
Publisher: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland/Polish Institute Brussels
Project coordination: Katarzyna Krause, Kaja Strzelka
Research & text: prof. Jan Zieliński
Translation: Julia Stepnowska, Mark Tardi
Correction of translation: Mark Tardi
Illustrations, collages & maps: Anna Piwowar | Siostry Piwowar Studio
Book design & composition: Anna Piwowar | Siostry Piwowar Studio

First edition
ISBN 978-83-68207-05-7
Warsaw 2025

The booklet will soon available in digital form on our website. Researchers interested in accessing the content are kindly invited to contact the secretariat: bruksela@instytutpolski.pl.