3 May Constitution Day (Święto Konstytucji 3 Maja) is a Polish national and public holiday that takes place on 3 May.

The holiday celebrates the declaration of the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Festivities date back to the Duchy of Warsaw early in the 19th century. Delisted during the times of the Polish People`s Republic, it was reestablished after thefall of communism on modern Poland. 

Following joint message of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Poland and Lithuania on the 230th anniversary of the adoption of the May 3rd Constitution and the Mutual Declaration of Both Nations

A special opera: 

An invitation from the Director of the National Opera in Warsaw, Mr Waldemar Dąbrowski:

As heirs of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, today we are celebrating the 230th anniversary of the adoption of the Government Act, i.e. the first written constitution in Europe. This historic act was not the result of a bloody revolution. The constitution did not establish a new state either, but was a harbinger of profound reforms in the republican spirit of freedom and responsibility. Its preamble emphasized that all power comes from the people. It introduced a tripartite division of powers, and legal protection was gained not only by the nobility, but also by the townspeople and peasants. The Constitution of May 3 creatively referred to the founding act of the joint Polish-Lithuanian state, which was the Union of Lublin (1569), born thanks to the visionary decision of the King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Sigismund II Augustus. Unfortunately, the reforms enshrined in the constitution could not be implemented. They were struck by the decisions of the despots who sat on the thrones of Russia and Prussia. However, the vivid memory of her remained, and her myth gave strength in the fight for independence. In the shadow of this myth and the spirit of the heritage of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Stanisław Moniuszko wrote a wonderful opera, which I invite you to watch and listen to, and which will be told more by the director of the Grand Theater – National Opera in Warsaw, Waldemar Dąbrowski

For the opera 

And a virtual monographic exhibition that present the composer’s work as well as his activity as a conductor, pedagogue and director of an opera house

And a lecture of the historian Mr. Doron Sapir from The Open University about the May 3 Constitution, its background, its Jewish aspects, its uniqueness etc. – will be published on May 3rd on our Facebook page.