This text has two goals: to discuss a surviving fragment of correspondence between Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna and her friend Melania Plater-Zyberk, and to provide information on the latter (since she is a part of the little known circle of people close to Iłłakowiczówna). A fragment of her correspondence with the poet dating back to the period from 1960 to 1970 has survived in the authors family. The collection includes fifteen letters written on postcards and seasonal cards. The poet provides information on her daily concerns, intentions, arranged meetings, and also discusses her literary and artistic achievements. Kazimiera Iłłakowiczówna’s letters are private and as such enrich with new tones the poet’s extensive epistolography - both the official and the family correspondence kept in four Polish libraries (with the largest collection kept in the Kórnik Library).

The article presents sources concerning the situation of the Jewish community in Poland in the independence-formation period. The documents were most probably drawn up by the Polish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and sent to the Polish Mission in Rome. Illustrative reports from the activity of foreign commissions: the US commission led by Henry Morgenthau and the British commission led by Stewart M. Samuel (which investigated the reported cases of pogroms and the persecution of Jews for several months in 1919) as well as a report by Peter Wright, a member of the British commission, were published. The reports have a high educational and historical value, since they present a rather balanced approach, and conclude that there were no pogroms, that the poor situation of Jews resulted from the generally disastrous condition of our country, which was devastated by the war, and that their accusations against the Polish government had proved to be groundless. The published documents are an interesting picture of the situation of the Republic of Poland, which was experiencing a rebirth after 123 years.

Two wooden piles, which used to be a part of the strengthening of the castle island are stored in Kórnik Castle. They were most probably excavated at the turn of the 1950s, during refurbishment works. In 2013, they were examined dendrochronologically and subjected to radiocarbon dating so that their age could be determined. It was established that the trees from which the piles were made were cut in 1511 (- 7/+8) (result for the oak sample) and 1512 (result for the alder sample).

The fifth part of letters by Maria Harsdorf nee Gniewosz covers the very sad, last period of her friendship with Helena Mycielska from the region of Wielkopolska. It was in this period that the letters’ authors father died, soon and rather unexpectedly followed by her husband, Tadeusz Harsdorf. In about 1910, Maria’s short life also came to an end. In her last letters, Maria devoted a lot of space to her family, expressing concern about the condition of her parents, and in particular her seriously ill father. She often told her friend about the great loneliness she experienced after her husband’s death. As a deeply religious person, she believed that everything in her life happened out of God’s will and she consented to it. Despite the tragic experience, she was vividly interested in the congregation for the local female land owners, which was established in 1902, and she even agreed to become their president. As a result, she was in close contact with Józef Teodorowicz, a Lvov archbishop of Armenian rite. She remained interested in the activity of Polish “feminists”, although she was always critical about it. She described difficult moments connected with the agricultural strikes in 1906. She recalled the books she had read: mainly religious and philosophical ones. She shared her thoughts concerning her trips undertaken in order to repair her constantly deteriorating health. She dreamed of going to Italy together with Helena - a trip which subsequently never happened. The two friends never met again either, although Maria very often wrote how much she wanted their encounter and referred to it.

This article is a proposal of a new edition of the text of Agnus Dei contained in the manuscript kept in the Kórnik Library (manuscript No. BK 101), consisting of comprehensive transliteration, scientific transcription with linguistic commentary and - which is a significant novelty compared to the previous editions of historical texts - philological translation. The combined analysis of language and versification allowed for a fuller reading of the meaning of the text and - in consequence - the drafting of a new transliteration and transcription, in many places different from the one published by M. Muszyński in 1968. The article contains a description of the codex in which the presented text is written, a short history of the European and Polish cult of wax medallions consecrated by the Pope, as well as the Latin text of a poem about Agnus Dei, which may be the source (although not necessarily a direct one) of the Polish text.

This article discusses the history and architecture of a typical urban smallholding located at ul. Poznańska 13 in Kórnik belonging to the Michałowski family and the daily life which occurred there. The property used to include a house, pig-sties, a stable, and a garden, all of which were located between the main town road and the edge of the lake, as well as a barn and a field situated outside the town. The owner of such an urban smallholding used to be referred to as a civis agricola, or Ackerburger in German. In the 18th century, the holding belonged to the Biniaks, a family o f craftsmen. Towards the end of the century, along with the hand of Katarzyna Biniak (ca. 1764-1844), it became the property of Andrzej Michałowski (1763-1830), a carpenter from the neighbouring town of Bnin. The current house and the surviving outbuildings were built in 1878 by Andrzej’s grandson, Michał Michałowski (1832-1902). It was one of the so-called Grunderzeit investment projects implemented at the beginning of the reign of Wilhelm I, Emperor of Prussia. From Michał, the property was taken over by Franciszek Michałowski (1858-1924) and his wife Anna nee Szelążkiewicz (1878-1962). The author extensively discusses the daily life in the smallholding in the first decades of the 20th century on the basis of written and oral sources collected also from their son Stanisław (1903-1984) and granddaughter Bogusława Michałowska-Kowalska (*1931), the author’s mother. Some furniture, windows, doors, paintings, daily objects, and numerous documents from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century have managed to survive in the house until today. The later history of the property reflects the subsequent changes taking place in the life of the region and the country. After Franciszek’s death, Anna rebuilt the house, which ceased to be one household, becoming several tenant flats. During the Nazi occupation, Anna Michałowska was displaced, and deprived of her right to the property for the benefit of a German woman (Ursula Lehmann?). After 1945, the communist authorities assigned several families to live in the household, leaving only one room for Anna’s son, Stanisław. At that time, his political career (as an MP and as Deputy Mayor of Grudziądz in the 1930s; he was a member of the underground national authorities during the occupation) had been broken. During Stalinist times, he was imprisoned and was unable to practice his profession. It was then that he came back to Kórnik and the house became again the centre of a smallholding. Currently, it is the living place of the author - Stanisław’s grandson - and his closest family.