Memento Mori. Burials of the Lords of Pszczyna

TEMPORARY EXHIBITION

Memento Mori.

Burials of the Lords of Pszczyna

The sarcophagi presented in the exhibition originally rested in the southern chapel of the parish church of All Saints in Pszczyna. They held the remains of the owners of Pszczyna belonging to the Promnitz family.

Members of this family ruled the Pszczyna land for 217 years and belonged to the elite of their society, which is why this crypt is called the "Pszczyna Wawel". The grand Promnitz court was frequently visited by the most distinguished European dignitaries and officials, including kings.

The exhibition consists of two parts. The first presents materials concerning the burials of all the lords of Pszczyna. Visitors have a unique opportunity to study detailed documentation, including letters of condolence and thanks, photographs from funerals and press reports, as well as regulations on how mourning was to be observed. The exhibition has been enriched with descriptions of official and private funerals, including, for example, Princess Daisy von Pless's account of the funeral of Prince Hans Heinrich XI von Hochberg, which she recorded in the pages of her diary. Preserved and displayed portraits of some lords of Pszczyna, their abridged biographies and indications of burial places make it possible to explore the history of people, customs, and the Castle itself.

The second part of the exhibition presents eight decorative sarcophagi of the lords of Pszczyna from the Promnitz family. These historic objects come from the so-called Promnitz Crypt in the parish church of All Saints in Pszczyna. In recent years they have undergone complex conservation and restoration work, making them very valuable exhibits presented by the Pszczyna Castle Museum.

Exhibits from the collections of: the Roman Catholic Parish of All Saints and Our Lady of the Rosary in Pszczyna, the State Archive in Katowice Pszczyna Branch, the Pszczyna Castle Museum, and private collections.

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Research and conservation work has been carried out since 2007 by the Upper Silesian Branch of the Polish Archaeologists' Scientific Association and the Monument Conservation Workshop in Tychy, and is financed by the Silesian Monument Conservator in Katowice. The team includes: dr hab. Henryk Głąb (anthropologist, Jagiellonian University, Department of Anthropology), dr hab. Małgorzata Grupa prof. UMK ((archaeologist, monument conservator, specialist in historical textiles, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnology), dr Mirosław Furmanek (archaeologist, University of Wrocław, Institute of Archaeology), dr Małgorzata Kępa (anthropologist, Jagiellonian University, Department of Anthropology), Sławomir Kulpa (archaeologist, Museum in Wodzisław Śląski), dr Norbert Mika (historian), Adrian Podgórski (archaeologist, Museum in Wodzisław Śląski), Agnieszka and Tomasz Trzos (art conservators, A.T. Monument Conservation Workshop in Tychy), Agata Sady (archaeobotanist, Silesian Museum in Katowice).