Deluge (history) - Destruction of The Commonwealth

Destruction of The Commonwealth

Swedish invasion affected the richest provinces of the Polish - Lithuanian Commonwealth (Greater Poland, Lesser Poland, Mazovia, Pomerelia, Kujawy, Podlasie), which for the most part had not been affected by major wars for 200 years. Professor Andrzej Rottermund, manager of the Royal Castle in Warsaw claims that the Swedish army robbed Poland of her most precious goods - thousands of works of art, books and valuables. Most of these items have never been returned to Poland, and are kept both in private Swedish hands, and in Stockholm museums, such as Swedish Army Museum, and Livrustkammaren. Almost all cities, towns, castles and churches in locations where Swedish troops were stationed were destroyed, and, as prof. Rottermund says, it can be seen even today, as in guides to many Polish towns and cities one will find a note that says "object destroyed during Swedish invasion". From the Royal Castle in Warsaw Swedes stole app. 200 paintings, a number of carpets and Turkish tents, musical instruments, furniture, Chinese porcelain, weapons, books, manuscripts, marbles, even dresses of maids and door frames, pulled from walls.

Huber Kowalski of University of Warsaw Institute of Archeology says that Swedes stole anything they could lay their hands on - windows, stairs, chimneys, sculptures, floors, doors and gates. Most goods were loaded on boats and transported along the Vistula to the Baltic Sea, and then to Sweden. In November 2011, archeologists of University of Warsaw found app. 70 items (total weight of five tons), which probably come from Warsaw Royal Castle. They sank in the Vistula, while being transported to Sweden. Even though Article 9 of the Treaty of Oliva stated that Sweden should return all stolen goods, all items are still kept in Stockholm and other Swedish locations. Several Polish kings (Jan Kazimierz, Jan III Sobieski, Stanisław August Poniatowski) sent official missions to Sweden, but without success. In most situations, Swedish authorities claimed that they did not know where stolen goods were. In 1911, Kraków's Academy of Science sent its own mission, which was made of renowned professors Eugeniusz Barwiński, Ludwik Birkenmajer and Jan Łoś. In Stockholm and Uppsala they found 205 manuscripts and 168 rare Polish books, describing their foundings in a report. In 2002, Warsaw Royal Castle organized exhibition "Eagle and Three Crowns", which presented many items stolen from Poland, and kept in Swedish museums. After the Deluge, the Commonwealth turned into a "cultural desert". Poland and Lithuania lost 67 libraries and 17 archives. Of all major cities of the country, only Lwów and Gdańsk were not destroyed, and when Swedish soldiers were unable to steal an item, they would destroy or burn it. In ruins were castles, palaces, churches, abbeys, towns and villages. As a result of Swedish invasion, few pre-Baroque buildings remained in Poland.

Among others, Swedish troops stole such items as:

• both Polish and Lithuanian state records (Metrica Regni Poloniae),
• royal library from Warsaw,
• libraries from Ujazdów, Toruń, Bydgoszcz, Malbork, Poznań, Grudziądz, Gniezno, Lublin, Jarosław, Vilnius, Sandomierz, Radom, and Kraków, also archives and libraries from most towns of Royal Prussia. Most of stolen books are kept in University Library at Uppsala, Royal Library at Stockholm, and private libraries of the Bielke, Oxenstierna, Rosenhahne, Wrangl and Brache families,
• all Warsaw palaces were completely robbed - Kazanowski Palace, Ossoliński Palace, Daniłłowicz Palace, Primate Palace, Bishophoric Palace, Royal Palace and Royal Castle,
• robbed and destroyed were castles and churches and almost all Polish towns, the most notable examples are Golub-Dobrzyń, Krzyżtopór, Wieluń, Krasnystaw, Wawel, Tęczyn, Lanckorona, Pieskowa Skała, Kielce, Sandomierz, Chęciny Niepołomice, Ojców, Wiśnicz, Łobzów, Kruszwica, Rabsztyn.

According to the estimates of Polish scholars I. Ihnatowicz, Z. Landau, A. Mączak and B. Zientara, the invasion of Swedish army and its allies (Brandenburg-Prussia and Transilvania), resulted in loss of 25% of population in four core Polish provinces. Lesser Poland lost 23% of population, Mazovia 40% in villages and 70% in towns, Greater Poland 50% in villages and 60% in towns. Royal Prussia lost some 60% of its population.