Celebration at the “růžovym palouček” in Zaclerz

After his defeat at the Battle of the White Mountain and as a result of increased political and religious repression, Jan Amos Comenius decided in 1628 to go into exile through Silesia to Poland, to Leszno, together with a group of confreres. One of the places where the exiles gathered before leaving their homeland is - located today on the Polish-Czech border - Žacleř.

On May 17 of this year, a ceremony was held at the site, now known as “růžový palouček” (rose meadow), organized by the “Exulant” Society, to unveil a plaque with the inscription “I cannot forget you, my dear homeland,” commemorating the 80th anniversary of the return of descendants, scattered throughout the world, of the exiles to the “land of their fathers.” According to incomplete data, more than 11,000 of them returned between 1923 and 1925, and especially after World War II between 1945 and 1947, but they faced discrimination and humiliation, this time from the Communist authorities. As Society board member Jan Bistranin noted in his speech, “the circle has closed, the ancestors fled in search of freedom of conscience, the descendants returned, but nothing has changed here.”

In addition to representatives of the Czech civil and ecclesiastical authorities, guests from the Zelów parish, as well as residents of the city and members of the “Exulant” Society, the ceremony was attended by a delegation from our University in the persons of the Vice-Rector for Science and Cooperation with Foreign Countries, Professor Maciej Pietrzak, Vice-Rector for Education Damian Kedziora, M.Sc. and Dr. Eugeniusz Sliwinski. In his speech, Professor Maciej Pietrzak stressed the importance of the didactic and ideological achievements and legacy of Jan Amos Comenius for the university under his patronage. Czech friends welcomed the concept of creating a “růžové palouček” at the university's Garden of Nations.