Exhibitions

Exhibition description

This exhibition commemorates King Jan III Sobieski’s passage through Tarnowskie Góry with his troops en route to Vienna. The King stayed in the town from August 20 to 22, 1683, where he bid farewell to his wife, Queen Marie Casimire. The Tarnowskie Góry Museum’s collection includes numerous fascinating artefacts that celebrate the monarch and his era, offering a glimpse into this pivotal period of Poland’s history.

The exhibition features several notable 17th-century portraits of the King. Among the highlights are 19th-century portrait miniatures and paintings, including The Victory at Vienna by Piotr Łuczyński from the early 19th century, and King Sobieski’s Welcome by the Viennese after His Victory over the Turks, painted in Tarnowskie Góry in 1840 by Zygmunt Grimer.

The glory of the King’s heroic victory is also captured in various prints, including reproductions of paintings from the church in Zhovkva. A particularly noteworthy item is a 17th-century copperplate engraving by the Dutch artist Pieter Stevens and French printmaker Simon Troyes Tomassin from 1696, depicting the King in a bust wearing Roman imperial attire. Also featured are commemorative medals and plaques minted to honour the 200th, 250th, and 300th anniversaries of the Vienna Victory. Of special interest are medals from Sobieski’s reign, including two minted in 1683: one by the Breslau medallist Jan Kittel, featuring a symbolic representation of the sun triumphing over the Turkish crescent, and another Viennese medal showing a panoramic view of Vienna with a battle fragment. Other medals reflect the legacy of Sobieski’s descendants, such as a piece minted in 1719 to commemorate the wedding of his granddaughter Clementine, who is portrayed alongside James Stuart, the pretender to the English throne. Another significant medal, minted in 1862, marks the discovery of the remains of Sobieski’s descendants. Sculptural representations of the King include a bust cast at the Łopieńskis’ workshop and a bronze equestrian monument design, created in 1918 by the Cracovian sculptor Zygmunt Langman, featuring hussar figures on the plinth.

Complementing these tributes to the King are valuable artefacts from his time. These include rare examples of hussar armour, fragments of 17th-century armour (cuirass, chainmail, chainmail, and szyszak helmet), and period weapons such as a Turkish yataghan, an Eastern karabela, and a sabre. Additionally, fragments of Sarmatian dress, such as two kontusz belts and a richly adorned szkofia (traditional cap ornament), provide further insight into the era’s material culture. Visitors can also view old prints and publications connected with Jan III Sobieski, including J. B. de Recoles’s Vienne Deux…, published in Leiden in 1684, with the king’s portrait and a description of the Vienna Victory, and the manuscript Dyaryusz elekcyi Króla Polskiego nowego po śmierci naiaśnieyszego Iana III [Diary of the Election of the New King of Poland after the Death of the Most Illustrious John III] from 1697. Among more recent works, note Piekary, by Eugeniusz Mieczowski, a drama set during the Vienna campaign, published in 1933 by Karol Miarka’s print shop in Królewska Huta.

The Tarnowskie Góry Museum boasts one of the largest collections related to King Jan III Sobieski outside of Warsaw and Kraków. The memory of Sobieski remains deeply embedded in the town’s cultural identity. He is one of the central figures in the Gwarki Parade, a key feature of the annual three-day Gwarki Festival, celebrated each September.