''Szkoła Rycerska'' ( en, School of Chivalry) or ''Akademia Szlachecka Korpusu Kadetów Jego Królewskiej Mości i Rzeczypospolitej'' (English: ''Nobles' Academy of the Corps of Cadets of His Royal Majesty and the Commonwealth'') was the first state school in the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

18th century

The state Corps of Cadets was established in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

on 15 March 1765 by King

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...

. The Corps of Cadets was housed in the

Kazimierz Palace The Kazimierz Palace ( pl, Pałac Kazimierzowski) is a rebuilt palace in Warsaw, Poland. It is adjacent to the Royal Route, at '' Krakowskie Przedmieście 26/28''. Originally built in 1637-41, it was first rebuilt in 1660 for King John II Casim ...

(''Pałac Kazimierzowski'', now the rectorate of Warsaw University). The Corps' commandant was Prince

Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential List of Polish people, Polish szlachcic, aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts an ...

. The Corps of Cadets was closed in 1795 following the suppression of the

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Pr ...

, which had been led by one of the Corps' first alumni,

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, an ...

. In the reign of

, several private corps of cadets were also established: by A. Tyzenhauz at

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

, K. Radziwiłł at

Nieśwież Nesvizh, Niasviž ( be, Нясві́ж ; lt, Nesvyžius; pl, Nieśwież; russian: Не́свиж; yi, ניעסוויז; la, Nesvisium) is a city in Belarus. It is the administrative centre of the Nyasvizh District (''rajon'') of Minsk Region ...

, W. Potocki at Niemirów, A. Sułkowski at

Rydzyna Rydzyna (pronounced , german: Reisen) is a historic town in western Poland, located in the southern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, 10 km south of Leszno, in the Leszno County, close to the main Poznań - Wrocław highway S5. The ...

Interbellum

In the period between the two World Wars, the institution of the Corps of Cadets would be revived in Poland. Three state secondary schools of that name would be created: at

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

(later at

Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...

), at Modlin (later at Chełmno) and at Rawicz.

After World War II

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in the

People's Republic of Poland The Polish People's Republic ( pl, Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1947 to 1989 as the predecessor of the modern Republic of Poland. With a population of approximately 37.9 million nea ...

, until 1956, there existed in Warsaw a Corps of Cadets of the Internal Security Corps (''Korpus Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego'').

Revival

The original Corps' work is continued by ''Fundacja Szkoła Rycerska''.

Notable alumni

Romualdas Giedraitis Romualdas is a Lithuanian masculine given name. List of people named Romualdas * Romualdas Aleliūnas (born 1960), Lithuanian designer of ceramics *Romualdas Brazauskas (born 1960), Lithuanian basketball referee *Romualdas Granauskas Romualdas Gra ...

* Jakub Jasiński * Hans Moritz Hauke * Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz * Karol Kniaziewicz *

Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha Prince Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha (1757–1798) was a Polish- Lithuanian noble ( szlachcic) and one the creators of the 3 May Constitution. Biography Early life and career Kazimierz Sapieha was educated at the Knight School in Warsaw from 1767 ...

Józef Sowiński Józef Sowiński (1777–1831) was a Polish artillery general and one of the heroes of Poland's November 1830 Uprising. Biography Józef Longin Sowiński was born on 15 March 1777 in Warsaw. After graduating from the famous Corps of Cadets ...

Rajmund Rembieliński Rajmund Rembieliński (1774–1841) was a Polish nobleman ( szlachcic), political activist, and landowner. Rembieliński owned estates in Jedwabne, Krośniewice and Giełczyn. He was a graduate of the Knight School in Warsaw (1788–1 ...

Notes

References

*"''Korpusy kadetów''" ("Corps of cadets"), '' Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN'' (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), volume 2, Warsaw,

Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i P ...

, 1974, p. 566. Defunct schools in Poland 1795 disestablishments Educational institutions established in 1765 History of Warsaw Universities and colleges in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth Educational institutions disestablished in the 1790s {{Poland-school-stub