Adam Chętnik (; born 20 December 1885 in

Nowogród Nowogród is a small town in northeastern Poland, located about away from the city of Łomża, Łomża County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, with 1,998 inhabitants (2004). It is centered on the area known as Skansen Kurpiowski which is an open-air m ...

; died 29 May 1967 in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

) was a Polish

ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

who studied the Kurpie. He is the author of several books on the Kurpie residing in

Puszcza Zielona Puszcza Zielona (; {{lit, Green Wilderness) is a forest in Poland which extends from the Narew River and the border with the region of Masuria. It is bounded on the east by the Pisa River and on the west by the Orzyc (river), Orzyc River. The fores ...

. In 1927 he founded Skansen Kurpiowski in

, an

open-air museum An open-air museum is a museum that exhibits collections of buildings and artifacts outdoors. It is also frequently known as a museum of buildings or a folk museum. Definition Open air is "the unconfined atmosphere ... outside buildings" ...

dedicated to Kurpie culture. He published over 100 scholarly works. He was also an elected deputy to the

Sejm The Sejm (), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (), is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Poland. The Sejm has been the highest governing body of the Third Polish Republic since the Polish People' ...

, as well as a member of the

Polish Academy of Learning The Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences or Polish Academy of Learning (, PAU), headquartered in Kraków and founded in 1872, is one of two institutions in contemporary Poland having the nature of an academy of sciences (the other being the Po ...

. In the first years of the

independence of Poland Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of a ...

, with the establishment of the

Polish Second Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I. ...

he was a member of the Sejm of the 1st term (1922–1927) on behalf of the

Popular National Union Związek Ludowo-Narodowy (ZLN; ) was a Polish political party aligned with the National Democracy political movement during the Second Polish Republic, gathering together right-wing politicians with conservative and nationalist opinions. Between ...

. As a member of parliament from the

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

region, he sat on committees dealing with regional affairs: forest management, regulation of the Narew River, economic and educational issues, and defended the interests of the region by submitting motions and parliamentary interpellations. After the end of the Sejm term, he withdrew from political activity and devoted himself to scientific work.

Works

* ''Puszcza Kurpiowska'', 1913 * ''Chata Kurpiowska'', 1915 * ''Życie Puszczańskie Kurpiów'' * ''Mazurskim szlakiem'', 1939 * monografie Nowogrodu, Myszyńca, Dąbrówki, Opęchowa. * ''Kurpie'' * ''Z Kurpiowskich obozów'' * ''Obrazki i gadki'' * ''Krótki przewodnik po Kurpiach'' * ''Kalendarzyk zwyczajów i obrzędów ludu kurpiowskiego'' * ''O bursztynie i przemyśle bursztyniarskim''

References

Wrota Podlasia - Adam Chętnik

* Marian Pokropek, ''Adam Chętnik - badacz Kurpiowszczyzny'', Ostrołęckie Towarzystwo Naukowe, Muzeum Okręgowe w Ostrołęce, 1992

External links

Związek Kurpiów - Adam Chętnik
1885 births 1967 deaths People from Łomża County People from Łomża Governorate Popular National Union politicians Members of the Sejm of the Second Polish Republic (1922–1927) Polish ethnographers Members of the Polish Academy of Learning Officers of the Order of Polonia Restituta Knights of the Order of Polonia Restituta Recipients of the Gold Cross of Merit (Poland) {{Poland-academic-bio-stub