Corps of Cadets (Warsaw)

Corps of Cadets, Warsaw, by Zygmunt Vogel

Szkoła Rycerska (English: 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.

18th century

Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, 18th-century commandant of the Corps of Cadets

The state Corps of Cadets was established in Warsaw on 15 March 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski.

The Corps of Cadets was housed in the Kazimierz Palace (Pałac Kazimierzowski, now the rectorate of Warsaw University). The Corps' commandant was Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski.

The Corps of Cadets was closed in 1795 following the suppression of the Kościuszko Uprising, which had been led by one of the Corps' first alumni, Tadeusz Kościuszko.

In the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, several private corps of cadets were also established: by A. Tyzenhauz at Grodno, K. Radziwiłł at Nieśwież, W. Potocki at Niemirów, A. Sułkowski at Rydzyna.^[1]

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 (later at Lwów), at Modlin (later at Chełmno) and at Rawicz.^[2]

After World War II

After World War II, in the People's Republic of Poland, until 1956, there existed in Warsaw a Corps of Cadets of the Internal Security Corps (Korpus Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego).^[3]

Revival of the original Szkoła Rycerska

Presently, the work of the Corps is continued by the Fundacja Szoła Rycerska. ^[4]

Notable alumni

Tadeusz Kościuszko, member of the Corps' first class and its most famous alumnus

• Tadeusz Kościuszko
• Jakub Jasiński
• Maurycy Hauke
• Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz
• Karol Kniaziewicz
• Kazimierz Nestor Sapieha
• Józef Sowiński
• Rajmund Rembieliński

See also

• Academy of National Defence
• Cadet Corps (disambiguation)

Notes

1. "Korpusy kadetów" ("Corps of cadets"), Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), volume 2, Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1974, p. 566.
2. "Korpusy kadetów" ("Corps of cadets"), Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), volume 2, Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1974, p. 566.
3. "Korpusy kadetów" ("Corps of cadets"), Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), volume 2, Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1974, p. 566.
4. http://szkolarycerska.pl/fundacja

References

• "Korpusy kadetów" ("Corps of cadets"), Encyklopedia Powszechna PWN (PWN Universal Encyclopedia), volume 2, Warsaw, Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1974, p. 566.