Lecture: “Karol Estreicher and the fight for lost heritage”

Which works of art did Professor Karol Estreicher help to evacuate during the war? What did the subsequent struggle to recover the looted works look like, and did as many as 26 railway carriages filled with Polish cultural treasures actually return to Poland thanks to the Professor?  What was his vision for the reconstruction of the Jagiellonian University’s oldest medieval building? We will be discussing the fascinating figure of Professor Estreicher during a lecture in September as part of the “Mature for Art” series.

11 September 2026, 11.00 

During the lecture as part of the “Mature for Art” series, Dr Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk will discuss the role Karol Estreicher played in the protection and recovery of Polish cultural heritage after the Second World War. An art historian from a family of professors, a professor at the Jagiellonian University and the author of numerous books and articles, he was involved in documenting the losses to Polish culture during the German occupation and subsequently fought for their return to the country. It is to him, amongst others, that Poland and Kraków owe the recovery of the St Mary’s Altarpiece from Nuremberg, numerous paintings from the Czartoryski Museum – including, amongst others, Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine” – and priceless artefacts belonging to the Jagiellonian University.

The lecture will also explore Prof. Estreicher’s connections with the Jagiellonian University, including the restoration work carried out on his initiative at the Collegium Maius and its transformation into the Jagiellonian University Museum, of which he was also the director.

The “Mature for Art” sessions, led by art historian and long-standing ICC collaborator Dr Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk, are aimed at an adult audience, with a particular focus on mature participants. The lectures analyse issues related to art history and culture in relation to themes that have also been featured in exhibitions at the ICC. This is an excellent opportunity for discussion and for gaining a deeper understanding of the works and their context.

Practical information:

• The event will take place in a hybrid format: in person at the Collegium Maius Museum of the Jagiellonian University and online via Zoom.
• Attendance at the lectures is free of charge.
• The event will be held in Polish. 
• Participation in the lectures is free of charge.
• Lecture duration – approx. 60 min.
• To receive a link to participate in the online meeting, please send your application to the following email address: warsztaty@mck.krakow.pl.
• For detailed information, please write to warsztaty@mck.krakow.pl or call 12 42 42 860.

Dr. Małgorzata Jędrzejczyk – art historian, curator. Studied art history at Jagiellonian University, Universität Wien and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Graduate of the interdisciplinary study program Environment-Technology-Society (UJ). Author of scholarly articles on 20th century art and architecture and publications in exhibition catalogs and journals. Co-editor of an anthology of image/body texts and the publication “Komponowanie przestrzenii. Rzeźby awangardy”. Co-author and curator of the artistic and scientific program “Exercising Modernity” (Pilecki-Institut Berlin). As part of her doctoral thesis being prepared at the Institute of Art History at the Jagiellonian University, she is conducting research on the concept of space in the work of Katarzyna Kobro.