College / Collegium

“Look, this palace in the picture didn’t change at all. The same bricks, the same white patches, the same horny roofs, but so different around.

And why is this postcard at this place, do you recognise anything?

Nanny wrote that it is…no, it was an Industrial-Business and Craft School, built by a Colley in 1906-1907, which means they built it in a year? They were really fast. Probably it isn’t so important because she wrote further that …

Which means that the authorities of the Pomeranian Province (Voivodeship) were here and so was the governor’s seat. Where did nanny know that all so exactly from? Perhaps someone from her family or acquaintances worked at the Province (Voivodeship) Council, and I think this person was proud of it otherwise she wouldn’t have noted all this. It must have sense, doesn’t it?

And some kind of the dates, but not very clearly written. The notes might be from different years, beyond a doubt she wanted to keep in mind these dates and these goings-on.

Look, here it reads why Toruń was chosen the capital of the Province.

Now, everything is clear. It is then, when all those controversies and rough and tumbles started. They wrote in the papers, published brochures, and no-one knows what did they accuse one another of, instead of doing something sensible together…

I completely don’t understand what they were so jealous of. What a craze such a capital of the province is? They could rule from here or from there, Poland is everywhere. Build here and there, but they built and repaired things only at home : here or there. And I heard somewhere that Bydgoszcz was not only more germanised than Toruń, but also there was more factories and industry, so more blue collar workers, the proletariat, you know, it was poorer there and they probably lived in worse houses, so they didn’t read books and the culture was different than in Toruń. And in Toruń there was more of intelligentsia and the Polish tradition was stronger. Polish Government was very particular about a strong Polish town to become a capital of Pomerania and take over the role of Gdańsk”

“ Hey, are you really interested in all these things, all this old staff?” - he asked impatiently.” You believe in some kind of treasures, you examine rubbish, yet it’s as dull as ditch water” he nervously tried to divert her attention from Bydgoszcz. “Sure, it interests me, because when you can learn about something interesting, then why not? And besides, I like Toruń and I also like Bydgoszcz, and in addition I want to know what they found. If they wanted, I’m not worse. But it’s dull alone and it’s good that the matter entertains you too.“ He didn’t deny as what he was to say?

Probably such a loitering is better than sitting around doing nothing? To show his interest in the diary, he started browsing through it and looking for familiar places. ”Are there any hints in here?” – he asked. “Because I don’t see any Copernicus monument or any connections with Copernicus.”

“Well, I don’t know if the extracts from the dictionary can be recognized as hints, maybe yes, maybe no…” she wondered aloud..

“What is it all about? It looks like the names of strange plants, or animals, where to get these mythical monsters from? No, it’s not about real ingredients, but about these given, and they are everywhere, always, they were then and they are nowadays. It is a recipe, a prescription for agreement or for struggle. Wait, how can one depict the agreement. How can one visualise a conflict? A dragon? A monster? A rival? Agreement, friendship versus competition, jealousy, oh my, how to put this all together, to get a letter – part of a key.” But what has this all in common with Copernicus!” – he screamed annoyed.

“With Copernicus? Oh , old boy, I’ve got it, for sure. You are Eu-genius. Got it, got it , you are right. What connection has it got with Copernicus? Well, it has! The first letter of the surname… And the Starosty, because he was “the administrator of the chapter’s collective goods “. This was a very honorable position in 16th century and wasn’t given to random people… Thanks, you are super, I immediately felt that searching will go more smoothly. “ He stood completely flabbergasted. What is she talking about? What first letter? What has the “K” in common with this place? And why is she mocking him…