– I am a resident of Legnica, and in our home it is a tradition to hang the city calendar on the wall – says Andrzej Nadoliński, who came to the presentation with his wife Małgorzata and son Tomek. – The one we have just received is very beautiful. In a slightly paradoxical way, it shows our city. It encourages reflection and a smile.
The latest edition of the calendar, which will accompany Legnica’s residents in 2015, shows the city through the eyes of one of the masters of Legnica’s Satyrykon Florian Doru Crihana. In his works, the outstanding artist has already depicted Venice, Paris, Istanbul, Athens and Bruges. Legnica became the next place he took on as a subject. The poetic images of the city recall the beauty of its historic buildings, park and green spaces, its unique traditions, and its complicated history, which is our shared heritage. The city has never had such an artistic portrait before. Dreamlike and symbolic, yet also full of humorous associations.
– I wish that this calendar would mark out happy days for both you and our city – said Mayor Tadeusz Krzakowski during the presentation. – We are proud that this outstanding artist has placed Legnica among the elite cities that appear in his paintings. Like us, he too was enchanted by Legnica.
In the introduction to the Legnica calendar, the mayor wrote, among other things:
Legnica in the 2015 Calendar is an enchanted city in which the present intertwines with visions of the past. It is a unique city, an important place on the map of Lower Silesia, Poland and Europe. A city that creatively contributes to Europe’s heritage. A city that became a symbol of divided Europe in the 20th century and which, over the past twenty years, has actively sought to overcome the legacy of the Cold War.
Crihana’s painterly account of Legnica, who visited the city and explored its history, also consists of stories told by Legnica’s residents, fascinated by the magic of the place where they live. The people of 21st-century Legnica are proud of their city’s traditions and multicultural heritage, which teach sensitivity, openness and tolerance. In the Romanian artist’s paintings, Legnica becomes a mythical city, an ideal vision living in the hearts and memories of its residents.
I place in your hands a publication that expresses the fascination felt by its author and by the Legnica residents who worked with him for the charm of our city. Legnica captivates. Today, the city is regaining its former splendor, developing and becoming more beautiful. I invite you on a beautiful journey through Legnica, which for centuries has connected East with West, North with South, and history with the present—a city through which everyone can find their way.
Publishing artistic city calendars has already become a Legnica tradition, and each of them has enjoyed recognition among audiences at home and abroad. They always serve a promotional purpose and are distributed to Legnica-based, local, regional and national institutions, embassies and consulates, as well as many foreign collectors.
The 2002 calendar—the first in the series—presented works awarded during the 25-year history of the International “Satyrykon” Exhibition. The year 2003 brought images of the most interesting exhibits from the collection of the Museum of Copper, while the 2004 calendar presented a collection of jewelry awarded at Legnica’s artistic silver exhibitions. In 2005, the calendar pages were decorated with “Satyrykon” posters designed by the most eminent poster artists. The pages of the 2006 calendar featured poetic urban landscapes painted by Edward Mirowski. In 2007, Piotr Krzemiński showed the city’s valuable architectural monuments in 12 photographic plates. The Legnica City Calendar A.D. 2008 was titled “Legnica – Faces of the City.” It presented 12 women connected with Legnica, which is beautiful and mysterious, like a woman. The 2009 calendar was a wall calendar titled “Following the Film Trail of Waldemar Krzystek’s Little Moscow.” It contained photographs taken on the film set by Michał Dobrowolski, Wojciech Skrzydlewski and Legnica resident Grzegorz Spała. A year later, in 2010, the calendar was devoted to the Municipal Park, which suffered extensive damage in the hurricane of July 23, 2009. It presented 12 photographs of the park, taken before the hurricane and selected to correspond to the seasons.
In 2013, the calendar pages featured the charm of old Legnica, captured in vintage postcards from the collection of the Museum of Copper. The 2014 calendar returned to the subject of Legnica’s park, especially beloved by residents. It showed both the park’s natural environment, restored after the 2009 hurricane, and the centuries-old witnesses to its magnificent history.
Legnica City Hall/ii