Bolesławiec’s Agora bookshop is located in the Market Square, in a place of significance for the city—the former home of the nineteenth-century Appun publishing house. A commemorative plaque honoring the work of Karol Fryderyk Appun and his son was installed thanks to the efforts of the Witas family.

For 25 years, the owners of Agora bookshop have actively participated in the cultural life of the city, the region and Poland. It is difficult to list all the outstanding initiatives undertaken by this married couple, but the most important ones are worth remembering.

Józefina Witas received the two most important distinctions for her work. In a competition for the most active bookshop, the Polish Chamber of Books honored Bolesławiec’s Agora with the title “Reading Promotion Master”. The bookseller was also honored with the Ikar (an award of the publishing and bookselling industry), which she received together with Father Twardowski at Agnieszka Osiecka’s Studio on Polish Radio’s Trójka.

It is worth recalling that the guest list of Agora bookshop included such distinguished people as Tadeusz Różewicz, Father Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski and Tymoteusz Karpowicz. In 2008, Józefina Witas organized meetings with, among others, the Italian director Giuseppe Recchia and Henryk Baranowski, an outstanding theater, film and opera director. In 2009, thanks to Agora, our city hosted Jan A. Choroszy, author of the study “Our Father—Ours: Translations, Paraphrases and Other Literary Adaptations of the Lord’s Prayer.”

One of the most interesting cultural events was the limerick competition organized by Józefina Witas. Entries were sent from all over Poland, and the jury included, among others: Professor Joanna Papuzińska, Janina Jędrzejewska, Jan Stolarczyk, Dr. Michał Rusinek, Bogumił Paszkiewicz and Professor Andrzej Zawada.

Among the many achievements, it is essential to mention the commemorative “Mickiewicz-Pushkin” medal, which the owner of Agora bookshop received in 2008. The Honorary Award of the Poland-East Cooperation Association was presented to the Bolesławiec resident for her contribution to promoting cultural cooperation with the East.

The 25th-anniversary celebrations will feature a meeting with Professor Andrzej Zawada. He is a humanities scholar specializing in twentieth-century and contemporary Polish literature, as well as the history and culture of Lower Silesia and issues of cultural identity. He worked at the universities Abo Akademi and Turun Yliopisto (Finland, 1978–1980) and Rijksuniversiteit Groningen (the Netherlands, 1993), and lectured at universities in Stockholm, Uppsala, Prague, Olomouc, Brno, Sofia, Plovdiv, Veliko Tarnovo and Leipzig. He was editor of the Biblioteka Narodowa series (Ossolineum, 1996–2005), a member of the Committee on Literary Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences (1999–2006), and a judge for the Angelus Central European Literature Prize.

The event is co-organized by GMINA MIEJSKA BOLESŁAWIEC and MUZEUM CERAMIKI W BOLESŁAWCU.