BREST, 11 October (BelTA) – The Brest Regional Local History Museum hosted a ceremony to hand over the Bona Sforza 500th anniversary coronation medal on 11 October, BelTA has learned.
This year marks the 500th anniversary of the coronation of Duchess of Milan Bona Sforza. She married Sigismund I, the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1518 and became Queen of Poland. The Mint of Poland produced gold and silver commemorative medals in her honor five years ago. The Brest Regional Local History Museum asked the Consulate General of Poland in Brest for assistance in acquiring one of these medals.
“Bona Sforza had property in the present-day Brest Oblast and contributed significantly to the economic and cultural development of this area. She implemented an agricultural reform, started reclamation works and contributed to the emergence of numerous towns in Brest Oblast. We are proud that the holdings of our museum have a unique document, namely the chancellery paper of Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania of 1535,” noted First Deputy Director for Scientific Work of the Brest Regional Local History Museum.
Consul General of Poland in Brest Piotr Kozakiewicz handed over the Bona Sforza silver medal to the museum on 11 October. “We share a common cultural heritage. Both the Poles and the Belarusians know well the names of people born in Brest Oblast. Among them are Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Romuald Traugutt, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Stanislaw August Poniatowski, the last monarch of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Some personalities are not natives of this region, but they influenced its development. Undoubtedly, Bona Sforza is one of them,” the diplomat stressed. Piotr Kozakiewicz added that the Consulate General closely cooperates with the Brest Regional Local History Museum, takes part in its events and supports its initiatives.
Brest is playing host to the international conference “Historical and cultural heritage of Brest and Brest oblast in public and private collections” on 11-12 October. Attending the event are the museum workers, historians, local history specialists and collectors from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Poland.
