Apybraiža apie trijų sostinių (Vilniaus, Varšuvos ir Krokuvos) likimus "Tvano" metu

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Abiejų Tautų Respublika (ATR; Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów; Žečpospolita; Sandrauga; Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth); Karai; Krokuva; Lenkijos Karalystė, XVII a.; Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštija, XVII a.; 17 amžius; Maskvos valstybė, XVII a.; Sostinė; Tvanas; Varšuva; Vilnius; Švedija, XVII a.; Capital city; Cracow; Deluge; Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 17th century; Kingdom of Poland, 17th century; Lithuanian XVII c. history; Muscovy, 17th century; Sweden, 17th century; Vilnius; Wars; Warsaw.

ENBriefly summarising the fates of all three capitals during the Muscovite and Swedish Deluge (1655-1661), it can be alleged that regardless of some differences, all three experienced a similar fate - the cities were for a shorter or longer time under enemy occupation (Vilnius by the Muscovites, Warsaw and Krakow - by the Swedes), plundered, and the plague epidemic that followed contributed greatly to the number of deaths in the population. Yet the outcomes of these adversities were rather different in each city. Krakow preserved its status as the capital of Poland, rulers continued to be coronated here, while the city itself, within the city walls, appears not to have changed very noticebly. In the case of Warsaw, it simply grew as the new capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, while the city itself flourished and became more beautiful. Vilnius meanwhile, never really recovered until the 19th century, despite preserving its status as the ancient capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, this was more likely a tradition within the society’s consciousness, than a “pre-Deluge” reality. As time went on, Warsaw was considered as the capital, while Vilnius was only where court sessions were held. The city itself was rebuilt but it did not retain its grandeur to our days (even compared to the engraving of the city’s panorama made by Tomasz Makowski in around 1600), except perhaps for its wonderful Baroque churches. This was because to the general decline in the country that lasted until the mid-18th century, and to the calamities that befell it in the beginning of the century - new occupations and plague pandemics, and later fires. [From the publication]