Igor D. Górewicz

Consider, then do not hesitate

Official website

konik

To find more ways to popularize historical knowledge, I took to organizing educational exhibitions. The first exercise was an exhibition prepared together with the Pomeranian Library in Szczecin, presenting photos from the participation of Triglav in the filming of Stara Baśń and the equipment used as props in the film. The exhibition was held from 22 April to 3 May 2003 in the Pomeranian Library. Next were two exhibitions of photos from our adventures on the set of prepared on the occasion of the release of the film, presented in the Helios movie theater in Szczecin, and then in Klub Hormon.

“Świat Słowian i Wikingów” [The World of Slavs and Vikings]

In 2003, with the help of Triglav, I created an interactive educational exhibition entitled Świat Słowian i Wikingów [The World of Slavs and Vikings]. The exhibition has been recognized by the academia and museums. It was featured in the finest museums in Poland. Discussed in popular press, it also lived to see a scientific report, which I presented at a conference, and then printed, under the title "Profesjonalizaca odtwórstwa historycznego. Wystawy edukacyjne jako poszerzenie instrumentarium popularyzacji historii" [Professionalization of historical reenactment. Edicational exhibitions as an expansion of the tools for popularization of historical knowledge] in: , Toruń 2009.

 

For several years, tens of thousands of visitors viewed The World of the Slavs and Vikings in many places such as:

  • 2003/2004 - the first exhibition in the lobby of the former Kosmos movie theater in Szczecin.
  • 2004 and 2005 - temporary exhibitions in the main building of the East Fort (Gerhard Fort) in Świnoujście
  • Spring 2005 - exhibition in DK Arsus cultural center (Warsaw)
  • January-February 2006 - temporary exhibition in the Archaeological Museum in Poznan,
  • 2006, 2007, 2008 - temporary exhibitions in Niechorze in the historic half-timbered farm from the late 18th century
  • November 2008-September 2009 - temporary exhibition in the Museum of Polish Arms, Kołobrzeg
  • February-March 2010 - temporary exhibition in the Museum of Central Pomerania in Słupsk
  • April-August 2010 - temporary exhibition in the Gothic Hall of the Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle, Szczecin
  • Fall/Winter 2010/2011 - temporary exhibition at the Muzeum Twierdzy Kostrzyn

 

Materials from the exhibition:

 

Articles devoted to the exhibition:

Swords of Europe

miecze europy male logo

Project co-financed by the European Union from the European Regional Development Fund within the framework of the Operational Programme Innovative Economy for the period 2007-2013.

The sword was never a primitive weapon, and its earliest forms were as sophisticated and as elegant as the late ones - Middle Bronze Age pulls out a hand through three millennia to shake hands with the Court of Louis XV.

E. Oakeshott

Where did the sword come from? How to forge a Damascene sword? Did swords have names? What did Celts and Romans fight with? How did one become knighted? What sword did Roland fight with? What is a ring sword? What did barbarian and Viking swords look like? Why Spartans fought so close to the enemy?

The SWORDS OF EUROPE is the only exhibition in the world showing the sword across over 3,400 years since its emergence in the Bronze Age to the seventeenth century, when it transformed into other types of weapons. Modern and aesthetic, concise and comprised of complementary elements.

 

The Swords of Europe exhibition presents:

  • The evolution of technology used to make swords, the shapes, sizes and methods of fighting
  • Symbolic and ritual associations of the sword
  • The most famous swords in history
  • The process and stages of Damascus steel blade production

 

The Swords of Europe exhibition features:

  • A selection of ca. 60 copies of swords made from bronze, iron and steel
  • Extensive descriptions and thematic boards
  • Two educational videos, plus players and displays
  • Installations (“Gordian knot", “Excalibur”, and “Grunwald Swords”)
  • supplementary exhibits (swords, armor, shields)
  • showcases and lighting

 

Educational films produced especially for the exhibition:

  • “Deadly patterns twisting like twigs, or how Damascus steel swords are made” includes costume scenes, a documentation of the process of forging a sword in a forge and interviews with top-class specialists;
  • “Cut, chop and thrust. The sword through the millennia” - recording of a live chat between Igor Górewicz and Philip Burthem (who had over 20 years of experience as a Yarl of the Jomsvikings and film consultant) with the use of replica swords, showing the evolution of ways they were used enriched with scenes of fighting swordsmen in historical costumes.

 

miecze video 1
“Deadly patterns twisting like twigs, or how Damascus steel swords are made”
miecze video 2
“Cut, chop and thrust. The sword through the millennia”

 

The exhibition was shown in the following institutions:

  • Museum of Technology and Communication in Szczecin, premiere of the exhibition on February 17, 2012.
  • Museum of the Origins of the Polish State, Gniezno
  • Museum of Polish Arms in Kołobrzeg
  • The archaeological museum in Biskupin
  • Military Museum in Białystok
  • Centrum Kultury ZAMEK, Wrocław
  • Muzeum Ziemi Wałeckiej, Wałcz
  • Centrum Kultury, Chojna,
  • Castle of King Erik of Pomerania in Darłowo

 

miecze video 3
Swords of Europe promotional video
miecze video 4
Swords of Europe promotional video

 

wideo wystawy miecze 5
Swords of Europe in Szczecin TVP Info
militaria miecze
Interview with Igore Górewicz

 

Polish Army in 1945

Also an exhibition of uniforms and weaponry of the 1st Polish Army, mainly concerning 1945, was created. In this case, it was possible to obtain and present not only perfect copies, but also the original weapons, uniforms and equipment. Small arms were exhibited (e.g. PPS submachine guns, 1943 model, PPSz, 1941 model, TT pistol model 33, Mosin rifle model 1891/30, 7.62 mm, with bayonet), team operated (Degtyaryov DP 28 LMG, Maxim mod. 1910 HMG, Sokolov's mount, 82 mm. mortar mod. 1937/1943, and even a 76.2 mm. cannon mod. 1942 (ZiS-3)), communications equipment, optical equipment, etc., original documents, decorations, instructions and regulations - presented using figures, installations, dioramas and showcases. The exhibition was shown, among others, in the Technology Zone during the Great Ship Races in Szczecin in 2013.