Lodge No. 3 – “Przesąd Zwyciężony”
Learn about the history of Lodge “Przesąd Zwyciężony”.
Lodge “Przesąd Zwyciężony” (eng. “Prejudice Overcome”) was founded on March 9, 1786. It received its charter on December 17 of the same year from the Warsaw Provincial Grand Lodge “Katarzyna pod Gwiazdą Północną,” which was established in 1778. At the time the Kraków lodge had its headquarters in a building specially constructed for this purpose and located on what is now 25 Kopernika St. That building existed until the early 20th century, and later, a building for the University School of Nurses and Health Attendants was erected on its foundations. Today, the Institute of Nursing and Obstetrics of the Collegium Medicum of the Jagiellonian University is located there. This lodge existed until March 18, 1790, ending its activities due to the political events of that time. In the face of the Russo-Turkish War, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth found itself in a dispute between Prussia and Russia and Austria. Over the next two decades, Kraków first came under Austrian rule, where, from 1794 onwards, Emperor Francis II’s decree prohibiting the activities of Masonic lodges throughout the Habsburg state was enforced. Then, the defeat of the Austrians in the 1809 war forced Vienna to relinquish control over parts of Polish lands. Consequently, Kraków and Podgórze came under the jurisdiction of the Duchy of Warsaw in October, allowing the resumption of the activities of the Kraków lodge on March 1, 1810. Specifically for the needs of Kraków Freemasonry, a property was purchased from the apothecary Leon Lik during that time, which was once again located on a plot on today’s Kopernika Street (No. 7).
The building acquired with lodge funds still exists today, and currently houses the Department of Medical Biochemistry at the Jagiellonian University Medical College. During this period, “Przesąd Zwyciężony” like other Polish lodges, took care of the sick in military hospitals, prisoners of war, and the families of fallen soldiers, carrying out a very active charitable activity. In collaboration with the Capuchin Friars Minor, they organized the distribution of the so-called “Rumford soup,” and the lodge also assisted Bishop Jan Paweł Woronicz and Countess Tekla Małachowska (née Wodzicka) in founding the Society of Charity. However, the lodge did not have the opportunity to fully develop its activities because, in 1813, as a result of the Napoleonic defeat and the subsequent military actions, they suspended their work until June 5, 1814.
Starting from the following year, after the establishment of the Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Kraków with its District on October 18, 1815, which was formally under the perpetual protection of three great powers – Austria, Russia, and Prussia, whose representatives oversaw the activities of all institutions in the republic, the condition of the Kraków lodge improved somewhat. However, already in 1821, despite relative autonomy enjoyed by the Free City of Kraków and the somewhat favorable position of the authorities towards Freemasons, the fate of “Przesąd Zwyciężony” became apparent. On the one hand, the influences of the protective courts, and on the other hand, a decree issued by the viceroy of the Kingdom of Poland, Józef Zajączek, weighed heavily on the activity of the Kraków lodge, which concluded its activities following Alexander I’s rescript issued in 1822, which prohibited the functioning of Masonic lodges in territories subject to the emperor.
Funds collected in cash was divided into four equal parts and donated to the Sisters of Mercy, the Bonifrater Fathers, the Society of Charity, and the authorities of the Republic of Kraków for their charitable funds, along with the building and the surrounding garden donated to the university medical clinic. At the moment of discontinuations, Lodge “Przesąd Zwyciężony” had around 380 members. Some of them resided outside Kraków, the Republic of Kraków, and Galicia, with about a quarter being citizens of the Kingdom of Poland from Kielce, Radom, and Pilica.
After more than a century of absence, Kraków Freemasons began to organize themselves only in the 1920s. Thanks to the initiative of Tadeusz Ignacy Dyboski and Aleksander Dacków, a “circle” with an unknown name was established in 1926. After several years, it was transformed into a full-fledged lodge, which adopted the name of its predecessor from the late 18th/early 19th century. It received its charter from the Grand National Lodge of Poland on August 31, 1935, and its formal inauguration took place on October 25 of the same year. Similar to their predecessors over a century ago, lodge members engaged in charitable activities and were active in social organizations within the city, such as the YMCA and Rotary Club, as well as political organizations, such as the Democratic Club, which later transformed into the Democratic Party.
In 1938, due to an anti-Masonic campaign driven by the pressures of the nationalistic, Sanation, and Roman Catholic Church circles, the President of the Republic of Poland signed a decree on November 22 to dissolve Masonic associations, which was announced in the “Journal of Laws” two days later. However, anticipating Ignacy Mościcki’s decree, on October 26, 1938, a month earlier, the Grand National Lodge of Poland decided to self-dissolve and put its subordinate bodies, including “Przesąd Zwyciężony,” into “indefinite hibernation.”
After World War II, Masonic activities resumed in 1950 with the Polish lodge “Copernic” in Paris. Its main founder was Prof. Jerzy Stefan Langrod, who had been initiated in the Kraków lodge “Przesąd Zwyciężony.” In 1961, the Mother Lodge “Kopernik” in Warsaw, which had operated in complete secrecy, was revived.
Following the political changes in 1989, the Mother Lodge “Kopernik” and the reawakened (reactivated) lodges “Walerian Łukasiński” and “Przesąd Zwyciężony,” established on December 2, 1991, made a resolution to establish the Grand National Lodge of Poland. The solemn revival of the Grand National Lodge of Poland on December 27, 1991, marked the renewal of Freemasonry in the Republic of Poland.
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