Composers / Fryderyk Chopin / Routes

 

Trasa Dobrzyń Land

Chopin stayed in Dobrzyń Land several times. He spent his 1824 and 1825 summer holidays in Szafarnia with the Dziewanowskis, who were family friends of the Chopins. While there, he became acquainted with the local folklore, wrote down folksong lyrics, listened to local musicians and played in the village band. It was in Szafarnia that he devised his ‘Kuriery Szafarskie’ [Szafarnia Couriers]. These were letters in the form of a newspaper, in which he related events that he had seen or heard about. This was an important period in the development of the young composer’s sensibilities. It was here that he absorbed the Polish folklore that was to prove an inexhaustible source of inspiration after he had emigrated.

While in Szafarnia, Chopin visited several nearby places, such as Ugoszcz, Gulbiny, Obrowo and Obory. The friends and relatives of the Dziewanowskis who owned those estates were only too glad to meet this brilliant young pianist from Warsaw and let him show them what he could do. Sokołowo was definitely an important place for Chopin, the location of the family home of his close friend Jan Białobłocki. Chopin stayed in Sokołowo in the summer of 1825.

While he was in the area, Chopin went to Golub and Dobrzyń (then separate towns), where he was able to visit the Castle of the Teutonic Knights.

The Skarbek family, the owners of Żelazowa Wola, also had roots in the area. Countess Ludwika Skarbek, the mother of Chopin’s godfather, came from Toruń. 

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Fryderyk Chopin – Funeral March in C minor, Op. 72 [WN 9] (1826) – Tatiana Shebanova (piano Erard, 1849), NIFCCD017, (C)(P) The Fryderyk Chopin Institute

Fryderyk Chopin – Polonaise in D minor, Op. 71 No. 1 [WN 11] (1825–1827) – Nikolai Demidenko (piano Pleyel, 1848), NIFCCD014, (C)(P) The Fryderyk Chopin Institute

Fryderyk Chopin – Polonaise in G sharp minor [WN 5] (1824) – Tatiana Shebanova (piano Erard, 1849), NIFCCD018, (C)(P) The Fryderyk Chopin Institute

Route Route type
Chelmland Regional
Concerts and performances Local
Departure Local
Dobrzyń Land Regional
Family Local
Friends Local
Greater Poland Regional
Lesser Poland Regional
Mazovia Regional
Pomerania Regional
Sheet music and instruments Local
Silesia Regional
Warsaw cafés – disputes between Classics and Romantics Local

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Golub »

Golub-Dobrzyń county, Kujawy-Pomerania voivodeship

Kikół »

Lipno county, Kujawy-Pomerania voivodeship

Obory »

Golub-Dobrzyń county, Kujawy-Pomerania voivodeship

Obrowo »

Toruń county, Kujawy-Pomerania voivodeship

Sokołowo »

Golub-Dobrzyń county, Kujawy-Pomerania voivodeship

Szafarnia »

Golub-Dobrzyń county, Kujawy-Pomerania voivodeship

Toruń »

Kujawy-Pomerania voivodeship

Turzno »

Toruń county, Kujawy-Pomerania voivodeship

Ugoszcz »

Rypin county, Kujawy-Pomerania voivodeship