Composers / Fryderyk Chopin / Places catalog

Apartment of Dominik Magnuszewski

‘In the meantime, Moriolka is waiting for me, then I go to Celiński’s for dinner. I promised to be at Magnuszewski’s later, and I won’t have time to come before 4 and finish writing the rest to you down to the bottom of this sheet, the emptiness of which pains and troubles me, but which I can do nothing about”, a busy Chopin wrote to Tytus Woyciechowski in September 1830.

Dominik Magnuszewski, who is mentioned in this letter, was a friend of the two young men from their days at the Warsaw Lyceum and the Chopins’ boarding house. He was already an up-and-coming poet and playwright.

Magnuszewski was raised by his grandfather, Dominik Borakowski, a judge who was well known and respected in the capital. Magnuszewski and his siblings lived with him in a townhouse on Krakowskie Przedmieście, occupying, according to Ferdynand Hoesick, ‘a small room with one window and a small courtyard. It was here, at this window, that he wrote his first works while still a student on the Faculty of Law and Public Administration at the University. It was here that he often spent many a sublime moment with Konstanty Gaszyński, Zygmunt Krasiński and Fryderyk Chopin’.

Kazimierz Władysław Wóycicki, who married Magnuszewski’s sister, looked back on these moments years later: ‘Chopin, a frequent guest at the Borakowski residence, sat down at the piano once it started to get dark and played for a long time. Everyone went quiet. The old man in the adjoining room listened attentively, and the young poet next to him relished the wonderful melody that flowed from Fryderyk’s fingers. And he never played anything unknown. He most often improvised wonderful fantasias on songs from the folk repertoire’.

Magnuszewski served as a lieutenant in the Grenadier Guards during the November Uprising and took refuge in Galicia after the failure of that bid for independence. He died of tuberculosis in 1845.

Place Category
Antoni Brzezina’s bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Antonin Manors / Palaces / Castles
Apartment of Dominik Magnuszewski Flats
Apartment of Stefan Witwicki Flats
Apartment of the family of Alfons Brandt Flats
Augsburg Evangelical Church of the Holy Trinity Churches / Places of worship
Belvedere Appearances
Bielany, Camaldolese monastery Churches / Places of worship
Blue Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
‘Botanika’ Other
Brochów Churches / Places of worship
Brühl Palace Appearances
Buchholtz’s instrument store Other
Casimir Palace Flats
Chopin Monument in Łazienki Park Other
Czapski (Krasiński) Palace Appearances, Manors / Palaces / Castles
Dal Trozzo bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Duszniki Zdrój Hotels / Inns
Dziewanowski home Flats
Engraving studio of Fr Izydor Józef Cybulski and Antoni Płachecki Education
Franciszek Klukowski bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Fryderyk Chopin Museum Other
Fryderyk Skarbek’s apartment Flats
Gdańsk Hotels / Inns
Gładkowskis' apartment Flats
Golub Other
Holy Cross Church Churches / Places of worship
Home of Jan Matuszyński Flats
‘Honoratka’ Coffeehouses
Jabłonowski Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Jan Böhm’s townhouse Flats
Kalisz Other
Kikół Manors / Palaces / Castles
Kolbergs' apartment Flats
Kowalewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Kozłowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Krakow Other
Ludwik Dmuszewski’s house Flats
Magnus's bookshop Publishers / Bookshops
Marceli Celiński’s apartment Flats
Maurycy Mochnacki’s home Flats
Miss Kicka's Salon in Lubomirski Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
National Theatre Appearances
Obory Churches / Places of worship
Obrowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Ojców Other
‘Old’ Merchants' Hall Appearances
Patisserie Lourse Coffeehouses
Pieskowa Skała Other
Płock Other
‘Pod Kopciuszkiem’ and ‘Dziurka’ Coffeehouses
Poturzyn Manors / Palaces / Castles
Powązki Cemeteries
Poznań Other
Presbytery of St Jadwiga (Hedwig) parish church in Milanówek Other
Pruszak Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Residence of Józef Reinschmidt’s parents Flats
Rościszewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Sanniki Manors / Palaces / Castles
Saxon Palace Flats
Saxon Post Office Other
Skating rink Other
Sochaczew Other
Sokołowo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Staszic Palace Manors / Palaces / Castles
Strzyżew Manors / Palaces / Castles
Szafarnia Manors / Palaces / Castles
Toruń Other
Turzno Manors / Palaces / Castles
‘U Brzezińskiej’ Coffeehouses
Ugoszcz Manors / Palaces / Castles
Viceroy's Palace Appearances
Vilnius (Wileński) Hotel Hotels / Inns
Visitandine Church of St Joseph Churches / Places of worship
Waplewo Manors / Palaces / Castles
Warsaw Other
Warsaw Charitable Society Appearances
Warsaw Conservatory Appearances
‘Wiejska Kawa’ Coffeehouses
Wieliczka Other
Wojciech Żywny’s apartment Flats
Wola Tollhouse Other
Wrocław Appearances
Żelazowa Wola Flats
Żychlin Manors / Palaces / Castles