The Sejm (lower house of Polish parliament) of the Republic of Poland – “convinced of the exceptional importance of Józef Wybicki’s achievements, paying tribute to his achievements” – established 2022 as the Year of Józef Wybicki.
Józef Rufin Wybicki was born on September 29, 1747, in Będomin in the Kashubia region, in the family of a middle-class Pomeranian nobility.
In the resolution of the Sejm, it was recalled that Wybicki was a member of the Sejm many times, but he was not elected to the most important Great Sejm, meeting in the years 1788-92.
“Nevertheless, he participated in the work on implementing the May 3 Constitution as a representative of the bourgeoisie,” it was written.
Wybicki took part in the secret preparations for the outbreak of the Kościuszko Uprising.
“After the fall of the insurrection, he went to Paris, where, thanks to his efforts, he was able to obtain permission to form a Polish army alongside France,” it was recalled.
In July 1797 in Reggio Emilia, Italy, he wrote “The Song of the Polish Legions in Italy”, which since 1927 it has been the Polish national anthem.
Wybicki died on March 10, 1822. The resolution reminded that in 2022, 200 years would pass since his death, 275 years since his birth, and 225 years since the creation of “Song of the Polish Legions in Italy”.