The oldest known manuscript of the polish anthem Gaude Mater Polonia returns to Poland
Today, 19 June 2026, a press conference accompanied by the presentation of priceless cultural objects restituted from Germany was held at the Palace of the Commonwealth in Warsaw. The event featured a fragment of a medieval manuscript containing the oldest text of the hymn Gaude Mater Polonia, as well as a ring of King Sigismund I the Old.
Their presentation today at the Palace of the Commonwealth carried symbolic significance, as it took place in the context of the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Polish-German Treaty on Good Neighbourhood and Friendly Cooperation. The return of these historic objects is not only the result of restitution efforts, but also a meaningful gesture of remembrance, cooperation and shared responsibility for cultural heritage lost during the Second World War.
The conference was attended by Marta Cienkowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage; Miguel Berger, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Poland; Bishop Dr Szymon Stułkowski, Bishop of Płock; Professor Andrzej Szczerski, Director of the National Museum in Kraków; Dr Tomasz Makowski, Director of the National Library of Poland; Elżbieta Rogowska, Deputy Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage; Professor Ewa Letkiewicz from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin; Dr Paweł Figurski from the Institute of Art of the Polish Academy of Sciences; and Dr Jacek Kordel from the National Library of Poland.
The Minister of Culture and National Heritage emphasised: “We are meeting today at the Palace of the Commonwealth, one of the most important treasuries of Polish heritage. It is here that we can welcome objects returning home. These are extraordinary historic artefacts. They are witnesses to our history, fragments of Polish memory, material evidence of the continuity of our culture, which, despite war and decades of dispersal, have survived in order to find themselves once again where they belong. […] A fragment of a medieval manuscript is returning, containing what is most probably the oldest surviving manuscipt containing Gaude Mater Polonia. This is one of the most important works in the history of Polish culture. A hymn that for centuries accompanied the most important religious, state and national events. It is difficult to imagine a more symbolic return than the return of a testimony to one of the foundations of Polish tradition.”
The Director of the National Library noted: “We have no influence over the past. We do have influence over the present and the future. Today we are opening a new chapter in Polish-German cooperation. At 11 a.m. the doors of the Palace of the Commonwealth will open to visitors, so that everyone can see objects until now considered lost. Gaude Mater Polonia will be presented alongside other Polish anthems like the medieval Bogurodzica, 19th-century Rota and the oldest texts in the Polish language: the Holy Cross Sermons and the St Florian Psalter.”
Also returned to Poland was a ring attributed to King Sigismund I the Old from the collection of the Princes Czartoryski Museum, a material testimony of an era in which Poland stood among the leading powers of Europe.
The restitution of cultural property remains one of the state’s most important tasks in the field of heritage protection. The Ministry of Culture is currently conducting more than 200 restitution proceedings in 22 countries. Since 2008, 915 lost cultural objects have returned to Poland. In 2025 alone, 101 objects were recovered, and since the beginning of 2026, a further 32 objects have already been returned.
The recovered objects can be viewed at the Palace of the Commonwealth daily, except on days when the Palace is closed to visitors, , from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. In addition, on 20 June at 12 noon and on 27 June at 2 p.m., visitors will be able to hear the Jerycho Choir perform Gaude Mater Polonia. Admission is free.
We invite professional and amateur choirs, as well as singing groups, to express their interest in performing Gaude Mater Polonia in the White Hall of the Palace of the Commonwealth, beside the display case containing the recovered manuscript.
We also encourage you to watch the recording of the conference and the guests’ speeches. Detailed information about the objects has been published by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in its announcement on the celebrations marking the 35th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Good Neighbourhood and Friendly Cooperation with Germany.