Bust of Adam Mickiewicz

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Adam Bernard Mickiewicz was a renowned Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator, professor of Slavic literature, and fierce political activist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Poland, Lithuania, and Belarus, commanding respect for his significant contributions to Polish Romanticism. Considered one of Poland's "Three Bards," Mickiewicz is also counted among the greatest Slavic and European poets of all time, earning him the nickname "Slavic bard." A prominent Romantic dramatist, he was often compared in Poland and Europe to Byron and Goethe for his exceptional talent. Mickiewicz's most celebrated works include the poetic drama Dziady (Forefathers' Eve) and the national epic poem Pan Tadeusz. His other notable writings, such as Konrad Wallenrod and Grażyna, served as powerful inspiration for uprisings against the three imperial powers that had dismantled the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Born in the Russian-occupied territories of the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Mickiewicz was an active participant in the fight for independence in his homeland. Following a five-year exile to central Russia, he successfully escaped the Russian Empire and joined many of his countrymen in living abroad. Initially settling in Rome and later Paris, Mickiewicz taught Slavic literature at the Collège de France for three years before moving on. He eventually died, likely due to cholera, while assisting Polish and Jewish forces in their battle against Russia during the Crimean War in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire. In 1890, his remains were repatriated from Montmorency, Val-d'Oise, France, to Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland, where they now rest.