The Finno-Ugric section of the BWN comprises the collections from the former Library of the Department of Hungarian Studies at the University of Warsaw. This section allows us to explore the languages and cultures of the Hungarians, Finns, and Estonians, as well as other Finno-Ugric peoples, including the Sami.
The Finno-Ugric book collection began to take shape in the interwar period, when a Hungarian language course was launched at the University of Warsaw. The first books to be added to the collection were those collected by Prof. Adorján Divéky, the first lecturer of this language in Warsaw and head of the Hungarian Institute (now the Liszt Institute) in Warsaw from 1935 to 1939. From the outset, Finnish-language publications and publications related to Finland were also collected.
The section contains over 31,000 books, numerous periodicals, as well as DVDs, and music CDs. These are mainly publications in Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, and Polish. A smaller collection comprises materials on other Finno-Ugric languages and the peoples who speak them, including, for example, the Udmurts, Mari, and Karelians.
Of particular note are the 19th-century collections from Debrecen and old prints. One of the oldest publications is, for example, the speech of the Hungarian envoys from the time of the Third Austro-Turkish War, delivered at the General Sejm of the Crown in Krakow to Sigismund III Vasa. The Latin speech, in which the envoys ask the Polish king for assistance in their fight against the Ottoman Empire, dates from 1595.
New books in the section’s collection
