The Lost Legnica's Codex of St. Augustine and Its Return to Poland. The Restitution of Lost Collections. Lecture as part of the Colloquia Bibliologa Wratislaviensia
After decades of absence from Polish collections, one of Silesia's most valuable medieval manuscripts has returned to the country—and to the very place from which it disappeared years ago. The Legnica's Codex of the Works of St. Augustine, a valuable 15th-century manuscript, is once again in the Wroclaw University Library.
On February 12th, Minister of Culture Marta Cienkowska officially handed over the manuscript during a ceremony at the Polish Embassy in Paris, thus concluding the multi-stage process of its restitution.
The return of the codex to the Library is an event of exceptional significance for the cultural heritage of both the region and the entire country. It also proves that passion, knowledge, and determination can restore historical artifacts previously considered irretrievably lost to scientific and cultural circulation.
How was the medieval manuscript recovered?
The background to this extraordinary success will be presented during a lecture from the Colloquia Biblioloqa Wratislaviensia series - a series of meetings devoted to the history of books, the history of writing and old libraries.
The speaker will be dr Antoine Haaker, who has been associated with the Wroclaw University Library for five years. In addition to his daily duties as a librarian, Dr. Haaker is fully committed to the recovery of lost collections. The results of his work are impressive: so far he has recovered six valuable books, five of which have been returned to the Wroclaw University Library, and one has been transferred to the State Archives in Wrocław.
The most recent success is the return of an elegant and exquisitely preserved manuscript written in the 15th century at a Carthusian monastery near Legnica. The manuscript contains various works by St. Augustine, including his most famous Confessions, considered the first modern spiritual autobiography and one of the most important works in the history of literature.
During the lecture, Dr. Haaker will talk about the history of the codex and will present — step by step — how the modern restitution of stolen works is carried out:
tracking down lost treasures in international auction catalogs and antique shops,
collecting proof of ownership, often hidden in provenance details,
historical and comparative analysis, that allows to prove the origin of the object,
negotiations with current owners, often complicated and delicate.
Dr. Haaker will also present the road leading to the recovery of the Legnica's Codex — full of unexpected twists, archival discoveries, and moments of intense emotion. These are stories you won't find in any books.
We invite you to the meeting, which will take place in the University Library in Wrocław.
24.02.2026
1:00 p.m.
Wroclaw University Library, Fryderyka Joliot-Curie 12 St.
Conference room no. 4, level 0
Application form: https://forms.office.com/e/Ufhg74GWC1
Why is it worth participating?
The meeting will be not only a scientific presentation, but also a fascinating journey into the historical traces left behind by ancient books. Participants will learn, among other things:
how are lost manuscripts found after many decades,
what is the significance of provenance marks, annotations, seals and bindings,
how to prove the origin of a work,
what emotions accompany the recovery of a cultural object that has been considered lost for years.
This is a unique opportunity to learn about the work of people who professionally track down the fate of old books, and to see how modern science combines with passion and the bibliological "detective instinct".