Between Vitebsk, Rapperswil and Warsaw – Life and Work of Konstanty Żmigrodzki

This article describes the life and work of Konstanty Żmigrodzki (1876–1936), an artist, medalist and museologist who has almost been forgotten today. The first period of his activity fell in the years 1906–1913, when Konstanty lived and worked in Vitebsk. He was an active member of the Vitebsk Scientific Archival Commission, where he worked on the numismatic collections of the museum. In 1913–1927, Żmigrodzki lived in Switzerland – there he was the director of the Polish Museum in Rapperswil, and the main part of his work was the organisation of the local collection of coins and medals. During this period, Konstanty designed and made his first medals. In 1927, the collection of the Rapperswil Museum was given to the Polish state and moved to Warsaw. Żmigrodzki himself also came to the capital, and in the last period of his life (1927–1936) he continued to actively catalog objects from Rapperswil, and for some time he was the director of the Numismatic Cabinet of the State Art Collections. He still created new medals and published hoards after coming to the museum. He died in 1936.