The article presents the settlement – in court – of disputes among the residents of Krakow, during the period of the Republic of Krakow (1815–1846), which concerned the easements of municipal property (central wall, right to a view). The introduction shows easements based on Roman rules, their most important divisions (natural, legal and contractual) as well as the ways of using them. Later in the article, there is an analysis of 14 court cases from the Free City of Krakow. The basis for this are the verdicts of the Tribunal of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the Court of Third Instance, stored in the National Archives in Krakow (Archive of the Free City of Krakow), as well as records from the Jagiellonian University Archives, dedicated to the judicial activities of the Faculty of Law of Jagiellonian University, during the years 1817–1833. The work contains a great deal of information concerning property relations in Krakow. The article represents a contribution to the usage of French law (Napoleonic Code, Code of Civil Procedure ) in Polish land during the first half of the 19th century.

An important figure in Krakow’s post-war teaching environment was Jadwiga Turkowska née Czarnecka (1889–1982), a mathematics teacher in the Jan III Sobieski High School. She was an excellent educator, worked until she was 78, and influenced a few generations of high school graduates in Krakow. The daughter of exiles, she was one of the first women to obtain a degree from Saint Petersburg Imperial University. She also played a significant role during the inter-war period and World War II in education in Vilnius. It was possible to find a wide range of information about the family of Jadwiga Turkowska, including archival materials from Omsk and Vilnius, recreate the course of her professional work and to collect memories regarding this extraordinary teacher, warmly remembered both among her family and friends as well as her colleagues and pupils from various stages of her career.

Bronisław Piłsudski (1866–1918) is primarily known in the world for his research work into the peoples of the Far East. There is not so much information about his 108 Karolina Zięba activities in Galicia as well as in Spisz and Orawa. However, a letter written in 1912 to Bolesław Wysłouch (1855–1937), found in the records of the Friends of Polish Tatra Highlanders Association, represents a testimony to his wide-ranging activities on Polish land. After returning from exile, B. Piłsudski was involved in museum and social activities in Galicia. He remained in contact with the Polish intelligentsia, working to maintain national identity during the partitions. This group also included B. Wysłouch – editor of “Kurier Lwowski”. The presented article highlights the context of actions to raise awareness of the national identity in the so-called “Forgotten Borderlands”.

Established by the Town Council in 1887, the Krakow Town Archives of Former Records enriched its resources thanks to donations from inhabitants – both archival materials or museum items, and books. However, operating from 1878, the Local Archives of Records of the Courts for the Nobility in Krakow, under the Galician authorities, only began to obtain the trust of benefactors after it was taken over by Polish authorities in 1919. These activities continued from 1952 in the form of the State Archive of the Krakow Province, founded through a merger of both archives (currently the National Archives in Krakow). Supporting the museums and libraries founded in Krakow in the 19th century that collected souvenirs of the past greatness of the Republic was regarded as a patriotic duty, providing an opportunity to safeguard for future generations family documents, materials created by those active in various fields or institutions and organisations which have ended their activities. The Archives always gratefully accepts donated archival materials connected with Krakow, Malopolska or Galicia, as the mission of the state archives is to store all archival materials that could be a source of information concerning the history of Poland and its inhabitants.