Styl narodowy i poszukiwanie polskiej odrębności

The article presents a brief history of the Polish search for a national style against the background of the modern nation-building processes, especially the construction of national symbolic universes. The national style is analysed as an element of a universal set of symbolic attributes of the nation, which was used to develop nationally appropriate configurations, imbued with particular, distinctive content. Therefore, the universal foundations of the concept of national style, such as the Hegelian vision of national cultures, the efforts of researchers aiming to develop an inventory of folk culture for each nation and the basic tenets of the Arts & Crafts Movement, are first discussed. It is only against this background that the history of the Polish search for a national style is presented. This history is divided into two phases – the first phase was concerned with which historical styles in architecture could be regarded as expressing Polish distinctiveness (Vistula-Baltic Gothic and Polish Renaissance), while in the second phase inspiration was sought in vernacular architecture and folk art (Zakopane style, “swojski” style and Polish Art Déco).