News - Instytut Pileckiego

Talks with the local authorities in Rapperswil, Switzerland, have picked up pace

A meeting on cooperation with the city and canton of Rapperswil in Switzerland was held at
the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. The main topic of discussion was the
development of the Schwanen Hotel, a property managed by the Pilecki Institute in
Rapperswil.

The meeting was attended by Swiss representatives: Benedikt Würth, member of the Council
of States; Barbara Dillier, mayor of Rapperswil-Jona; and Fabrice Filliez, Swiss ambassador
to Poland. The Polish delegation included Piotr Rypson, Director of the Department of
Cultural Heritage; Prof. Krzysztof Ruchniewicz, Director of the Pilecki Institute; and Piotr
Mączka, Chief Specialist in the Department of Foreign Cooperation.

The Schwanen Hotel, currently undergoing restructuring to integrate both academic and
commercial functions, is intended to serve as a center for social dialogue. Its exhibition space
will highlight selected aspects of 20th-century history, with particular focus on World War II
and Polish-Swiss relations.

The meeting also addressed the possibility of commemorating Holocaust victims through a
temporary exhibition on the assistance provided to Jews by Polish and foreign diplomats
during the war. Discussions further covered provenance research and the restitution of cultural
goods.

Photo: Ministry of Culture and National Heritage

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