Edmund Niziurski was born in 1925 in Kielce. Walks to the Karczówka Hill, playing in the city park, the area around Kostki Street, and the school halls of the Śniadecki Junior Secondary School was the world of his childhood and adolescence. His carefreeness ended in September 1939. That was when he left his beloved city for the first time – he was evacuated to Hungary with his parents and younger siblings. Although his stay abroad lasted a year, it left indelible impressions and experiences, especially from the Polish junior high school for refugees on Lake Balaton. The following war years were spent in Jeleniec, studying at secret classes and his first literary attempts. When he left his hometown for good in 1952, he followed his passion and work at the editorial office of the „Tygodnik Wieś” [„Village Weekly”] in Warsaw.

The exhibition „Not only for rascals – the worlds of Edmund Niziurski” is a kind of tribute to one of the most famous and creative writers for young readers. The exhibition shows two worlds – the real one, showing different aspects of Edmund Niziurski’s life – his family, professional work, relationships with readers. In this part, visitors can see memorabilia of the writer – his watch, favorite objects, typewriters, manuscripts of novels, first editions of books, illustrations that were created for them and many others. An important element are photos showing different moments in life – the earliest ones referring to his childhood and adolescence in Kielce, and then showing more or less official events.

The second part is the world created in the novels – the world created by Edmund Niziurski, the world of the young taking place in the yard, in the classroom, among the monuments of Kielce, the world of riddles and unexpected events that fascinated subsequent generations of readers. This part of the exhibition shows elements of this world referring to the plot of: „Księga Urwisów” [„The Book of Rascals”], „Awantura w Niekłaju” [„Trouble in Niekłaj”], „Sposób na Alcybiadesa” [„A Remedy for Alcibiades”], „Klub Włóczykijów” [„The Hobo Club”] and „Trylogia Odrzywolskiej” [„Odrzywolska Trilogy”]. The choice of titles is not accidental. Each of them takes place in the Kielce Region or is inspired by the author’s „Kielce” memories. In this part of the exhibition, visitors learn about old games, entertainment and toys, school supplies, as well as children’s and youth magazines. The whole is complemented by photographs of Kielce and the surrounding area from individual decades of the Polish People’s Republic. An extraordinary graphic complement to this part of the exhibition are illustrations made by the artist Joanna Biskup-Brykczyńska. Thanks to her works, the heroes of the books come to life on the exhibition walls. However, this is not the end of the surprises – it is worth taking a close look at various elements of the exhibition because some of them invite you to play together – touch our replicas, solve puzzles, look into drawers, see what is hidden in the photoplasticon, carefully examine the extraordinary magic cube, and finally take up the challenge and become the „Fifth Magnificent One” like the heroes of the „Odrzywolska Trilogy”. There is also a game and our own „Map of Niziurski” – a catalogue-guide, thanks to which you will get to know important places from our region for Edmund Niziurski.

Edmund Stanisław Niziurski was born on July 10, 1925 in Kielce. His parents, Stanisław Izydor Niziurski, were civil servants, and his mother, Leokadia née Grethów, the daughter of the owner of mills on the Szreniawa River. Edmund had two siblings: a brother Mirosław (1932–2015) and a sister Zofia (1934–2005). Edmund’s childhood was spent in the vicinity of Aleja Karczówkowska. Important military facilities were located near the house, which is why the presence of soldiers, parades and defilades were one of the writer’s earliest memories. In 1935, the Niziurski family moved to a newly built house at ul. Stanisława Kostki 37.

Edmund attended Queen Jadwiga Elementary School and then Śniadecki Junior Secondary School. These experiences were so important that they often inspired the creation of school stories and characters in subsequent novels. He made the decision to become a writer at the age of 13, „In 1938, I read a novel that delighted me like no other. It was called Szatan z siódmej klasy [Satan from the Seventh Grade], and its author was a writer I had known for a long time – Kornel Makuszyński. I read this book twice. The first time I read it in one go, immersing myself in the pleasures of reading, the second time I read it like a researcher who wants to explore the secret of a wonderful mechanism. I asked myself a question that had never occurred to me before, what methods had the author used to make the novel read so wonderfully. And I thought, if it is a pleasure to read such a book, writing it must undoubtedly be an even greater pleasure. This naive illusion had serious consequences because without any hesitation I made a life decision, I already know who I will be, I will become a writer.”

Edmund’s carefree youth ended in September 1939. After the outbreak of the war, he left with his parents and siblings for Hungary. There, he had attended a Polish junior secondary school on Lake Balaton for almost a year. After returning to Kielce, he worked as a worker at the Ludwików Steelworks. Faced with the danger of being deported to Germany for forced labor, Edmund’s father decided to leave for the Jeleniec land estate in the Ostrowiec forests. In the estate of Baron Halpert, Edmund attended secret classes and even passed his secondary school leaving exams. After the end of the war, he continued his studies at the Catholic University of Lublin and the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He simultaneously studied journalism at the Higher School of Social Sciences in Kraków (1946–1947) and sociology at the Jagiellonian University (1947). In 1947, he married Zofia Barbara Kowalska, who came from Kielce. During this time, he worked in both Kielce and Katowice. He was already writing at that time – his first novels were intended for an adult reader. When an opportunity to work in writing arose, in 1952 he moved to Warsaw and took up the position of secretary in the editorial office of tygodnik Wieś [Village Weekly]. However, the breakthrough was „Księga Urwisów”, addressed to a younger reader. When asked why he chose this, he replied, „Whenever I have to talk about my work for minors, I feel a certain embarrassment. I do not consider it necessary to address my books. The division into two separate worlds of children and adults, is actually fiction. There is only one world. It can only be experienced slightly differently. In some of my works, I assumed that the world would be experienced by children. That’s all.”

In 1951 he became a member of the Association of Polish Writers, and in 1952 a member of the Association of Stage Authors and Composers (ZAIKS). He was also a member of the Association of Polish Writers. During his professional career he received many important awards and decorations, including the Order of the Smile, the Medal of the National Education Commission and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta. In 2008, he received the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture Gloria Artis from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski. Edmund Niziurski died on 9th October 2013.