How it started...

At that time, within the framework of the Provincial Cultural Centre, there was a City Cultural Centre for older youth and adults. The City Cultural Centre was transformed into Interschool Centre for Children and Youth, which was directed by Irena Szczepowska-Szych. It played a significant role by offering children and youth the chance to participate in various interest clubs, helping them develop their talents and find meaningful ways to spend their free time. The Interschool Centre for Children and Youth developed intensively, and the most important events were recorded in the chronicles. The chronicles featured press articles about distinguished individuals who visited or were connected with the institution. The programme offered by The Interschool Centre for Children and Youth was more interesting and diverse each year. The institution was flourishing and new branches were being established. The number of interest clubs was increasing and more children and youth attended them.

Over time The Interschool Centre for Children and Youth transformed and changed the name for Youth Cultural Centre. Despite the intensive development of the institution, the Youth Cultural Centre (MDK) was still a "guest" at the Lublin Castle, using six designated teaching rooms. It was cramped, but the atmosphere made everyone feel comfortable. In an effort to improve working conditions, the educational authorities of the time transferred a seventeenth-century house at Grodzka 11 to the MDK for use. According to the chronicles this happened in 1970.

It is worth mentioning that this house used to be a rectory belonging to the oldest church in Lublin – St. Michael the Archangel. The only remaining traces of the church were its foundations and the historic Po Farze Square, where a sprawling acacia tree grew, from which the Youth Cultural Centre took its name, "Pod Akacją" (Under the Acacia). Thanks to the independent location in the heart of the Old Town, the creativity of the educators, and the rich program MDK "Pod Akacją" become even more popular among schoolchildren and youth.

Today, MDK is a municipal, public educational institution for extracurricular activities. Since 1991, the institution has been run and financed by Lublin City, while the Education Superintendent oversees its educational activities. It serves as a cultural centre for children and youth. MDK carries out educational, upbringing, caregiving, preventive, cultural, and health-promoting tasks. The students benefit from various forms of recreation, are prepared for creating cultural goods, and are encouraged to actively participate in cultural life.

The rich, long-term, and systematic cooperation with educational and cultural institutions, as well as non-governmental organizations both in Poland and abroad, brings results in the fields of artistic, scientific, and technical education. This contributes to the fact that MDK is an important and well-known centre in Poland. Currently, MDK runs 150 interest groups, which engage around 1,500 regular participants. The institution organizes over 80 events on a municipal, regional, national, and international scale, with more than 50,000 participants.

Courtesy of the Lublin Castle, MDK used the museum's rooms until 1969 , when the city's education authorities decided to transfer the institution to a historic townhouse at Grodzka Street. However, the joy of having its own premises did not last long. After a few years, the historic building was handed over for general renovation, in accordance with conservation plans, and the institution's activities were dispersed across Lublin's schools. Unfortunately, this situation did not support integrated daily work. Both the teaching staff and the youth longed for the MDK to be housed in the building at 12 Skierki Street, which had very modern architecture for the time. As it turned out later, the elaborate architectural form did not match its quality and functionality. Since 1980, MDK once again had its own headquarters. In 1985, after several years of renovation, the townhouse at Grodzka 11 was handed back to us, but unfortunately, the joy was short-lived. In this way, MDK had two buildings, which allowed for a significant expansion of its educational offerings for children and youth in a larger space. In 1999, the city authorities took over the building on Skierki Street and in return handed us the former school building at Chrobrego 18. After a major renovation and interior adaptation, MDK teams working at Skierki Street moved to the new headquarters, which unfortunately did not have a performance hall, which was much needed for organizing events. This issue is still a challenge for the institution to this day.

In the first fifteen years the directors of the MDK were consecutively: Irena Szczepowska-Szych, Włodzimierz Greszczenko, and Mieczysław Ciesielski. Some of the interest clubs that were established at that time operated only during that period and some were later transformed into related forms. The clubs that did not survive include: the philatelists' club, accordionists' club, mandolinists' and guitarists' club, artistic and sports gymnastics club, radio engineering and amateur radio club, toy-making workshop, music passionate’ club, the Lovers of Lublin Club, and the senior club. The Esperanto club was very active at that time, and later, within the framework of the model-making workshop, boat-building emerged.
Meetings with interesting people were very popular at the Castle; for example, with children's book illustrators and poets (Józef Wilkoń, Adam Kilian, or Zbigniew Lengren), combined with book graphic exhibitions. Personalities from that period included: Danuta Tramecourt, Hanna Wyszkowska, Wiesław Wolski, Stanisław Butrym, and Bożenna Makowska. They set the tone for the institution and, thanks to their charisma, attracted children and youth – they were passionate about their work. Hanna Wyszkowska, who led the Lovers of Lublin Club, wrote in her memoirs: "Since my passion was tourism and a deep sentiment for my hometown of Lublin, its history, and wonderful monuments, the main goal was to ignite such passion and interest among others. I think I succeeded.”

It was Hanna Wyszkowska who organized the famous Sunday trips around the city and region, and during the summer, she also arranged hikes and camps in the most beautiful areas of the country. She invited interesting people to give lectures. The MDK was always open and, in the 1960s, carried out many city events in cooperation with the press: Sztandar Ludu and Kurier Lubelski. These were recurring events such as the "Carnival of Youth," "A Smile for Every Child," the "Golden Leaf of Autumn" model competition, and the educational leaders' balls.
In 1970, when the MDK received its headquarters in the building on Grodzka Street, the most representative fireplace room became the place for fascinating meetings with people from culture and sports. The "Pod Akacją" art gallery was opened, which collaborated with the BWA (a regional art gallery), and book fairs were organized. In 1972, in cooperation with the H. Łopaciński Library, a youth reading room and library were created.

Some of the activities for children and youth evolved or expanded. Danuta Tramecourt, alongside the toy-making workshop, introduced a hand and machine knitting group, which later transformed into a youth fashion team. The demands of the times caused, in the early 1990s, the radio and amateur radio teams to evolve into computer technology groups. Amateur radio, which allowed young people to communicate with the entire world, was replaced by the internet. In the late 1970s and 1980s, many new artistic teams were created, including dance, music, vocal groups, and a children’s choir. Among many foreign languages, Esperanto was quite popular. To this day, only German language classes are still held, led for years by the dedicated Bożenna Makowska.
Fine arts, applied arts, photography, model-making, and theater have been part of the MDK's activities from the very beginning and continue to be popular to this day. These activities have always attracted great interest from children and youth and have shaped the artistic direction of the MDK. In the 1990s, due to a lack of facilities, sports teams were discontinued.

At the same time, many new recurring events with a regional and even nationwide scope were born, especially in the fields of visual arts and recitation competitions. The variety of events organized by the institution made the MDK a very popular and well-known centre in the region and in Poland. A particularly active event schedule has been observed since the year 2000 and continues to the present day. The great diversity of extracurricular activities attracts an increasing number of participants who wish to develop their talents and deepen their knowledge while learning about life. Currently, the MDK runs 150 interest groups, gathering about 1,500 regular participants. The institution organizes over 80 events at the municipal, regional, nationwide, and international levels, in which more than 50,000 people take part.

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^{[The photos come from the anniversary publication "50 years of the Youth Cultural Center "Pod Akacją", Lublin 2006. Scan: Emil Fil]
English translation: Adrianna Arent}