The building, priceless for the history of Polish science, has been put up for sale. There was a real threat that the heritage of the Polish Nobel Prize winner would be irretrievably lost. Buyers from outside Poland, for whom the building was only a residential or investment value, were interested in buying the house.
Dominika Kulczyk, President of the Kulczyk Foundation and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Polenergia S.A has decided to buy the house of Maria Skłodowskiej-Curie. In the house of the Nobel Prize winner, the House of Sisterhood will be established - a meeting and work place for exceptional women from all over Europe. Ultimately, the Nobel Prize winner's asylum near Paris is to become a place where awards will be given to outstanding women who have followed the footsteps of the Polish scientist.
Before that, the building will be restored. The first studies have already been carried out. Completion of renovation and restoration works is scheduled for 2025.
- We want to honor the legacy of Maria Skłodowska-Curie. The house of the Polish Nobel Prize winner is the property of all mankind and a natural meeting place for women who cross all barriers known to us by their activities. I would like this place to be vibrant with life again, serving European science and culture - says Dominika Kulczyk, President of the Kulczyk Foundation.
The House of Sisterhood planned in the home of the Nobel Prize winner is an extension of the Polish-Ukrainian Sisterhood, a project uniting women from Poland and Ukraine. The women's coalition initiated by the Kulczyk Foundation was established as a gesture of solidarity with Ukrainian women fleeing from the war.
Apart from Dominika Kulczyk, the Sisterhood includes, among others, Iryna Deszczyca, Ewa Ewart, Agnieszka Holland, Olga Tokarczuk and Oksana Zabużko. Today, the Sisterhood is awarding funding under the "Hi Girls!" Grant Program. The selected projects are intended to help women from Ukraine and their children.
Maria Skłodowska-Curie is the first woman in history to win the Nobel Prize. The Polish physicist and chemist got it twice - as one of only four people in the world. In the four, she is also the only woman.
In 1903, Maria Skłodowska-Curie, together with her husband Piotr Curie and Henri Becquerel, received the Nobel Prize in Physics for research on the phenomenon of radioactivity. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the second time in 1911 for the discovery of two new elements - polonium and radium.
- Maria Skłodowska-Curie has proved with her life that limitations do not exist. She showed that women can be leaders in the most difficult areas of science. They can indicate directions that the world will follow for decades. It has become a symbol of female strength and a harbinger of great change - adds Dominika Kulczyk.
In 1906, Piotr Curie died in a traffic accident. Maria, then 38, took over the chair of physics at the Sorbonne, the oldest university in France, after her husband. Thus, she became the first woman - professor of this university.
The house of Maria Skłodowska-Curie, purchased by Dominika Kulczyk, is located in the town of Saint-Remy-les-Chevreuse near Paris. The town is located west of the French capital, approximately 15 kilometers from Versailles. It is surrounded by forests, there are picturesque lakes and the river L'Yvette. Just 600 meters from the property is the last stop of the RER, providing quick access to the center of Paris.
The house is 120 square meters and was built around 1890. The building is accompanied by a garden with an area of approximately 900 square meters with a historic dovecote. The Maria Skłodowska-Curie House is on the official list of French historical monuments. Inside, the original elements of the decor have been preserved.
