The Complete Works vol. 15: The Grand Duchy of Poznań part 7. Wrocław – Poznań 1962, pp. X+324. Photo-offset re-edition; first edition: Cracow 1882.

The last part of the ethnographic monograph on Great Poland contains descriptions of beliefs, witchcraft and superstitions. While preparing this work, Kolberg extensively utilized literature and material he received from his co-workers, mainly from T. Klepaczewski (paper on witchcraft). He also gained from works and publications of R. Berwiński, E. Kierski, K. Szulc, J. Chociszewski, supplementing theoretical arguments with brief notes from the German compendium of O. Bergenroth (‘Croquis von Posen’), from reports of J. Łukaszewicz, K. Wójcicki, and from articles scattered throughout various journals, mainly from ‘Przyjaciel Ludu’ [Friend of the People]. The collected and described material, supplemented with personal observation and information, was also provided by Kolberg with references to his earlier volumes, especially to part 3 of ‘The Cracow Region’, and to those texts of tales (in part 1 of ‘Kujawy’ and part 6 of ‘The Grand Duchy of Poznań’) that were based on the images of some beliefs. The volume contains over a dozen of such tales. At the end of the book Kolberg added extensive notes (content: 175 pp., notes: 140 pp.), in which one can find, among others, supplementary Polish material and numerous excerpts from German works, especially from travel works of A. Bastian and mythological arguments of J. Grimm, presented for comparative purposes. A reprint of a 17th century paper entitled ‘Czarownica powołana’ [The Indicted Witch] closes the notes. The book is a collection of valuable, often scattered and inaccessible source material concerning beliefs of the Great Poland region and thus constitutes an indispensable addition to the picture of the folklore of the region presented in the six preceding volumes of the monograph.