The article presents two descriptions of Smolensk from the beginning of the 17th century: encomion and topographia. The first encomion, Smoleńska zacność R<oku> P<ańskiego> 1628 [Smolensk Estates, AD 1628] by Jan Kunowski is written in Polish. Kunowski’s poem was discovered and edited by Marta Kacprzak in 2006. The author, closely connected with Smolensk Land, describes the beauty and power of the Smolensk stronghold from the Polish point of view (for example, he does not mention any orthodox churches in the town) seventeen years after Smolensk was regained by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The opposite picture of Smolensk is to be found in Stanisław Żółkiewski’s Początek i progres wojny moskiewskiej [The start and Progress of the Smolensk War], in which he describes some detailed features of the town and its citizens
