Galicia’s autonomous status was in fact a doubletrack affair. On the one hand Galicia became a shining example of freedom and autonomy, embedded in the new constitutional order of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, while on the other hand it was tied down to a monarchical absolutism which offered only limited protection of individual rights. The press in particular was caught in the dilemmas produced by this situation, especially in the sensitive areas of political loyalty and religion.
Throughout its publishing history (1850–1866) the editors of the Nadwiślanin, a weekly published at Chełmno (Kulm) in Royal Prussia, were the target of harassment by the Prussian police, prosecutors and courts. Print runs of the magazine were often seized, the editors taken to court and sentenced to fines and terms of imprisonment.