The book presents an outline of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from the 16^th to the 18^th century and offers a view of the realities of political life, organization of the judiciary, the economy, coexistence of different ethnic groups and religions, high and popular culture and achievements of art. While the federal character of the state and multicultural society is often overlooked in the synthesis of this period, the creation of civil society in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the cultural heritage was the joint achievement of its residents, regardless of their state and ethnic divisions.