Mapa polityczna Europy Środkowej w ciągu ostatniego tysiąca lat zmieniała się wielokrotnie. Wiele krajów zostało zupełnie zapomnianych, inne istnieją tylko na kartach podręczników historii lub w micie i legendzie. Taką krainą są Inflanty.

The aim of the article is to present the activities of foreign scientific centres of the Polish Academy of Sciences on the examples of three out of six operating centers: the center in Vienna, Paris and the Polish Science Contact Agency PolSCA PAN in Brussels. The authors of the article combine their own experiences of the former directors of the centers: in Vienna, Paris and Brussels to reflect critically on the place and role of these centers in the scientific-research area. They point to centers’ enormous and diverse potential for disseminating and promoting the achievements of scientists, not fully recognized and used by the scientific community. Taking into account the specifics of each institution, the authors describe the ways of optimal use of their cultural and social capital, and identify common structural problems they encountered during their tenure. The article consists of the following elements: an introduction, an extensive authorial analysis of each station's activities, prepared in the form of a case study and a summary with conclusions.