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Elżbieta "Izabela" Dorota Czartoryska (''née'' Flemming; 3 March 1746 – 15 July 1835) was a Polish
princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...
, writer, art collector, and prominent figure in the
Polish Enlightenment The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...
. She was the wife of
Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential List of Polish people, Polish szlachcic, aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts an ...
and a member of the influential '' Familia'' political party. She is also known for having founded Poland's first museum, the
Czartoryski Museum The Princes Czartoryski Museum ( pl, Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich ) – often abbreviated to Czartoryski Museum – is a historic museum in Kraków, Poland, and one of the country's oldest museums. The initial collection was formed in 1796 in P ...
, now located in
Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
.


Life

She was the daughter of
Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
Georg Detlev von Flemming Georg Detlev von Flemming (Polish: Jerzy Detloff Fleming) (3 March 1699 – 10 December 1771) was a General in Polish-Saxon service, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania in 1746–1764 and Voivode of Pomerelia in 1766. Von Flemming was born on 3 March 1 ...
( pl,
Hrabia The hierarchy of noble titles in Poland was relatively uncommon throughout most of its history. Polish nobility ''szlachta'' enjoyed the principle of political equality of all its members. For this reason the idea of introducing the noble / aristoc ...
Jerzy Detloff Flemming) and Princess
Antonina Czartoryska Georg Detlev von Flemming (Polish: Jerzy Detloff Fleming) (3 March 1699 – 10 December 1771) was a General in Polish- Saxon service, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania in 1746–1764 and Voivode of Pomerelia in 1766. Von Flemming was born on 3 March ...
. On 18 November 1761, in
Wołczyn Wołczyn (german: Konstadt) is a town in Kluczbork County, Opole Voivodeship, southern Poland, with 5,907 inhabitants . According to 2011 data, it covers , and is the seat of Gmina Wołczyn. It is located within the historic region of Lower Siles ...
, she married Prince
Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential List of Polish people, Polish szlachcic, aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts an ...
, thus becoming a princess. She was rumored to have had an affair with the Russian ambassador to Poland,
Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin Prince Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin (russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Репни́н; – ) was an Imperial Russian statesman and general from the Repnin princely family who played a key role in the dissolution of the Polish–Lit ...
, who was alleged to have fathered her son
Adam George Czartoryski Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (; lt, Аdomas Jurgis Čartoriskis; 14 January 177015 July 1861), in English known as Adam George Czartoryski, was a Polish nobleman, statesman, diplomat and author. The son of a wealthy prince, he began his political c ...
. She had also an affair with the Duke de Lauzun, who says himself in his "Mémoires" he fathered her second son Konstanty Adam. In
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
in 1772, she met
Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
, subsequently a leader of the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
, and the French philosophers
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...
and
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...
, who were bringing new ideas to the old order. In 1775, together with her husband, Czartoryska completely transformed the Czartoryski Palace at
Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was estimated at 47,417 ...
into an intellectual and political meeting place. Her court was one of the most liberal and progressive in the Commonwealth, although some aspects of her behavior also caused scandals. Izabela discovered the talent of the young painter
Aleksander Orłowski Aleksander Orłowski (9 March 1777 – 13 March 1832) was a Polish painter and sketch artist, and a pioneer of lithography in the Russian Empire. Life Orłowski was born in 1777 in Warsaw into an impoverished noble family, his father was a ...
and financed him. While in Prussia with her daughter
Maria Wirtemberska Princess Maria Czartoryska (formerly Duchess Louis of Württemberg; 15 March 1768, Warsaw – 21 October 1854, Paris), was a Polish noble, writer, musician and philanthropist. Life Maria Anna was a daughter of Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartor ...
for the latter's marriage, she told Frederick II of her fears that her husband would be poisoned, which was what had caused a split between him and
Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1764 to 1795, and the last monarch ...
politically. Frederick laughed and told her that only monarchs were poisoned, and spread the conversation around his court to Izabela's detriment, according to
Wirydianna Fiszerowa Wirydianna Fiszerowa (born Wirydianna Radolińska, using the Leszczyc coat of arms, later Wirydianna Kwilecka) (1761 in Wyszyny - 1826 in Działyń) was a Polish noblewoman best known for her memoirs, which mention her life in pre- and post-pa ...
. In 1784, she joined the
Patriotic Party , colorcode = #E4433E , leader1_title = Leaders , leader1_name = Ignacy Potocki Adam Kazimierz CzartoryskiStanisław Małachowski , foundation = , dissolution = , headquarters = Kraków , ideology = Pro-Reform Constituti ...
. After the suppression of the
Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794 and the Second Polish War, was an uprising against the Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia led by Tadeusz Kościuszko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Pr ...
, her sons Adam George and Konstanty Adam were taken as political hostages by Russia's
Empress Catherine II , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
. In 1796, Izabela ordered the rebuilding of the ruined palace at Puławy and began a museum. Among the first objects to be included were Turkish trophies that had been seized by Polish King
Jan III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
's forces at the 1683 Battle of Vienna. Also included were Polish royal treasures and historic Polish family heirlooms. In 1801 Izabela opened the
Temple of the Sibyl The Temple of the Sibyl (in Polish, ''Świątynia Sybilli'') is a colonnaded round monopteral temple-like structure at Puławy, Poland, built at the turn of the 19th century as a museum by Izabela Czartoryska. History The "Temple of the Siby ...
, also called "The Temple of Memory". It contained objects of sentimental importance pertaining to the glories and miseries of human life. During the
November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...
in 1830, the museum was closed. Izabela's son Adam George Czartoryski, going into exile in Paris, evacuated the museum's surviving objects to the
Hôtel Lambert The Hôtel Lambert () is a ''hôtel particulier,'' a grand mansion townhouse, on the Quai Anjou on the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. In the 19th century, the name ''Hôtel Lambert'' also came to designate ...
. His son
Władysław Czartoryski Prince Władysław (Ladislaus) Czartoryski (3 July 1828 – 23 June 1894) was a Polish noble, political activist in exile, collector of art, and founder of the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków. Life Son of Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski and Pri ...
would reopen the museum in 1878 in Kraków, where it exists today.


Works

* ''Myśli różne o sposobie zakładania ogrodów'' (1805) * ''Pielgrzym w Dobromilu, czyli nauki wiejskie'' (ca. 1818)


See also

*
Czartoryski Museum The Princes Czartoryski Museum ( pl, Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich ) – often abbreviated to Czartoryski Museum – is a historic museum in Kraków, Poland, and one of the country's oldest museums. The initial collection was formed in 1796 in P ...
*
Royal Casket The Royal Casket ( pl, Szkatuła Królewska) was a memorial created in 1800 by Izabela Czartoryska. The large wooden casket contained 73 precious relics that had once belonged to Polish royalty. The casket was inscribed: "Polish mementos assemb ...
* " Mold of the Earth"


References


External links


Czartoryski Museum website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czartoryska, Izabela 1746 births 1835 deaths Writers from Warsaw Polish people of German descent 18th-century Polish women 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian writers 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian women writers 18th-century philanthropists 19th-century Polish writers 19th-century Polish women writers Izabella Izabella Museum founders Polish art collectors Women art collectors Polish philanthropists Polish landscape and garden designers Polish women in politics Polish writers in French Polish salon-holders 18th-century Polish nobility Polish patrons of the arts 18th-century women philanthropists 18th-century women politicians