Leon Sapieha (1803–1878), sometimes written as Leon Sapiega,
was a
Galician noble (''
szlachcic
The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in th ...
'') and statesman.
Biography
Leon was born and educated in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, and studied law and economics 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 ...
and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
from 1820 to 1824. He began to work in the administration in the
Polish (Congress) Kingdom. After the outbreak of 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, he left
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
and took part in diplomatic missions of the
Polish National Government in France and Great Britain. After that, he returned and participated in the Uprising in the rank of an Artillery Captain, among others in the defence of
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
on 6 and 7 September. He was awarded for that the
Virtuti Militari
The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', pl, Order Wojenny Virtuti Militari) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was created in 1792 by Polish King Stan ...
Order. After the collapse of the Uprising he settled in
Galicia, then part of the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
. In 1835 Russian authorities confiscated his estates in
Congress Poland
Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...
as punishment for his participation in the failed Uprising. Leon Sapieha was one of the leaders of the
Ruthenian sobor Ruthenian sobor, or Ruthenian Congress ( uk, Руський cобор) was a Polonophile Political Committee, based in Lviv and created on May 23, 1848 by Polish nobleman of Ukrainian origin "in the name of supporting harmony and unity in peace Mo ...
.
He was a member of "National movement" circles and held contacts with the "
Hotel Lambert
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...
". He became a member of the National
Sejm
The Sejm (English: , Polish: ), officially known as the Sejm of the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej''), is the lower house of the bicameral parliament of Poland.
The Sejm has been the highest governing body of t ...
(
Diet of Galicia
*german: Landtag von Galizien
, native_name_lang =
, transcription_name =
, legislature =
, coa_pic = Wappen Königreich Galizien & Lodomerien.png
, coa_caption = Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodome ...
) in the Austro-Hungarian province of
Galicia, member of the Austrian Council of the State and member of the imperial
Herrenhaus in 1861. In 1863 he didn't participate in the
January Uprising
The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...
in Russian-occupied Poland, but contributed towards it financially. From 1861 until 1875 he served as
Sejm Marshal. In 1875, he retired from political life.
During his career he devoted much energy to agitating for the development of railways in
Galicia, believing this to be central to the development of the region and the lives of its mostly Polish inhabitants. In 1858 after years of struggling to secure support in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
for his plans he was able to initiate the construction of the
Carl Ludwig railway line connecting the railhead at
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 ...
with
Lviv
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
and
Brody and linking Galicia with the rest of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
[Ralf Roth, Günter Dinhobl. 'Across the borders: Financing the world's railways in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.' Ashgate, 2008. p.53]
Legacy
In 1869, the city of Stanisławów (now
Ivano-Frankivsk
Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk O ...
) named its street after him, ulica Sapiezinskego (now
Independence Street), which carried its name until the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Bibliography
* Sapieha Leon, ''Wspomnienia z lat 1803–1863'', Lwów 1914.
References
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapieha, Leon
1803 births
1878 deaths
Nobility from Warsaw
People from the Province of South Prussia
Ruthenian nobility
Polish economists
Lawyers from Warsaw
Recipients of the Virtuti Militari
Marshals of the Diet of Galicia and Lodomeria
Leon Sapieha
Leon Sapieha (1803–1878), sometimes written as Leon Sapiega, was a Galician noble ('' szlachcic'') and statesman.
Biography
Leon was born and educated in Warsaw, and studied law and economics in Paris and Edinburgh from 1820 to 1824. He began ...
Participants of the Slavic Congress in Prague 1848