Princess Maria Czartoryska (formerly Duchess Louis of Württemberg; 15 March 1768, Warsaw – 21 October 1854, Paris), was a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

, writer, musician and philanthropist.

Life

Maria Anna was a daughter of Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and Countess Isabella von Flemming. She spent her childhood in the Blue Palace 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 Powązki. In 1782 she moved with her parents to

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 ...

. Since 1784 to 1793 Maria was married to

Duke Louis of Württemberg Duke Ludwig Friedrich Alexander of Württemberg (; 30 August 1756, in Treptow an der Rega20 September 1817, in Kirchheim unter Teck) was the second son of Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg (1732–1797) and Margravine Sophia Dorothea of Bra ...

, who became the

Hetman ( uk, гетьман, translit=het'man) is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders. Used by the Czechs in Bohemia since the 15th century. It was the title of the second-highest military co ...

of the Lithuanian Army in the 1792 war against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. Maria divorced him when his betrayal of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

became known. Maria's only son,

Duke Adam of Württemberg Adam Karl Wilhelm Nikolaus Paul Eugen von Württemberg (16 January 1792 – 26 July 1847) was a Duke of Württemberg and General in Russian and Congress Poland, Polish-Russian service. Württemberg was born in Puławy to Duke Louis of Württe ...

, remained with his father and was raised in an atmosphere prejudiced against his mother and Poland. Following her divorce, Maria lived mostly in Warsaw, and since 1798 to 1804 spent winters 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 ...

and summers at Puławy. Between 1808-1816 she hosted her literary salon in Warsaw (Blue Saturdays). Her guests included

Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz ( , ; 6 February 1758 – 21 May 1841) was a Polish poet, playwright and statesman. He was a leading advocate for the Constitution of 3 May 1791. Early life Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz was born 6 February 1758 in Skoki, near ...

. She attended meetings of the Xs Society (Towarzystwo Iksów). In 1816 she published ''Malvina, or the Heart's Intuition'', considered Poland's first

psychological novel In literature, psychological fiction (also psychological realism) is a narrative genre that emphasizes interior characterization and motivation to explore the spiritual, emotional, and mental lives of the characters. The mode of narration examin ...

. Charmed with the picturesque village of Pilica she bought it and remodelled its landscape garden. She built a palace and a Catholic church. The park in Pilica was considered among the most beautiful in Europe, and rivalled other parks in Poland: Powązki (established by Maria's mother) and Helena Radziwiłł's Arkadia. Maria hired Franciszek Lessel as her

land agent Land agent may be used in at least three different contexts. Traditionally, a land agent was a managerial employee who conducted the business affairs of a large estate (house), landed estate for a member of the landed gentry, supervising the farmi ...

. Maria Wirtemberska was an active philanthropist. She provided education and published calendars for the peasantry. Following 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 ...

Maria moved to

Sieniawa Sieniawa (; uk, Сеня́ва, Seniáva), is a town in southeastern Poland. It had a population of 2,127 inhabitants (02.06.2009). Since 1999, Sieniawa has been part of Subcarpathian Voivodeship. History Sieniawa's history dates back to the 17 ...

, then in Galicia. In 1837 she moved to

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 ...

, where she lived with her brother,

Adam Jerzy 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 ...

Works

Book

* ''Malvina, or the Heart's Intuition'', 1816 (English translation by Ursula Phillips published by Northern Illinois University Press, 2012 )

Chamber music

*piano pieces (published by Antoni Kocipinski)

Vocal music

*Stefan Potocki (published by Rogoczy)

Gallery

File:Pulawy palac marynki.jpg, Marynka's

Palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, Puławy, was built for Maria by her parents File:Alexander_Roslin_003.png,

Izabela Czartoryska Elżbieta "Izabela" Dorota Czartoryska (''née'' Flemming; 3 March 1746 – 15 July 1835) was a Polish princess, writer, art collector, and prominent figure in the Polish Enlightenment. She was the wife of Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski and a m ...

, ''née'' Fleming, Maria's mother File:Louis von Württemberg (1756-1817).jpg,

, 1800 File:Adam of Wurttemberg by D.Bossi.jpg,

, Maria's son. Portrait by

Johann Dominik Bossi Johann Dominik Bossi (1767–1853), also known as ''Domenico Bossi'', was an Italian painter. Bossi, a student of Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo, was born in Trieste and worked primarily as a miniaturist in Germany, Austria, Sweden and Russia before ...

, 1805

References

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

1768 births 1854 deaths Writers from Warsaw Polish salon-holders Polish landscape and garden designers Polish people of German descent 19th-century Polish writers 19th-century Polish women writers Polish women composers 19th-century Polish nobility {{Poland-noble-stub