Rozalia Lubomirska (16 September 1768 in

Chernobyl Chernobyl ( , ; russian: Чернобыль, ) or Chornobyl ( uk, Чорнобиль, ) is a partially abandoned city in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, situated in the Vyshhorod Raion of northern Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. Chernobyl is about n ...

– 29 June 1794 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

) was a Polish

noblewoman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...

, most noted for her death.

Life

Born Countess Rozalia Chodkiewicz, she was the daughter of Count

Jan Mikołaj Chodkiewicz Count Jan Mikołaj Chodkiewicz (14 December 1738, Gdańsk - 2 February 1781, Chernobyl) was the Starost of Żmudź and Wielona; Count of Szkłów and . Biography His father, , was the Voivode of Brest-Litovsk. In 1757, after completing his s ...

and Countess Maria Ludwika Rzewuska, who was a daughter of

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 ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...

Wacław Rzewuski. She was married in 1787 (at the age of 19) to Prince Aleksander Lubomirski. A year later she bore their daughter,

Aleksandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

. Known for her beauty, Rozalia travelled to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, where she was rumoured to have some romantic affairs. Anna Rajecka's painting ''Girl with a Dove'' comes from that period. The allegory of virginity and innocence was meant to contradict the widespread gossip. Unhappy in her marriage, she decided to divorce her husband and did not accompany him on his way back to Poland. During the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

she was arrested along with her child, and tried for alleged conspiracy against the Revolution, and cooperation with the royalists. As a result, the 26-year-old princess was sentenced to death and soon

behead Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

ed by

guillotine A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at t ...

, although her guilt was, and remained, widely questioned. The death of a Polish national caused much concern among the Polish nobility who, prior to the Reign of Terror, openly cheered the Revolution. Lubomirska's husband, who returned to France to help her, as well as other Poles present in Paris at that time, vouched for her innocence. Among those who spoke in her defence were such great friends of liberty as

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko ( be, Andréj Tadévuš Banavientúra Kasciúška, en, Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish military engineer, statesman, and military leader who ...

, the Polish-American revolutionary, who was granted honorary French citizenship during the Revolution. Following Rozalia's death, her daughter, Aleksandra Lubomirska, was released from prison and given under the guardianship of Izabella Leżeńska. After her death, Rozalia became the subject of legends. According to one, her ghost appears in the Lubomirski's palace in

Opole Lubelskie Opole Lubelskie is a town in eastern Poland. As of 2004, it had 8,879 inhabitants. The town is situated in Lublin Voivodeship, some 10 kilometers east of the Vistula River, and is the capital of Opole Lubelskie County. It was founded in the 14th ...

. The writer Adolf Dygasiński claimed he saw her ghost. Image:37.Rozalia.z.ChodkiewiczowLubomirska.jpg, Rozalia Lubomirska. File:Lampi - Portret Rozalii Rzewuskiej 1814.jpg, Rozalia's daughter

Alexandra Francis Rzewuska Aleksandra Franciszka Lubomirska (nicknamed Rosalie by her father) (1788 in Kiev – 11 January 1865 in Warsaw) was a Polish aristocrat, artist and writer from the Lubomirski family. She was the daughter of Prince Aleksander Lubomirski (1751–18 ...

, 1814. They were incarcerated together during the Terror.

References

''Girl with a Dove'' at the National Museum in Warsaw
(Polish)
''Listy Aleksandra i Rozalii Lubomirskich'' (Letters of Aleksander and Rozalia Lubomirski)
(Polish) 1768 births 1794 deaths People executed by guillotine during the French Revolution Polish people executed abroad Executed Polish women Executed Polish people Executed Ukrainian people 18th-century Polish women People from Kiev Voivodeship People from Chornobyl {{Poland-noble-stub