Prince Antoni Henryk Radziwiłł (; 13 June 1775 – 7 April 1833) was a Polish and Prussian

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, Gr ...

aristocrat The aristocracy (''from Greek'' ''ἀριστοκρατία'' ''aristokratía'', "rule of the best"; ''Latin: aristocratia'') is historically associated with a "hereditary" or a "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the ...

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Initially a hereditary

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

of Nieśwież and

Ołyka Olyka (, ; ; ) is a city in Lutsk Raion, Volyn Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located east of Lutsk on the Putylivka Rriver. Its population is History The village of Olyka was founded in the early Middle Ages as one of the villages belonging ...

, as a scion of the

Radziwiłł family The House of Radziwiłł (; ; ; ) is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian origin, and one of the most powerful magnate families originating from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and later also prominent in the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. Pa ...

he also held the honorific title of a ''

Reichsfürst Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

'' of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. Between 1815 and 1831 he acted as ''Duke-Governor'' (, ) of the

Grand Duchy of Posen The Grand Duchy of Posen (; ) was part of the Kingdom of Prussia, created from Prussian Partition, territories annexed by Prussia after the Partitions of Poland, and formally established following the Congress of Vienna in 1815. On 9 February 1 ...

, an autonomous province of the

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

created out of Greater Polish lands annexed in the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

Early life

Antoni Radziwiłł was born on 13 June 1775 in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

to Michał Hieronim Radziwiłł and Helena Przeździecka. His family lived in Czernawczycy, then

Nieborów Palace Nieborów Palace (; pronounced: ) is a palace located in the village of Nieborów, Łódź Voivodeship in Poland. Built in the 17th century by one of the greatest Baroque architecture, Baroque architects, Tylman van Gameren, the building belongs ...

, and in the Radziwill Palace in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. Among his siblings was his elder brother, Prince Ludwik Nikolai Radziwiłł, 10th Ordinate of Klecki (who married Marianna Wodzinska). His younger siblings included Princess Krystyna Magdalena Radziwiłł (maid of honour to

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

); Prince Michał Gedeon Radziwiłł, a general and senator of Poland (who married Aleksandra Stecka); and Princess Angelika Radziwiłł (who married Prince Konstanty Adam Czartoryski). His father was the second son of Prince Marcin Mikołaj Radziwiłł and, his second wife, Marta Trembicka. His maternal grandparents were Anthony Tadeusz Prezezdecki and Princess Catherine Oginska. After his maternal grandmother's death, his mother was raised by her aunt, Princess Aleksandra Czartoryska, the wife of Prince Michał Kazimierz Ogiński. From 1792 he attended

Göttingen University Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

and was invited to the court of King

Frederick William II of Prussia Frederick William II (; 25 September 1744 – 16 November 1797) was King of Prussia from 1786 until his death in 1797. He was also the prince-elector of Brandenburg and (through the Orange-Nassau inheritance of his grandfather) sovereign princ ...

Career

Following his 1796 marriage to Princess Louise of Prussia, his new family convinced him that he should be a mediator between the Poles living under the Third Partition after the failed

Kościuszko Uprising The Kościuszko Uprising, also known as the Polish Uprising of 1794, Second Polish War, Polish Campaign of 1794, and the Polish Revolution of 1794, was an uprising against the Russian and Prussian influence on the Polish–Lithuanian Common ...

and the Prussian authorities in Berlin. Fluctuating between Berlin,

and

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, Radziwiłł developed the idea of making the province of South Prussia the nucleus of a renewed Polish kingdom, ruled by the Prussian king in

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

. During

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's 1806 campaign in Poland during the

War of the Fourth Coalition The War of the Fourth Coalition () was a war spanning 1806–1807 that saw a multinational coalition fight against Napoleon's First French Empire, French Empire, subsequently being defeated. The main coalition partners were Kingdom of Prussia, ...

, he tried to incite a Polish uprising against the French army and to convince Prince Józef Poniatowski to abandon his French allies and join the cause of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

and Prussia. He failed on both occasions, when Prussia suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt. Instead, Napoleon's expedition sparked the Greater Poland Uprising, which led to the establishment of the

Duchy of Warsaw The Duchy of Warsaw (; ; ), also known as the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and Napoleonic Poland, was a First French Empire, French client state established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars. It initially comprised the ethnical ...

under the rule of King

Frederick Augustus I of Saxony Frederick Augustus I (; ; ; 23 December 1750 – 5 May 1827) was a member of the House of Wettin who reigned as the last Elector of Saxony from 1763 to 1806 (as Frederick Augustus III) and as the first King of Saxony from 1806 to 1827. He was al ...

with Prince Poniatowski as War Minister. In the following years, Radziwiłł retired to his city palace in Berlin and concentrated on regaining his family's vast estates in the

Russian partition The Russian Partition (), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Poland. The Russian ac ...

from the hands of Emperor

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

Duke-Governor

Upon the Final Act of the 1815

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...

, he was sent to the Greater-Poland capital

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

as Duke-Governor and representative of Prussian King Frederick William III in the

. Struggling between his Polish subjects and the Prussian authorities, Radziwiłł found himself with little power, as effective power was executed by ''Oberpräsident'' Joseph Zerboni di Sposetti and the district governors heading the ''

Regierungsbezirk A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts ' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...

e'' of Posen and

Bromberg Bydgoszcz is a city in northern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Kuyavia. Straddling the confluence of the Vistula River and its left-bank tributary, the Brda, the strategic location of Bydgoszcz has made it an inland ...

. His daughter

Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...

's engagement to Prussian Prince (later German Emperor)

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

was broken in 1824. Shortly after the outbreak of the 1830

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 Russian Partition, the heartland of Partitions of Poland, partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. ...

in Russian

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of 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 was established w ...

led by his brother Michał Gedeon Radziwiłł, he was deprived of all powers, and the rule passed to ''Oberpräsident'' Eduard Heinrich von Flottwell. Next year the office of Duke-Governor was abolished, and the autonomy of the Grand Duchy was cancelled. It was incorporated into the

Provinces of Prussia The Provinces of Prussia () were the main administrative divisions of Prussia from 1815 to 1946. Prussia's province system was introduced in the Prussian Reform Movement, Stein-Hardenberg Reforms in 1815, and were mostly organized from duchies an ...

, renamed the "

Province of Posen The Province of Posen (; ) was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1848 to 1920, occupying most of the historical Greater Poland. The province was established following the Greater Poland Uprising (1848), Poznań Uprisi ...

" in 1848.

Personal life

In 1796 he married Princess Louise of Prussia (1770–1836), the second daughter of Margravine Elisabeth Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt and Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia and hence a niece of the late Prussian king

Frederick the Great Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself ''King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prussia ...

. Together, they were the parents of: * Prince Wilhelm Paweł Radziwiłł (1797–1870), who married his first cousin, Princess Helena Radziwill, a daughter of Ludwig Nikolai Radziwill and Marianna Wodzinska, in 1825. After her death in 1827, he married Countess Mathilde von Clary und Aldringen, a daughter of Carl Joseph, 3rd Prince of Clary-Aldringen, in 1832. * Prince Ferdynand Fryderyk Radziwiłł (1798–1827), who died, unmarried, at Ruhberg. * Princess Ludwika Radziwiłł (1799–1808), who died young. * Princess Fryderyka Helena Radziwiłł (1802–1803), who died young. * Princess Eliza Fryderyka Radziwiłł (1803–1834), the desired bride of Prince William of Prussia, who later became

William I, German Emperor Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

, but they were not allowed to marry. * Prince Bogusław Fryderyk Radziwiłł (1809–1873), who married Countess Leontyna von Clary und Aldringen, in 1832. * Prince Władysław Radziwiłł (1811–1831), who died unmarried. * Princess Wanda Augusta Wilhelmina Radziwiłł (1813–1845), who married her first cousin, Prince Adam

Czartoryski The House of Czartoryski (feminine form: Czartoryska, plural: Czartoryscy; ) is a Princely Houses of Poland, Polish princely family of Lithuanian-Ruthenians, Ruthenian origin, also known as the Familia (political party), Familia. The family, whic ...

, son of Prince Konstanty Adam Czartoryski and Princess Angelika Radziwiłł, in 1832. Radziwiłł returned to his palace in Berlin, where he died on 7 April 1833. He was buried in the Poznań Cathedral. His children with Louise were Germanized and never returned to

; however, as owners of the

Nieborów Nieborów is a village in Łowicz County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Nieborów. It lies approximately east of Łowicz and north-east of the regional capital Łód� ...

manor near Warsaw and huge family estates in today's

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

, they paid frequent visits to other parts of Poland.

Patron of the arts

Antoni Radziwiłł is better known for his art patronage than for his ill-fated political career. His palaces in Berlin (the later

Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery () was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared since 1875, was the fo ...

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (; born ''Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck''; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898) was a German statesman and diplomat who oversaw the unification of Germany and served as ...

), Poznań and Antonin near

Ostrów Wielkopolski Ostrów Wielkopolski () (often abbreviated ''Ostrów Wlkp.'', formerly called simply ''Ostrów'', , Latin: ''Ostrovia'') is a city in west-central Poland with 70,982 inhabitants (2021), situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship; the seat of Ostr ...

were known for great concerts performed by one of the most notable musicians of his times. Apart from the guitar, cello and opera concerts performed by Radziwiłł himself, among his guests were

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; ; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices ...

(concert in Poznań on 19 May 1829),

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

and

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

. Chopin wrote his ''Introduction'' and ''Polonaise Op. 3'' for cello and piano especially for Radziwiłł. He also performed a concert in his palace in Poznań on 2 October 1828. Additionally, Chopin dedicated his

Piano Trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

Op. 8 to Radziwiłł. Ludwig van Beethoven dedicated his ''Ouverture Op. 115'' ( Zur Namensfeier) to him, while Goethe participated in his efforts to write the music for his '. Maria Agata Szymanowska dedicated to him the ''Serenade pour le Pianoforte avec le accompagnement de violoncelle''. He was also a notable sponsor of Polish theatres and his wife opened the first public school for girls in Poznań in 1830.

Awards

* : Knight of the Order of the White Eagle, ''6 September 1793''; ''1 December 1815'' *

: ** Knight of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

, ''1795'' ** Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, ''16 March 1796''''Liste der Ritter des Königlich Preußischen Hohen Ordens vom Schwarzen Adler'' (1851), "Von Seiner Majestät dem Könige Friedrich Wilhelm II. ernannte Ritter
p. 13
/ref> * : Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert, ''1825'' * : Knight of Honour and Devotion

References

Literature

* Witold Jakóbczyk, ''Przetrwać na Wartą 1815–1914'', ''Dzieje narodu i państwa polskiego'', vol. III-55, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Warszawa 1989

External links

Scores by Antoni Radziwiłł
in digital library

Polona Polona is a Polish digital library, which provides digitized books, magazines, graphics, maps, music, fliers and manuscripts from collections of the National Library of Poland and co-operating institutions. It began its operation in 2006. Colle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radziwill, Antoni Lieutenant generals of Prussia 1775 births 1833 deaths Politicians from Vilnius Polish composers Polish Romantic composers

Antoni Antoni is a Catalan, Polish, and Slovene given name and a surname used in the eastern part of Spain, Poland and Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to ...

People from the Grand Duchy of Posen Burials at Poznań Cathedral 19th-century classical composers Polish male classical composers 19th-century male musicians Knights of Malta Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)