Jadwiga Sapieżyna, née Zamoyska (9 July 1806–29 March 1890) was a Polish noblewoman and philanthropist.

Life

Jadwiga was born on 9 July, 1806, as the sixth child of

Zofia Czartoryska Princess Zofia Czartoryska (15 September 1778 – 27 February 1837) was a Polish szlachta, noblewoman. Life Zofia Czartoryska was born on 15 September 1778, in Warsaw. She was the fifth child of Countess Izabela Czartoryska née Fleming and her ...

née Fleming and her husband

Stanisław Kostka Zamoyski Count Stanisław Kostka Zamoyski of Herb Jelita (13 January 1775 – 2 April 1856) was a Polish nobleman (szlachcic), politician, landowner, and patron of arts. By birth he was a member of the House of Zamoyski. Biography Stanisław was the ...

. She received a thorough education. Her mother wrote and published for her a handbook called ''Rady dla córki'' ("advice for a daughter"). The book covered such topics as what it means to be a pious woman and a good wife. The latest edition of the book was published in 2002. Jadwiga married

Leon Sapieha Leon Sapieha (18 September 1803–1 September 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 fr ...

on 19 December 1825. In the spring of 1830, she travelled with her husband to Paris, where she made a good impression at the royal court of

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

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

, in which her husband took part, she lived frugally with him in

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

and Piskorowice. She became an advocate of hydrotherapy of

Vincenz Priessnitz Vincenz Priessnitz, also written Prießnitz (sometimes in German ''Vinzenz'', in English ''Vincent'', in Czech ''Vincenc''; 4 October 1799 – 26 November 1851) was an Austrian hydrotherapist. Originally a peasant farmer in Austrian Silesia, he i ...

in hope of curing her ailing children, five of which died in infancy and another two when they were sixteen and twenty. Jadwiga devoted her life to philanthropy. In

Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

, she led the Towarzystwo Dobroczynności św. Wincentego a Paulo charity association. She also founded orphanages for children whose parents had been killed in the

Galician slaughter The Galician Peasant Uprising of 1846, also known as the Galician Rabacja, Galician Slaughter, or the Szela uprising (; or ''Rabacja galicyjska''), was a two-month uprising of impoverished Austrian Galician peasants that led to the suppressio ...

, which later were transformed into an institution led by nuns and a children's hospital with a capacity of 120 beds. Additionally, Sapieżyna founded a

workhouse In Britain and Ireland, a workhouse (, lit. "poor-house") was a total institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. In Scotland, they were usually known as Scottish poorhouse, poorh ...

for beggars with a ward for " fallen girls". She also created a charity association in

Przemyśl Przemyśl () is a city in southeastern Poland with 56,466 inhabitants, as of December 2023. Data for territorial unit 1862000. In 1999, it became part of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. It was previously the capital of Prz ...

. To support her institutions, she constantly ran fund-raising events in Lviv. Those who were ill-disposed towards her claimed she conducted all the charity work with the money from fund-raising, and none from her own. During the

January Uprising The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...

, Sapieżyna founded a hospital for the wounded insurgents in Krasiczyn and supported hospitals in Lviv and Cieszanów. In February 1864, she helped her son

Adam Stanisław Sapieha Prince Adam Stanisław Sapieha (4 December 1828– 21 July 1903) was a Polish nobleman, landlord, politician. His mother, Jadwiga Sapieżyna, was a daughter of the 12th Ordynat of the Ordynacja Zamojska Count Stanisław Kostka Zamoyski. I ...

break out of prison. After the death of her husband, she gradually ceded the leading role in her charity organisations to her daughter-in-law, Jadwiga. She died on 29 March, 1890, in Krasiczyn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sapiezyna, Jadwiga Jadwiga 19th-century Polish nobility 1806 births 1890 deaths Polish philanthropists