Countess ''Karolina'' Rozalia Tekla Sobańska (née Rzewuska; 25 December 1795 – 21 July 1885) was a Polish agent and noblewoman. She was a Russian agent, the mistress of the Tsarist general Jan de Witte (1781–1840) and a reputed lover of Poland's

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbol, to be distinguished ...

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

Life

Karolina Sobańska belonged to the well-known ''

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (; ; ) were the nobility, noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Depending on the definition, they were either a warrior "caste" or a social ...

'' family of Rzewuski. Sister of

Ewelina Hańska Eveline Hańska (; 6 January – 11 April 1882) was a Polish people, Polish nobility, noblewoman best known for her marriage to French novelist Honoré de Balzac. Born at the Wierzchownia estate in VolhyniaJuanita Helm Floyd ''Women in th ...

, wife of

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...

. Karolina's first spouse was a Russian officer, Stefan Cerkovic. In 1814, she married

marszałek Marszałek (, , , ) was the title of one of the highest officials in the Polish royal court since the 13th century, and in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since the 15th century. It was the highest-ranking of all court officials and was considered ...

Hieronim Sobański h. Junosza and had one child: She had one daughter during her second marriage: Kostancja Honorata Sobańska (1814–1838), married to Prince

Ksawery Franciszek Sapieha Ksawery is a Polish given name version of name Xavier, other variation is Xawery, may refer to: People * Ksawery Błasiak (1900–1966), lieutenant of the Polish Army * Ksawery Jasieński (born 1931), Polish radio speaker, voice actor * Ksawery L ...

. During 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. ...

of 1831,

Jan de Witte Jan de Witte (1709–1785) was a Dutch military engineer, professional officer and architect in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The designer of, among others, the Dominican church in Lwów (now Lviv, Ukraine) and the Carmelite monastery i ...

ruled Poland under war laws, and gave her the task to act as a spy in Russian service among to Polish rebels in Dresden and Saxony, a task she reportedly performed well, being able to forward several useful reports to the Russians.Jerzy Stanisław Majewski: Warszawa nieodbudowana: Królestwo Polskie w latach 1815-1840. Warszawa: Veda Agencja Wydawnicza, 2009, s. 156-157. . Considered a traitor in Russia and not quite trusted by the Russian Czar regardless of her service as a spy, she settled in Paris in France in 1836. Her third spouse was a Frenchman named Jules Lacroix.

Bibliography

* Polski Słownik Biograficzny t. 39 s. 411

References

External links

John William Wilkinson. Karolina Rzewuska. „Tygodnik Forum”, 2003.
Polish spies 1885 deaths 1795 births People from Pohrebyshche Karolina Karolina 19th-century spies 19th-century Polish women 19th-century Polish nobility People from the Russian Empire of Polish descent {{poland-bio-stub