Wawrzyniec Benzelstjerna Engeström (1829–1910) was a Polish activist, poet, translator and notable advocate of Polish–Swedish cooperation.

Early life

He was the son of General Stanislaus von Engeström and grandson of the

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

Count Lars von Engeström. He took part in the

Kraków uprising The Kraków Uprising ( Polish: ''powstanie krakowskie'', ''rewolucja krakowska''; German: ''Krakauer Aufstand''; Russian: ''краковское восстание'') of 1846 was an attempt, led by Polish insurgents such as Jan Tyssowski and ...

of 1846 and Greater Poland Uprising of 1848, and was imprisoned by the

Prussians Prussia () was a German state that formed the German Empire in 1871. Prussia or Prussian may also refer to: *Prussia (region), a historical region on the south-eastern coast of the Baltic Sea that lent its name to the later German state Count ...

for one year in

Kostrzyn nad Odrą Kostrzyn nad Odrą (translated literally as Kostrzyn upon the Oder; ; ) is a town in Gorzów County, Lubusz Voivodeship in western Poland, on the border with Germany. Geography The town is situated within the historic Lubusz Land (''Ziemia Lubus ...

for the participation in the latter. In 1850, he studied in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, where he engaged in youth cultural activities.

Adulthood

After marriage in 1852, he returned to his family estate in Ostrowieczko. In 1853, he moved to Ugoszcz. In 1856, he bought the Rakowo estate. In 1863, he moved to

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 ...

and then to

Lwów 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 ...

, where he organized a press office on behalf of the Polish National Government 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 ...

. He published political brochures in Polish and French, and was arrested by the

Austrians Austrians (, ) are the citizens and Nationality, nationals of Austria. The English term ''Austrians'' was applied to the population of Archduchy of Austria, Habsburg Austria from the 17th or 18th century. Subsequently, during the 19th century, ...

in July 1863. Thanks to the efforts of his Swedish family, he was released in mid-1864, and then he moved to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, where he founded the Society for the Assistance of Emigrants, organized lectures on Polish history and literature for Polish refugees, and founded the ''Notatki Drezdeńskie'' Polish newspaper. He also befriended

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (28 July 1812 – 19 March 1887) was a Polish novelist, journalist, historian, publisher, painter, and musician. Born in Warsaw into a noble family, he spent much of his youth with his maternal grandparents in Romanów ...

there. In 1877, he sold his Rakowo estate as he was prohibited from returning to 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 ...

of Poland. In 1878, he moved to

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 ...

. From 1880 to 1906, he was a secretary of the

Poznań Society of Friends of Learning The Poznań Society of Friends of Learning or Poznań Society for the Advancement of Arts and Sciences (, ''PTPN'') is a learned society in Poznań, Poland, established in 1857, by scholars and scientists in all branches of learning. It has be ...

. He co-founded the

Działyński Palace Działyński Palace in Poznań, Poland is a Baroque palace built in 1773 to 1776. The building features a rich stucco-decorated interior of its "Red Hall" and a classicist façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exter ...

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...

collection, and initiated the construction of a monument to

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

poet

Jan Kochanowski Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who wrote in Latin and Polish and established poetic patterns that would become integral to Polish literary language. He has been called the greatest Polish poet before ...

in Poznań.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Engestrom, Wawrzyniec Benzelstjerna 1829 births 1910 deaths Polish activists Polish male poets Polish people of Swedish descent Polish political prisoners in the Prussian partition Prisoners and detainees of Austria