Aleksander Józef Sułkowski (15 March 1695 – 21 May 1762) was a Polish general and the progenitor of the

Sułkowski Sułkowski (feminine: Sułkowska) is a Polish-language surname associated with the Polish noble Sułkowski family. Russified version: Sulkovsky. Notable people with this surname include: * Alexander Joseph Sulkowski (1695–1762), a Saxon-Polish ...

noble line. He was politically active in Poland, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and in the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

. Born in Kraków, Sulkowski was a favourite protégé of king

Augustus III of Poland Augustus III ( pl, August III Sas, lt, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Aug ...

and acted as his Minister of State in Saxony from 1733 to 1738. He was created a Count of the Holy Roman Empire in 1733, and elevated to the rank of Prince of Bielsko by Empress

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

of Austria in 1754. According to some sources, Alexander Joseph was an illegitimate son born to Elżbieta Szalewska and king Augustus II the Strong, making him Augustus III's half-brother. Elżbieta's husband, Stanisław Sułkowski, gave Alexander Joseph his last name. On 31 October 1728, Sulkowski married Baroness Marie Franciszka von Stain zu Jettingen (). They had eight children. In 1743, he married Countess Anna Przebendowska (25 July 17211795), with whom he had four children. Sulkowski died 21 May 1762, aged 67, in Leszno, Poland.

Notable purchases

In 1738, Sulkowski purchased the

Leszczyński The House of Leszczyński ( , ; plural: Leszczyńscy, feminine form: Leszczyńska) was a prominent Polish noble family. They were magnates in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and later became royal family of Poland. History The Leszczyński ...

estates of

Rydzyna Rydzyna (pronounced , german: Reisen) is a historic town in western Poland, located in the southern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, 10 km south of Leszno, in the Leszno County, close to the main Poznań - Wrocław highway S5. The ...

and neighboring areas, not far from Leszno. In 1752, he purchased the Sułkowski Castle in Bielsko-Biała (in Cieszyn Silesia) and its surroundings together with goods for 600,000 florins from Jan Sunnegh. Sulkowski commissioned a large and exquisite Meissen porcelain service, made between 1735 and 1738 by famed sculptor Johann Joachim Kändler. Many of the porcelain pieces featured his personal

monograph A monograph is a specialist work of writing (in contrast to reference works) or exhibition on a single subject or an aspect of a subject, often by a single author or artist, and usually on a scholarly subject. In library cataloging, ''monograph ...

and coat of arms.

Notable purchases

References

See also