Elżbieta "Izabela" Dorota Czartoryska ( Flemming; 31 March 1745 – 15 July 1835) was a Polish

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

, writer, art collector, and prominent figure in the

Polish Enlightenment The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture (Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Gol ...

. She was the wife of

Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski (1 December 1734 – 19 March 1823) was an influential Polish aristocrat, writer, literary and theater critic, linguist, traveller and statesman. He was a great patron of arts and a candidate for the Polish cro ...

and a member of the influential '' Familia'' political party. She is also known for having founded Poland's first museum, the

Czartoryski Museum The Princes Czartoryski Museum ( ) – often abbreviated to Czartoryski Museum – is a historic museum in Kraków, Poland, and one of the country's oldest museums. The initial collection was formed in 1796 in Puławy by Princess Izabela Czartor ...

, now located 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 ...

Life

She was the daughter of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Georg Detlev von Flemming Georg Detlev von Flemming (Polish: Jerzy Detloff Fleming) (3 March 1699 – 10 December 1771) was a General in Polish-Saxon service, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania in 1746–1764 and Voivode of Pomerelia in 1766. Von Flemming was born on 3 March 1 ...

() and Princess

Antonina Czartoryska Georg Detlev von Flemming (Polish: Jerzy Detloff Fleming) (3 March 1699 – 10 December 1771) was a General in Polish-Saxon service, Grand Treasurer of Lithuania in 1746–1764 and Voivode of Pomerelia in 1766. Von Flemming was born on 3 March 1 ...

. On 18 November 1761, in

Wołczyn Wołczyn () is a town in Kluczbork County, Opole Voivodeship, south-western Poland, with 5,907 inhabitants . According to 2011 data, it covers , and is the seat of Gmina Wołczyn. It is located within the historic region of Lower Silesia. His ...

, she married Prince

, thus becoming a princess. Her son

Adam Jerzy Czartoryski Adam Jerzy Czartoryski (14 January 1770 – 15 July 1861), also known as Adam George Czartoryski, was a Polish szlachta, nobleman, statesman, diplomat and author who served as Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian SFSR, Chairman of ...

wrote in his memoirs that prior to the marriage, Izabela fell ill with smallpox and that his aunt, Elżbieta Izabela Lubomirska, in horror at the bride's pockmarked face, tried in vain to prevent the marriage to her brother. She was rumored to have had an affair with the Russian ambassador to Poland,

Nikolai Vasilyevich Repnin Prince Nikolai or Nicholas Vasilyevich Repnin (; – ) was a Russian statesman and general from the Repnin princely family who played a key role in the dissolution of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; the leading figure in the Repnin Sejm, ...

, who was alleged to have fathered her son Adam George Czartoryski. She had also an affair with the Duke de Lauzun, who says himself in his "Mémoires" he fathered her second son Konstanty Adam. In

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1772, she met

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

, subsequently a leader of the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, and the French philosophers

Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...

and

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...

, who were bringing new ideas to the old order. In 1775, together with her husband, Czartoryska completely transformed the Czartoryski Palace at

Puławy Puławy (, also written Pulawy) is a city in eastern Poland, in Lesser Poland's Lublin Voivodeship, at the confluence of the Vistula and Kurówka River, Kurówka Rivers. Puławy is the capital of Puławy County. The city's 2019 population was Cen ...

into an intellectual and political

meeting place A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making. Definiti ...

. Her court was one of the most liberal and progressive in the Commonwealth, although some aspects of her behavior also caused scandals. Izabela discovered the talent of the young painter Aleksander Orłowski and financed him. While in Prussia with her daughter

Maria Wirtemberska Princess Maria Czartoryska (formerly Duchess Louis of Württemberg; 15 March 1768, Warsaw – 21 October 1854, Paris), was a Polish noble, member of the House of Württemberg, writer, musician and philanthropist. Early life Born into the ...

for the latter's marriage, she told Frederick II of her fears that her husband would be poisoned, which was what had caused a split between him and

Stanisław August Poniatowski Stanisław II August (born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski; 17 January 1732 – 12 February 1798), known also by his regnal Latin name Stanislaus II Augustus, and as Stanisław August Poniatowski (), was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuani ...

politically. Frederick laughed and told her that only monarchs were poisoned, and spread the conversation around his court to Izabela's detriment, according to

Wirydianna Fiszerowa Wirydianna Fiszerowa (born Wirydianna Radolińska, using the Leszczyc coat of arms, later Wirydianna Kwilecka; 1761 in Wyszyny – 1826 in Działyń) was a Polish noblewoman best known for her memoirs, which mention her life in pre- and post-p ...

In 1784, she joined the

Patriotic Party The Patriotic Party (), also known as the Patriot Party or, in English, as the Reform Party, was a political movement in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the period of the Four-Year Sejm (Great Sejm) of 1788–1792, whose chief achieveme ...

. After the suppression of the

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 ...

, her sons Adam George and Konstanty Adam were taken as political hostages by Russia's

Empress 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 ...

. In 1796, Izabela ordered the rebuilding of the ruined palace at Puławy and began a museum. Among the first objects to be included were

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

trophies that had been seized by Polish King

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

's forces at the 1683

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...

. Also included were Polish royal treasures and historic Polish family heirlooms. In 1801 Izabela opened the

Temple of the Sibyl The Temple of the Sibyl (in Polish, ''Świątynia Sybilli'') is a colonnaded round monopteral temple-like structure at Puławy, Poland, built at the turn of the 19th century as a museum by Izabela Czartoryska. History The "Temple of the S ...

, also called "The Temple of Memory". It contained objects of sentimental importance pertaining to the glories and miseries of human life. 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. ...

in 1830, the museum was closed. Izabela's son Adam George Czartoryski, going into exile in Paris, evacuated the museum's surviving objects to the

Hôtel Lambert The Hôtel Lambert () is an ''hôtel particulier,'' a grand mansion townhouse, built between 1640 and 1644 on the Quai Anjou on the eastern tip of the Île Saint-Louis, in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. In the 19th century, the name ''Hôtel La ...

. His son

Władysław Czartoryski Prince Władysław (Ladislaus) Czartoryski (3 July 1828 – 23 June 1894) was a Polish noble, political activist in exile, collector of art, and founder of the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków. Early life Czartoryski was born in Warsaw, Congres ...

would reopen the museum in 1878 in Kraków, where it exists today.

Works

* ''Myśli różne o sposobie zakładania ogrodów'' (1805) * ''Pielgrzym w Dobromilu, czyli nauki wiejskie'' (ca. 1818)

References

External links

Czartoryski Museum website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czartoryska, Izabela 1746 births 1835 deaths Writers from Warsaw Polish people of German descent 18th-century Polish women 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian writers 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian women writers 18th-century philanthropists 19th-century Polish writers 19th-century Polish women writers Izabella Izabella Museum founders Polish art collectors Women art collectors Polish philanthropists Polish landscape and garden designers Polish women in politics Polish writers in French Polish salon-holders 18th-century Polish nobility Polish patrons of the arts 18th-century women philanthropists 18th-century women politicians

Life

Works

See also

References

External links