Rozalia Lubomirska (; 16 September 1768 in Chernobyl – 29 June 1794 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 ...

) was a Polish noblewoman, most noted for her death.

Life

She was the daughter of Count Jan Mikołaj Chodkiewicz and Countess Maria Ludwika Rzewuska, who was a daughter of

hetman ''Hetman'' is a political title from Central and Eastern Europe, historically assigned to military commanders (comparable to a field marshal or imperial marshal in the Holy Roman Empire). First used by the Czechs in Bohemia in the 15th century, ...

and

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles, genres and techniques to communicate ideas, to inspire feelings and emotions, or to entertain. Writers may develop different forms of writing such as novels, short sto ...

Wacław Rzewuski. She was married in 1787 (at the age of 19) to Prince Aleksander Lubomirski. A year later she bore their daughter, Aleksandra. Known for her beauty, Rozalia travelled to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, where she was rumoured to have some romantic affairs. Anna Rajecka's painting ''Girl with a Dove'' comes from that period. The allegory of virginity and innocence was meant to contradict the widespread gossip. Unhappy in her marriage, she decided to divorce her husband and did not accompany him on his way back to Poland. During the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

she was arrested along with her child, and tried for alleged conspiracy against the Revolution, and cooperation with the royalists. As a result, the 26-year-old princess was sentenced to death and soon beheaded by

guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...

, although her guilt was, and remained, widely questioned. The death of a Polish national caused much concern among the Polish nobility who, prior to the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (French: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

, openly cheered the Revolution. Lubomirska's husband, who returned to France to help her, as well as other Poles present in Paris at that time, vouched for her innocence. Among those who spoke in her defence were such great friends of liberty as

Tadeusz Kościuszko Andrzej Tadeusz Bonawentura Kościuszko (; 4 or 12 February 174615 October 1817) was a Polish Military engineering, military engineer, statesman, and military leader who then became a national hero in Poland, the United States, Lithuania, and ...

, the Polish-American revolutionary, who was granted honorary French citizenship during the Revolution. Following Rozalia's death, her daughter, Aleksandra Lubomirska, was released from prison and given under the guardianship of Izabella Leżeńska. After her death, Rozalia became the subject of legends. According to one, her ghost appears in the Lubomirski's palace in Opole Lubelskie. The writer Adolf Dygasiński claimed he saw her ghost. Image:37.Rozalia.z.ChodkiewiczowLubomirska.jpg, Rozalia Lubomirska. File:Lampi - Portret Rozalii Rzewuskiej 1814.jpg, Rozalia's daughter Alexandra Francis Rzewuska, 1814. They were incarcerated together during the Terror.

References

''Girl with a Dove'' at the National Museum in Warsaw
(Polish)
''Listy Aleksandra i Rozalii Lubomirskich'' (Letters of Aleksander and Rozalia Lubomirski)
(Polish) 1768 births 1794 deaths People executed by guillotine during the French Revolution Polish people executed abroad Executed Polish women Executed Polish people Executed Ukrainian people 18th-century Polish women People from Kiev Voivodeship People from Chornobyl Polish emigrants to France {{Poland-noble-stub