Stanisław hrabia Hutten-Czapski, of Leliwa (b. 1779 in

Nyasvizh Nyasvizh or Nesvizh is a town in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Nyasvizh District. Nyasvizh is the site of Nesvizh Castle, a World Heritage Site. In 2009, its population was 14,300. As of 2025, it has a populati ...

, d. 1844 in

Kėdainiai Kėdainiai () is one of the oldest List of cities in Lithuania, cities in Lithuania. It is located north of Lithuania's second largest city Kaunas on the banks of the Nevėžis River. Kėdainiai were first mentioned in the 1372 Livonian Chronicle ...

) was a Polish

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: ...

, who later became a decorated

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

during the

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

. He was the son of Franciszek Stanisław Hutten-Czapski, the governor of

Chełmno Chełmno (; older ; , formerly also ) is a town in northern Poland near the Vistula river with 18,915 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is the seat of the Chełmno County in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship. Due to its regional importance ...

and Veronica Radziwill (1754-Unknown), sister of Prince Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł.

Early life

Stanisław and his brother Karol spent their childhood at the

Nesvizh Castle Nesvizh Castle or Nyasvizh Castle (; ; ; ) is a residential castle of the Radziwiłł family in Nyasvizh (Nesvizh), Belarus. It is above sea level. Built in the 16th and 17th centuries, and maintained by the Radziwiłł family until 1939, the c ...

with their uncle Prince Karol Stanisław Radziwiłł, the wealthiest magnate of Poland and Lithuania. They were then educated by

Piarist The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...

Fathers in a college in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

Napoleonic Wars

Stanisław Hutten-Czapski was in the Polish Legions.

Invasion of Russia of 1812

In July, 1812, Emperor

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Bonaparte appointed Stanisław as Colonel and commander of the 22nd Lithuanian Infantry Regiment. With it, he partook in the beginning of

Napoleon's invasion of Russia The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign (), the Second Polish War, and in Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 (), was initiated by Napoleon with the aim of compelling the Russian Empire to comply with the continent ...

, fighting bravely in the battle of Kaidanava, for which he was awarded

Virtuti Militari The War Order of Virtuti Militari (Latin: ''"For Military Virtue"'', ) is Poland's highest military decoration for heroism and courage in the face of the enemy at war. It was established in 1792 by the last King of Poland Stanislaus II of Poland, ...

. During Napoleon's retreat from Russia, Stanisław fought in the

battle of Berezina The Battle of (the) Berezina (or Beresina) took place from 26 to 29 November 1812, between Napoleon's and the Imperial Russian Army under Field Marshal Peter Wittgenstein, Wittgenstein and Admiral Pavel Chichagov, Chichagov. Napoleon was retre ...

German Campaign of 1813

During the

German Campaign of 1813 The German campaign () was fought in 1813. Members of the Sixth Coalition, including the German states of Austria and Prussia, plus Russia and Sweden, fought a series of battles in Germany against the French Emperor Napoleon, his marshals, and th ...

, Czapski fought in the

Battle of Dresden The Battle of Dresden (26–27 August 1813) was a major engagement of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle took place around the city of Dresden in modern-day Germany. With the recent addition of Austria, the Sixth Coalition felt emboldened in t ...

with his regiment and was awarded the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

for his conduct. He later fought in the

Battle of Hanau The Battle of Hanau was fought from 30 to 31 October 1813 between Karl Philipp von Wrede's Austro-Bavarian corps and Napoleon's retreating French during the War of the Sixth Coalition. Following Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Leipzig ...

in October 1813, in which his close friend Prince Dominik Hieronim Radzivil was killed.

Estates

The Tsarist authorities confiscated his Lithuanian Estates, but later Stanisław and his brother Karol were amnestied by

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (, ; – ), nicknamed "the Blessed", was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first king of Congress Poland from 1815, and the grand duke of Finland from 1809 to his death in 1825. He ruled Russian Empire, Russia during the chaotic perio ...

, and their properties in Lithuania were returned to them. Stanisław's Lakhva estate was destroyed during the war. He received the

estate in

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

as part of his maternal inheritance from the Radziwills. He established himself in Swojatycze, near

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, and dedicated himself to agricultural activities, hunting, and purchasing and selling properties. From 1827 to 1844, the count lived in the manor house which he established by the

Dotnuvėlė The Dotnuvėlė is a river of Kėdainiai district municipality and Radviliškis district municipality, Kaunas County, central Lithuania. It flows for 60.9 kilometres and has a basin area of 192.7 km2. Its valley is 350–500 m wide. The curr ...

stream near Kėdainiai. Here he took care of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...

and raising

horses The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 milli ...

. At the end of his life, he found himself in economic difficulties. He died in 1844. After his death, his eldest son Marian inherited the estate.

Personal life

In 1810 Stanisław Czapski married Sophia (1797-1866), the daughter of the

Castellan A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...

of Minsk, Michała Obuchowicza (1760-1818), and had four children: Michalina, Marian, Adolf and Edward. Stanisław's brother Karol married Sophia's sister, Fabianna Obuchowicza (1787-1876).

Decorations

* Polish

3rd class * French

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and civil. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutten-Czapski, Stanislaw 1779 births 1844 deaths Polish military officers 18th-century Polish nobility Recipients of the Virtuti Militari Stanisław Polish recipients of the Legion of Honour