Maria Walewska

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Maria Countess Walewska
Maria Countess Walewska

Maria Walewska (born December 7, 1786 in Kiernozia near Łowicz ; † December 11, 1817 in Paris ) from the house of Łączyńska was Countess of Ornano, the lover of Napoleon I and mother of their son Alexandre Colonna-Walewski . The relationship between the descendants of Alexandre and Jérôme Bonaparte was genetically proven in 2013.

Life

Maria Walewska was born as Maria Łączyńska on December 7, 1786 in Kiernozia near Łowicz, the daughter of Count Mateusz Łączyński and Ewa Zaborowska, and at the age of 18 married to 70-year-old Count Anastasius Colonna Walewicz-Walewski , from whom she had a son in 1805 . The wealthy count was considered to be very jealous, as his wife was very fond of. Her family had pushed her to marry because of the count's wealth, and the couple lived in the country. However, the count could not refuse the honor of being invited to receive Napoleon in Warsaw.

In 1807 the Polish Countess met Napoléon Bonaparte at a ball in Warsaw . Maria Walewska initially rejected him, and only agreed to a first private meeting under pressure from Polish patriots and her husband. Maria followed her lover for seven years, she was called "his Polish wife" by the French army. She spent her happiest time with Napoléon Bonaparte in 1807 at Finckenstein Castle in West Prussia . She avoided meeting Napoleon in public and drove to the meetings in Finckenstein at her brother's side in the curtained car.

When Maria became pregnant in 1809, Napoleon separated from his wife Joséphine , since the emperor's fertility was now proven. Napoleon asked her husband, who had long since separated from her, for his child's approval. He gave the child his name, although Florian Alexander Joseph could never be his son. Napoleon could not marry a mistress for political reasons, instead he married the daughter of the Austrian emperor, Marie Louise , and separated from Maria Walewska. Napoleon gave her an elegant house in the Rue de Montmorency, where servants looked after her physical well-being. Napoleon gave the little son a majority on properties near Naples, which brought in 170,000 francs annually.

The son of Maria and Napoleon, Alexandre Colonna-Walewski, later became foreign minister in the government of his cousin Napoléon III. , Napoleon's nephew.

At Napoleon's request, Maria Walewska wanted to visit him on St. Helena , but he finally could not make up his mind to receive her. The historical event was filmed several times. Before that, they had seen each other briefly on Elba for the last time , after the death of their husband and before their new marriage.

In 1816 Maria married Count Philippe-Antoine d'Ornano , a cousin of Napoleon I, in Brussels and lived with him in Liège . After her the British King George III. had given permission to visit Napoleon, she persuaded her husband to visit him and in 1817 go to the South Atlantic. However, nothing more came of this arduous journey, as she died of kidney stones after the birth of her third son on December 11, 1817 in Paris.

progeny

  • Antoni Colonna-Walewski
  • Alexandre Colonna-Walewski
  • Rodolphe d'Ornano

Movie and TV

Web links

Commons : Maria Walewska  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. http://www.ijsciences.com/pub/pdf/V220130935.pdf
  2. Sigrid-Maria Großering : To crown and love , Amalthea-Verlag