Maria Wirtemberska (1768–1854)

Maria Wirtemberska, also known as Maria Anna Princess Czartoryska, was born in Warsaw to an old aristocratic Polish family. Her parents were Prince Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, a writer, politician, and patron of scientists and artists, and his wife Izabela Flemming. She was educated at home and spent much of her childhood in the cultured atmosphere of her parents’ Blue Palace in Warsaw. In 1784, she was married to Duke Louis of Württemberg-Montbéliard, with whom she had a son, and became known as Duchess von Württemberg-Montbéliard. The couple divorced in 1793, after which Maria Anna lived mostly in Warsaw, spending winters in Vienna and summers at Karlsbad or the family estate at Puławy. From 1808 to 1816, she hosted a famous literary salon in Warsaw. In 1816 she published Malvina, or the Heart's Intuition, considered Poland's first psychological novel. She also wrote poetry, stories, and travelogues, and translated some works from French into Polish. With her mother, she was involved in philanthropic and educational activities among the peasants. In 1837 she moved to Paris, where she lived with her brother Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, also an author.