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Prince Jozef Antoni Poniatowski, the nephew of the last king of Poland Stanislaw August Poniatowski, was born and raised in Vienna. His father, Andrzej Poniatowski, a field marshal in Austrian service, died when Jozef was 10. Stanislaw August became his guardian, and throughout their common life span these two great members of the Poniatowski family enjoyed a close, father-son like relationship. His mother,Teresa Kinsky-Herula, of a prominent Austrian family of Bohemian origin, was from the court of Maria Theresa, who was a godmother of Jozef's older sister (who was named Maria Teresa, after the empress). With his mother young Jozef spent some of his time in Prague, and later with his uncle the king in Warsaw. In 1787 with Stanislaw August and historian Adam Naruszewicz participated in a trip to Kiev, to meet Catherine the Great.
Among the Poles Prince Jozef Poniatowski has been known in a more familiar way as Prince Jozef, and by his family and friends he was called Pepi, from the Czech diminutive form of Joseph.
Trained for military service, Poniatowski remained foremost a soldier for the rest of his life. He was commissioned lieutenant in the Austrian army in 1780 (mentored by Field Marshal Lascy), in 1788 promoted to colonel and aide to Emperor Joseph II, who paid personal attention to Poniatowski's advancement and encouraged him to stay in Austria and to follow in his father's footsteps. In 1788 fought in the Russo-Austro-Turkish War and was seriously wounded at the Sava River on April 24, during the siege of Sabatch, as he was leading an assault on the fortress. During Vienna years a close personal friendship developed between Poniatowski and Prince Karl de Ligne, which lasted until de Ligne's death in the war with France in 1793, and the future womanizer experienced the one and only idealized love of his life (Maria Thun). Prince Karl Philipp Schwarzenberg was also Poniatowski's friend and colleague at that time (at Sabatch Poniatowski saved his life); due to the changing fortunes and allegiances, in the future they will meet many times as allies or as foes, and at the end Schwarzenberg will come back to deliver the crushing blow at Leipzig.
Ksiaze Jozef Poniatowski urodzil sie 7.V.1763 roku. Wychowywal sie pod opieka matki, Teresy Heruli z Klimskich, na przemian w Wiedniu i w Pradze. Po smierci ojca, Andrzeja Poniatowskiego (1773r.) nad przynaleznoscia narodowa ksiecia czuwal stryj, ktory pragnal by bratanek krola polskiego byl wychowywany jak Polak. Jeszcze przed ukonczeniem 17 roku zycia mlody ksiaze rozpoczal sluzbe w armii austriackiej. 7 lutego 1780 roku zostal mianowany odporucznikiem, a cztery lata pozniej byl juz majorem. Do Polski przybyl w 1781 roku, w ksiedze pamiatkowej Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego widnieje jego podpis z 17 lutego 1781 roku. Poniewaz ksiaze zdradzal wielkie talenty wojskowe, kariera jego w armii postepowa blyskawicznie. Otrzymal wazne odznaczenia wojskowe z rak stryja: Order Sw. Stanislawa, a nastepnie wstege Orderu Orla Bialego. Oslaniajac odwrot armii francuskiej, ranny i zmeczony ksiaze nie ustapil z pola walki. Zginal w nurtach Elstery w 19 X 1813r. Wczesniej mial wyrzec slowa: "Bog mi powierzyl honor Polakow, jemu samemu go oddam". Zwloki ksiecia zlozono w krypcie Katedry Wawelskiej. Poniatowski byl wybitnym zolnierzem, czlowiekiem honoru i wielkim patriota. Odwaga, wiernosc idealom niepodleglosci, wreszcie bohaterska smierc sprawily, ze Poniatowski stal sie bohaterem narodowym.
Picture shown is only a representative of the product and actual item will vary.
Every figure is placed on an oak base with a glass dome to protect your collectible. A silver plate with the name of the soldier is mounted on the base.
Figure app. 6-8" tall, with base and a dome 7.5"-8.5" tall.
It takes a very knowledgeable and talented artist to create military figures that meet the expectations of the most demanding collectors. We were fortunate to become friends with one whose specialty is Polish army figures. He makes only a few per month, so you may wait 4-5 months before your order will be filled. But, when you receive it, your patience will be rewarded when you open the box. They are amazing and worth the wait. The attention to detail and historical accuracy is breath taking. Individually handcrafted of hand-painted plaster, fired in an oven and mounted on a wooden pedestal. Available in very limited quantities, basically custom made.
