On 25 November Poland celebrates the 260th anniversary of Stanisław August’s coronation in Warsaw. His reign brought important reform to the Polish-Lithuanian state but was undermined by internal chaos and foreign intervention in domestic policy. 

One of the greatest achievements of this ruler was the convening of the Four-Year Sejm and the adoption of the May 3 Constitution in 1791.

Stanisław Poniatowski was crowned as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stanislaw II Augustus on 25 November 1764, at St. John’s Collegiate Church in Warsaw.

The period of his reign from 1764 to 1795 sparks controversy and discussion in Polish homes until today. 

On the one hand, his efforts to introduce Enlightenment-era era reforms such as a modern constitution and government up to date with the second half of the 18th century are appreciated by most historians, while at the same time, the King is perceived responsible for the collapse of the Polish state because of his signature on each of the acts of partitions of Poland. 

Stanisław August Poniatowski was born on January 17, 1732 in Wolczyn, as the sixth child of Stanislaw Poniatowski and Konstancja Czartoryska. Thanks to his family’s position, he received a comprehensive education and was able to travel and study abroad.

In 1754 Stanisław Poniatowski visited England to learn more about English politics and culture. It was a trip for the young noble to learn more about British politics, and to be introduced to the great and good of English society.

While in London, Poniatowski had several enviable experiences, including being received by King George II; being greeted on behalf of the House of Lords, while watching a debate to learn more about British politics; and attending a Shakespeare performance, perhaps the basis of his future interest in the Bard’s works.

Already at the age of 23 Stanisław August became the English ambassador to St. Petersburg. It was then that he met Tsarina Catherine II, with whom he had an affair, and thanks to her later patronage he was elected King of Poland on September 7, 1764. 

On 25 November of that year, he accepted the crown of the Polish-Lithuanian from the hands of the Archbishop of Gniezno and Primate of Poland, Władyslaw Lubieński.  

The paradox of his reign was that as a member of the so-called Familia, or the Czartoryski coterie he was trying to modernise the Polish state under a compromise with Russia. But it was also Russia that wanted to stop the reforms by hampering the works of the Polish parliament and undermining the king’s authority. 

One of the greatest achievements of King Stanislaw was establishing the Warsaw Corps of Cadets, an elite military academy to train the future Polish army high command. One of the school lecturers was Polish famous General and political leader Tadeusz Kościuszko. 

Thanks to his actions in 1773, the National Education Commission was established as the world’s first central institution dealing with public education.

The most important time of his reign was for sure the Great Sejm period which was able to issue the first modern liberal constitution of Poland, which was the second modern constitution of the modern world after the one proclaimed in the United States of America.

The so-called 3rd May constitution, issued on the 3rd of May 1791 was a step too far for the Russians who wanted Poland to remain only a puppet state. 

The Polish-Lithuanian state was almost bankrupt and had no functioning army, that would allow it to defend the Constitution from the Russian intervention. 

On 25 November 1795, after 31 years of his reign, King Stanislaw was forced to leave the throne. He died in exile on February 12, 1798, in St. Petersburg. 

“Seeking no other benefit or intention during Our reign than to become useful to Our homeland, We were also of the opinion that it was necessary to leave the throne in circumstances in which We understood that Our remoteness would add to the happiness of Our fellow countrymen, or at least detract from their misfortunes,” Poniatowski wrote in his act of abdication. 

Despite the tragic fate of both the king and the Polish state the time his ideas for reform and investments in infrastructure, culture and education remain a positive memory in Poland.

One of the greatest examples of King Stanisław’s reign is the Łazienki or Royal Baths Palace in Warsaw, which used to be the place of meetings and cultural discussion of the very elite of the Polish-Lithuanian state. 

Until today one can find and read amazing biographies of the king and heated debates about his loyalty to the state and patriotism. One of the most important perhaps was Stanisław Cat-Mackiewicz’s “Stanisław August” which remains a strong voice in defence of the last Polish king. 

In his book, Mackiewicz reminds that even after a century of partitions, at some Polish church chancellary buildings where people would meet priests for marriage and baptism formalities the portrait of Stanisław August would hang on a wall as a reminiscence of the once-lost but conserved Polish statehood.

Source: Polskie Radio

Photo: @ListyLiterackie

Tomasz Modrzejewski