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548:. She was celebrated as "The most beautiful woman in Europe" and known for her expression: "My eyes aches". Her beauty as well as her ability to improvise herself out of difficult situations resulted in widespread admiration. She further gathered notoriety by engagning in affairs with powerful personalities. She was regarded as fashionable at every party in high society in the cities they visited, and was courted by monarchs and ministers.
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Zofia and her sister settled in his palace and were given lessons in French. Reportedly, the ambassador kept her as his mistress for a time, and then prostituted her. Boscamp-Lasopolski arranged for her sister to be sold as a wife to a
Turkish Pasha, but he promised her mother to arrange marriage for
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She had left instructions to be buried in Uman. Zofia's embalmed body was clothed in a beautiful dress and placed in a carriage, one hand holding a bouquet and a fan in the other. Her body was transported in such a way across the border. In Uman, an elaborate funeral ceremony was conducted out of
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In Paris, on 17 November 1781, Zofia gave birth to a son. After this news reached the Polish king, she traveled to meet him at
Kamianets where he congratulated her father-in-law, still commandant of the fortress, on the birth of a grandson. The king also promoted the man to the rank of Lieutenant
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in addition to a small portion of her late spouse's fortune. This would have impoverished her, as she had brought no dowry to the marriage. However, she managed to inherit almost all of her late husband's fortune with the assistance of her stepson and the
Russian governor, both of whom were her
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Around 1775, when Zofia was 15 years old, her father
Constantine died under mysterious circumstances. Her mother married an Armenian, who also died. During the great fire in Constantinople, their house burned down. In this difficult time for them, her mother Maria sought support from foreign
618:, Zofia's husband managed Potemkin's net of agents in Southern Poland as well as his spy contacts within Chotin. In practice, Zofia at least assisted him in managing these contacts, as her elder sister was married to the Turkish pasha of Chotin. Potemkin appointed Józef de Witte governor of
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to a Greek family of a disputed surname; Zofia was giving various family names throughout her life: Glavani, Clavone or Celice. Her father
Constantine was a poor Greek cattle merchant, her mother was named Maria. In 1772, when Zofia was 12 years old, she moved to the Greek district of
497:. The ambassador was known to procure girls for the Polish king. Learning about their supposed noble origin and seeing the beauty of the girls, the Ambassador agreed to help. The sisters were claimed to descend from the noble aristocratic family of Pantalis
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respect for the charitable works of her later years. As Zofia's coffin was carried 10 miles along the road, barrels of resin were placed along the way for lighting torches as the procession passed that the night before a huge crowd.
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In 1782, the couple returned to
Kamianets-Podilskyi, visiting Vienna, Moravia, Northern Hungary and Galicia on the way. In 1785, her husband succeeded his father as commandant of Kamianets, making Zofia first lady of Podolia.
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During this latter part of her life, Zofia reportedly occupied herself with the upbringing of her children and with charitable activities. Looking back on her time in Russia, she described the late
Potemkin as a brother.
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Compatriots of her time wrote: "She was beautiful as a dream, a child of southern countries. All those who have seen her admire her beauty, igniting a fire in the hearts of men and envy in the eyes of women."
622:, and gave Zofia the informal task of managing the Turkish-Polish relations. In 1791, she accompanied Potemkin to Saint Petersburg, where she was introduced to the nobility as his official mistress.
444:; 11 January 1760 – 24 November 1822) was a Greek slave courtesan and a Russian agent, later a Polish noblewoman. She was famous in contemporary Europe for her beauty and adventurous life. During the
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learned the purpose of the trip and her supposed lineage. He made an offer, bought her from
Boscamp-Lasopolski and married her in 1779. Józef's father was the commandant of the fortress
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Zofia was buried in the crypt under the
Basilian church. In 1877, her body was disturbed when the church was badly damaged by an earthquake. Her remains were reburied in
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Simon Sebag
Montefiore (2006). Potemkin och Katarina den stora – en kejserliga förbindelse (Potemkin: Catherine the Great's Imperial Partner) (in Swedish). prisma.
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During her second marriage, Zofia had three sons; Alexander (born in 1798), Mieczyslaw (born in 1800) and Boleslaw (born in 1805), and two daughters; Sophia, and
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Zofia was reportedly a sensational success when being introduced to the aristocracy by her spouse in the drawing room receptions of Europe in the palaces of
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In the early 1820s, her health deteriorated. The mysticism of the Polish Illuminati was said to have affected her health. She left for
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In May 1777, when Zofia was not yet 17 years old, Maria sold her two daughters to the Polish Ambassador,
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to compose music on the Turkish harem theme. In one of his letters to his sister, the French queen
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along with those of her youngest daughter Olga, where they still rest in the crypt of the church.
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to consult German doctors, where she died on 24 November 1822, aged 62.
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and announced her divorce from Józef De Witte. On 17 April 1798, in
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General, and volunteered to be the godfather of the newborn.
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At the beginning of their European tour, the couple visited
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774:"Wielka Genealogia Minakowskiego - M.J. Minakowski"
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452:and acted as an agent in Russian service.
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281:Learn how and when to remove this message
168:Learn how and when to remove this message
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
202:Relevant discussion may be found on the
131:This article includes a list of general
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630:In February 1796, Zofia arrived in
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846:"Zofia Potocka (1.v. Wittowa)"
578:Zofia saw Marie Antoinette at
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442:Софія Костянтинівна Потоцька
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640:Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki
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1007:Constantinopolitan Greeks
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473:) in the Turkish city of
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844:Wołoszyński, Ryszard W.
495:Karol Boscamp-Lasopolski
544:and, most famously, in
508:The Polish Count Major
152:more precise citations.
882:(in Swedish). prisma.
876:Simon Sebag Montefiore
651:Szczęsny Jerzy Potocki
380:Ivan Osipovich de Witt
557:Stanisław II Augustus
962:Female wartime spies
850:www.ipsb.nina.gov.pl
208:improve this article
1002:18th-century slaves
655:Nikolai Novosiltsov
612:Catherine the Great
415:Constantine Clavone
967:18th-century spies
514:Kamieniec Podolski
390:Mieczysław Potocki
388:Aleksander Potocki
1017:People from Fatih
1012:People from Bursa
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341:(1822-11-24)
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852:(in Polish)
606:During the
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402: [
150:introducing
987:Courtesans
936:Categories
869:References
753:about 1805
725:about 1785
659:Illuminati
626:Later life
465:Early life
234:newspapers
133:references
88:footnoting
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778:wielcy.pl
739:1790/1800
588:Charles X
565:Joseph II
471:New Style
438:Ukrainian
356:Spouse(s)
204:talk page
158:July 2020
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878:(2006).
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325:Anatolia
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350:Prussia
248:scholar
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783:6 May
760:Notes
691:Talne
674:Death
663:dowry
546:Paris
475:Bursa
406:]
377:Issue
321:Bursa
255:JSTOR
241:books
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711:1780
647:Olga
632:Uman
538:Rome
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