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KOPER 2023
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ISSN 1318-0185                UDK/UDC 94(05)             Letnik 31, leto 2023, številka 1
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ACTA HISTRIAE • 31 • 2023 • 1
Volume 31, Koper 2023, issue 1
VSEBINA / INDICE GENERALE / CONTENTS
Andriy Klish, Yuriy Drevnitskyi & Stepan Pryidun: Cooperation of Ukrainian 
and Slovenian Deputies in the Vienna Parliament in the Late 19th Century ..................
Cooperazione dei deputati ucraini e sloveni nel parlamento 
di Vienna alla fine del XIX secolo
Sodelovanje ukrajinskih in slovenskih poslancev v 
dunajskem parlamentu konec 19. stoletja 
Michał Dworski: The Balkans as a Gateway to Polish Independence. 
The Face of the Balkan Policy of the Hôtel Lambert towards National 
Movements Forming within the Borders of the Ottoman Empire ................................
I Balcani come porta dell’indipendenza polacca. Le caratteristiche della 
politica balcanica dell’Hôtel Lambert nei confronti dei movimenti 
nazionali formatisi entro i confini dell’Impero ottomano
Balkan kot pot do poljske neodvisnosti. Obraz balkanske politike Hotela Lambert v 
odnosu do nacionalnih gibanj, ki so se oblikovala znotraj meja Osmanskega cesarstva 
Ivan Bogavčić & Iva Salopek Bogavčić: The First Croatian Series of 
Postcards of Rijeka and Surroundings Issued between 1889 and 1891 .......................
La prima serie di cartoline croate di Fiume e dintorni pubblicata tra il 1889 e il 1891
Prve hrvaške razglednice Reke in okolice, izdane med letoma 1889 in 1891
Raisa Jafarova: Women from Shusha Who Were Exposed to Repression 
during the “Great Terror”: In the Archival Documents of the State 
Security Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan ..........................................................
Le donne di Shusha esposte alla repressione durante il «grande terrore»: nei documenti 
d’archivio del Servizio di sicurezza di stato della Repubblica dell’Azerbaigian
Ženske iz Šuše, ki so bile izpostavljene represiji med »velikim terorjem«: v arhivskih 
dokumentih Službe državne varnosti Republike Azerbajdžana
1
17
UDK/UDC 94(05) ISSN 1318-0185
e-ISSN 2591-1767
65
39
ACTA HISTRIAE • 31 • 2023 • 1
Mehmet Salih Erkek: The Assassination of General Ismail 
Mahir Pasha in Istanbul (1908) ....................................................................................
L’assassinio del generale Ismail Mahir Pasha a Istanbul (1908)
Atentat na generala Ismaila Mahirja Pasho v Istanbulu (1908)
Goran Marković: Relationship between Legislative and Executive 
Powers in the Yugoslav Socialist Constitutions ..........................................................
Relazione tra il potere legislativo e quello esecutivo nelle 
costituzioni jugoslave socialiste
Odnos med zakonodajno in izvršno oblastjo v jugoslovanskih 
socialističnih ustavah
Dragutin Papovıć: Cold War Diplomacy and US-Socialist 
Yugoslavia Fruitful Relations: An Examination of the 
Establishment of US-Montenegro Cooperation in 1980 ...............................................
La diplomazia della Guerra fredda e le relazioni proficue tra gli Stati Uniti 
e la Jugoslavia socialista: un’analisi sull’instaurazione della 
cooperazione tra gli Stati Uniti e il Montenegro nel 1980
Diplomacija hladne vojne in plodni odnosi med ZDA in 
socialistično Jugoslavijo: Preučitev vzpostavitve 
sodelovanja med ZDA in Črno goro leta 1980
Marta Verginella: Boris Pahor – testimone della 
distruzione del corpo nei lager nazisti ...........................................................
Boris Pahor – Witness of the Destruction of the Body in the Nazi Camps
Boris Pahor – pričevalec uničenja telesa v nacističnih taboriščih
163
139
113
83
ACTA HISTRIAE • 31 • 2023 • 1
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE. 
THE FACE OF THE BALKAN POLICY OF THE HÔTEL LAMBERT 
TOWARDS NATIONAL MOVEMENTS FORMING WITHIN THE 
BORDERS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 
Michał DWORSKI
The John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, The Centre for Research on the History of the Polish 
Government-in-Exile KUL, Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
e-mail: michaldworski@kul.pl
ABSTRACT
This article presents an outline of the activities of the Hôtel Lambert - one of the 
most influential parties of the Polish Great Emigration - in the face of the Balkan 
national movements taking shape within the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. It 
indicates the directions of activity of the political camp of Prince Adam Jerzy Czarto-
ryski towards the internal and external situation of the Balkan countries. The text 
discusses the importance of Balkan concepts presented by the Hôtel Lambert and their 
influence on the dynamically changing political reality in this region of Europe.
Keywords: Hôtel Lambert, Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, 19th century, Polish Great 
Emigration, Balkans, Balkan policy, Ottoman Empire
I BALCANI COME PORTA DELL’INDIPENDENZA POLACCA. 
LE CARATTERISTICHE DELLA POLITICA BALCANICA DELL’ HÔTEL 
LAMBERT NEI CONFRONTI DEI MOVIMENTI NAZIONALI 
FORMATISI ENTRO I CONFINI DELL’IMPERO OTTOMANO
SINTESI
L’articolo presenta una panoramica delle attività dell’Hôtel Lambert – uno dei 
partiti più influenti della Grande Emigrazione Polacca – di fronte ai movimenti nazio-
nali balcanici che prendevano forma all’interno dell’Impero Ottomano nel XIX secolo. 
Il saggio indica le direzioni di attività del campo politico del principe Adam Jerzy 
Czartoryski nei confronti della situazione interna ed esterna dei Paesi balcanici. Il 
testo discute l’importanza dei concetti balcanici presentati dall’Hôtel Lambert e la 
loro influenza sulla realtà politica nella cornice dinamica dei cambiamento di questa 
regione d’Europa.
Parole chiave: Hôtel Lambert, Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, XIX secolo, Grande Emigrazione 
polacca, Balcani, politica balcanica, Impero Ottomano
Received: 2022-07-12                            OI 10.19233/AH.2023.2
ACTA HISTRIAE • 31 • 2023 • 1
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
INTRODUCTION 
The Hôtel Lambert was a Polish political camp established in exile in Paris 
after the defeat of the November Uprising (1830–1831). This environment, 
focused around the figure of Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, grouped leading 
representatives of the aristocracy, senior officers and people with right-wing 
views from various social and professional groups of the, so-called, Polish 
Great Emigration. The goal of the political activity of the Hôtel Lambert was to 
regain Poland’s independence. In order to achieve this aim, the camp carried out 
extensive diplomatic work continuously for forty years (1833–1872). As Hans 
Henning Hahn perfectly observed, the Czartoryski party spent several decades 
trying to influence the existing system of international relations among the great 
powers, thus becoming, as it were, a subject of these relations (1973, 348–349). 
Through diplomatic endeavours, the Hôtel Lambert sought to maintain the 
presence of the “Polish question” in the public opinion of Western states. In 
this respect, it exerted a significant influence on the formation of European 
opinion on Polish national liberation aspirations. Hotel became their diplomatic 
advocate (Kalembka, 1982).  
The primary goal of Poland’s regaining independence was framed by a specific 
vision of the party’s foreign policy. Various concepts were developed within its 
framework. The concept of Balkan policy was the most widely developed and 
practically implemented. It represented the most persistent direction of Polish 
international action in the post-insurrection period. The successful implementa-
tion of its assumptions was to be the path which, through appropriate external 
factors, would lead to the rebirth of Poland (Berry, 1985, 45–67).
THE HÔTEL LAMBERT AND THE BALKAN QUESTION
The independence of Poland was a paramount value for the Prince. He wanted 
a nation-state to be established without violent social changes, with a monarchi-
cal system that would be limited by a constitution (Hahn, 1987, 68) The Hôtel 
Lambert’s vision, however, rejected the path of armed insurrection as the only 
answer to the problem. Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski initially decided to base 
his activity on extensive diplomatic efforts (Bartoszewski-Wnukowski, 2007, 
10). As a result of an analysis of the international situation at the time, and 
with an understanding of the influence of the Vienna order, he concluded that 
the Polish could only gain independence through an appropriate international 
agreement. He was aware that Poland’s attaining the status of full sovereignty 
could be achieved only as a result of specific external phenomena (Hahn, 1987, 
70). However, pursuing a policy intending to obtain, through international 
contacts, appropriate assistance for the Polish question was not the only idea 
initiated by the Hôtel Lambert.
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
Prince Czartoryski’s political thought was to be supplemented by a properly 
prepared uprising that would break out at the right time in favourable interna-
tional conditions. The determinant of this state would be the European conflict 
or revolution, in any of the partitioning powers1. Ludwik Gadon stressed that 
“the Prince did not think that Poland could be liberated by diplomatic efforts 
alone, without his own efforts, without an uprising. But he believed only in 
an uprising at the right time, in favourable circumstances” (Bartoszewski-
Wnukowski, 2007, 11). The ideological profile of the Hôtel Lambert, which 
was described as conservative, showed a subdued approach to the issue of the 
uprising breaking out too soon. Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski saw the future 
independence uprising as the culmination of certain diplomatic efforts which, 
with international support, would have a chance of success being well organ-
ised and prepared. He postulated the creation of the nucleus of a Polish armed 
force within foreign armies and the training of officers in foreign services. It 
is worth noting that he doubted the postulates of other competing circles, such 
as the Polish Democratic Society, that the preparation of an uprising required 
only propaganda and a call to arms under the banner of freedom of the peoples 
(Skowronek, 1991, 31–33; Berry, 1985, 45–49).
After the fall of the November Uprising, Czartoryski foresaw that the rivalry 
of the powers in the east could lead to a pan-European conflict. This involved 
a war between Turkey, backed by Russia, and Egypt, which was supported by 
Britain and France. This conflict demonstrated the diplomatic sense of Russia, 
which, by signing the Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi with Turkey in 1833, began the 
process of subjugating the Ottoman Empire. Russia’s policy sought the political 
subjugation of Turkey, with the aim of finally subduing it in order to deal an 
economic blow to English power (Skowronek, 1983, 69).
By his attitude, Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski tried to convince English 
and French politicians of the possible threat to their position in the East due to 
Russia’s behaviour. The essence of his diplomatic efforts was to demonstrate to 
both powers that support for the Polish question could be an effective brake on 
the actions of the Tsar, who was striving for the political subjugation of Turkey 
and numerous Balkan nations2. On the one hand, the exacerbation of conflicts 
between the superpowers might have raised Czartoryski’s hopes for the start of 
a pan-European war, which would have favoured the emancipation of the Polish 
question. On the other hand, however, the prince’s activities among French and 
English diplomats did not bring about the intended effect in terms of Polish 
cooperation, with the above-mentioned powers, in eastern affairs (Kukiel, 2008, 
217; Berry, 1985, 50; Handelsman, 1949, 38–46)3
1 BCz, 5282 IV, Instruction for Marcinkowski dated 14.10.1834.
2 BCz, 5282 IV, Powód i cel misji wschodnich (author: A. J. Czartoryski), August 1836.
3 BCz, 5281 IV, A. J. Czartoryski, East 1833. Note prepared on the occasion of the Huma issues announced 
to Lord Palmerston on Eastern affairs, London, dated 10.05.1833. 
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
Representatives of Western governments did not fully share Czartoryski’s 
opinion, which compounded his disappointment with their attitude. His planned 
diplomatic game did not brought results despite the fact that the Turkish-Egyp-
tian conflict could have been a prelude to broader military action in Europe. 
Prince Adam Jerzy’s disapproval of French and English policy towards the 
Polish question was a turning point that gave space for the formation of a new 
attitude in his party.
The Hôtel Lambert began to see in the Ottoman Empire a suitable ally in the 
struggle for Polish independence4. The change of emphasis in foreign policy 
was certainly influenced by contacts with Turkish ambassadors in London, as 
well as by the accounts of Polish emigrants who found refuge within the borders 
of the Empire after the November Uprising. Moreover, this period is associated 
with an intensification of Adam Jerzy’s activities towards Turkish politicians, 
to whom he tried, in numerous memoranda, to present the similarity of the 
political interests of Turkey and the Poles (Skowronek, 1983, 147).
It is worth noting that the representatives of the Hôtel Lambert hoped for an 
imminent conflict between the superpowers over the East, thanks to which Poles 
would be able to strike out for independence5. The party also drew up plans for 
a great war between European states, including sketches for a national uprising 
on Polish soil with a similar uprising in the Balkans (Skowronek, 1983, 151). 
From the second half of the 1830s onwards, the Czartoryski’s milieu began 
to analyse the political situation, in geopolitical terms, in the Balkans with 
increasing frequency. The need for involvement in this field was increasingly 
raised. It was felt that with the Hôtel Lambert’s rapprochement with the Balkan 
nations, the Polish question would have a real chance of gradually emancipating 
its independence demands (Cetnarowicz, 1997, 107)6 The change in attitude on 
the part of Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski’s party did not manifest itself as a 
firm rejection of previous diplomatic efforts towards Western states, but was 
an opportunity to broaden the avenues through which Poles could strike out for 
independence. 
One of the first reasons why interest in the Balkan question was elevated 
to the pedestal of the Hôtel Lambert’s political activity was the publication 
of Karol Boromeusz Hoffman’s book “Four uprisings or a brief lecture on 
the ways in which Greece, the Netherlands, Portugal and Poland waged for 
Independence” (Skowronek, 1983, 136). The author, an activist of the Hôtel 
Lambert, presented in his treatise the liberation ways followed by the nations 
included in the title. This author devoted much attention to the Greek uprising 
as one of the most important models of a successful struggle for independence. 
4 BCz, 5282 IV, Matériaux pour un plan d’action concertée, August 1837.
5 BCz 5282 IV, Reason and purpose of Eastern missions, August 1836.
6 BCz, 5282 IV, Powód i cel misji wschodnich (author: A. J. Czartoryski), August 1836.
ACTA HISTRIAE • 31 • 2023 • 1
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
He stressed that “nationality alone is not sufficient to regain independence”, 
stating that the European powers had a dominant role in the final treaties 
ending the uprising (Skowronek, 1991, 32–34; Cetnarowicz, 2003, 160–162). 
Hoffman highlighted the fact that consolidating the success of the uprising 
was not possible without the help of any of the European powers, which in 
turn could lead to certain limitations in terms of the gains of the uprising. 
He assessed the behaviour of the powers decidedly negatively. Moreover, he 
expressed complete solidarity with the Greek model of the struggle for inde-
pendence. Jerzy Skowronek noted that the opinions of Karol Boromeusz Hoff-
man led to the conclusion that a significant partner of Polish independence 
aspirations could be analogous movements of other nations under foreign rule 
(Skowronek, 1983, 143). The Greeks, who initially wished to initiate an insur-
rection in Wallachia and Moldavia, saw an opportunity in the staged spread 
of the insurrection, which was eventually to reach their homeland (Jelavich, 
2005, 208). The recognition by the Greeks of the aspirations of the Balkan 
peoples to liberate themselves from their spheres of influence and dependence 
indicated the possibility of an effective struggle to limit Russian influence in 
the Balkans (Skowronek, 1976, 48)7.
Confirmation of the acceptance of Hoffman’s expressed views was undoubt-
edly provided by the publication of this work in the pages of the party’s journal. 
Another of the reasons that made the interest in the Balkans more significant 
was undoubtedly the novel Kirjali, published by Michał Czajkowski in 1839. 
The author, a participant in the November Uprising and novelist, presented in 
his work the contemporary aspirations and hopes of the Balkan peoples – above 
all the Slavs under Turkish state sovereignty. The book gained, among Poles, im-
mense popularity, which resulted in an increased general interest in Balkan issues 
(Skowronek, 1983, 126). The Hôtel Lambert, with which Michał Czajkowski had 
collaborated since 1838, intensified its revision of its stance on the emancipa-
tion of the Balkan peoples against the background of the novel’s publication 
(Michalak, 2011, 164–165; Berry, 1985, 50–51).
BALKAN PROGRAMME CONCEPTS AND REALITY
The caesura I have set in this paper to begin my analysis of the individual 
activities of the Hôtel Lambert on the Balkan question is marked by a meeting 
between the Parisian group of the Romanian émigrés in 1836 and activists of 
the Czartoryski camp. This group tried to reach out to Polish democrats in order 
to contact, through their international contacts, the Young Europe organisation 
created by Mazzini (Skowronek, 1994, 387, 405). The activists Ion Ghica, Nico-
lae Bălcescu and Radu Golescu, during their talks with the democratic camp of 
the Polish émigrés, were at the same time directed to the partisanship of Prince 
7 BCz, 5282 IV, Powód i cel misji wschodnich (author: A. J. Czartoryski), August 1836.
ACTA HISTRIAE • 31 • 2023 • 1
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
Czartoryski, who wished to take advantage of the opportunity to start coopera-
tion with the Romanian émigrés (Berry, 1985, 47–48). The intermediary in their 
contact with the Hôtel Lambert was Michał Czajkowski, in the future an active 
member of the conspiratorial intelligence network of the Czartoryski camp, as 
a person coming from a democratic camp, and Władysław Zamoyski (Michalak, 
2011, 169–170). The activists of the Hôtel Lambert argued that preparations 
could begin in Moldavia and Wallachia to initiate an uprising in the Polish 
lands, which met with Radu Golescu’s approval and his declaration of readiness 
to undertake similar actions in all Danube Principalities. In addition, Golescu 
made an extensive analysis, for use by the Hôtel Lambert, of the socio-political 
and economic situation in the Danube Principalities. In it, he mentioned that 
the Serbian ruler Miloš Obrenović, who is working to gather around Serbia 
– Bulgaria, Bosnia and Montenegro – would use the Romanian initiative to 
create one common Slavic state8. The above note, which was received by Prince 
Czartoryski in September 1837, provided a sticking point to think seriously 
about the Romanian question (Skowronek, 1976, 52; Skowronek, 1983, 178). 
At the beginning of 1838, the Hôtel Lambert widened its acquaintanceship with 
other Romanian activists in order to agree on the concrete provisions of coopera-
tion outlined in Radu Golescu’s analysis. The increasing cooperation between 
Romanian and Polish activists led Janusz Woronicz, one of the Czartoryski’s 
follower, to travel to Danube Principalities in the hope of making his emigration 
plans a reality. However, his reports, assuring the Romanians of their sympathy 
for the Poles, did not reflect the actual state of readiness for military action. 
Prince Czartoryski was urged to obtain the approval of Turkey and the Western 
powers for military action, while securing funds for military action. Attempts 
to persuade the French to support the initiative in the Danube Principalities 
failed, just as no support was obtained from Turkey for the transformation of its 
possessions into fiefdoms. In view of this state of affairs Polish-Romanian plans 
were sidelined in international affairs and the action itself, testifying to the in-
dependence of the Polish initiative, ended in failure (Bodea, 1970; Cetnarowicz, 
1984, 145–146; Skowronek, 1994, 521).
Nevertheless, this did not end the efforts of the Czartoryski camp to effec-
tively link Polish aspirations with those of the Balkan nations. The involve-
ment of the Hôtel Lambert in this issue was only just gaining the necessary 
8 Obrenović’s policy was directed towards cooperation with the Ottoman Empire, from which he 
gradually obtained concessions and autonomy. In the main, his vision was focused on strength-
ening his position in Serbia itself, rather than on building a Slavic alliance in the Balkans (Ce-
tnarowicz, 1989, 373–380).
ACTA HISTRIAE • 31 • 2023 • 1
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
momentum9. At that time, the members of the Hôtel Lambert were preparing 
another action of a political and military nature, which they wished to organise 
on the border of Albania and Montenegro. A partner in the Polish action was 
the Serb Nikola Vasojević, who, claiming that his family was the leader of the 
inhabitants of this borderland, wanted to create his own state in this area. His 
arrival in Paris in 1840 and his contacts with the Hôtel Lambert, as he was a 
student at the Collège de France, formed the basis for a political settlement. 
The negotiator on the part of the Czartoryski camp was Michał Czajkowski, 
who from that period onwards began to organise intensive conspiratorial and 
intelligence activities on behalf of the Hôtel Lambert. The result of these 
bilateral talks was the conclusion of a relevant political and diplomatic agree-
ment between Prince Czartoryski and Nikola Vasojević, which was called 
the preliminary draft. The Polish side wanted to make the Serb’s homeland 
the main preparatory base for the military forces that would initiate a Pol-
ish national uprising in the future. The cooperation between Czartoryski 
and Vasojević was to become the basis for expanding the circle of political 
influence over all Slavs, which would give rise to an autonomous federation 
of turkish Slavs. This agreement and preparations for joint action did not 
materialise due to Vasojević’s disappointment with the unsuccessful efforts of 
the party’s activists to raise funds, which caused him to leave, in 1841, for the 
Balkans (Cetnarowicz, 1984, 145–146)
In the middle of 1841, Prince Czartoryski sent his three political agents (Cza-
jkowski, Wereszyński and Łyszczyński) to the Balkan Peninsula to explore the 
possibility of cooperation with individual nations (Michalak, 2011, 165–166). 
Above all, the camp leadership was keen to reach the Wallachian-Bulgarian 
borderland, which was poorly controlled by the Turks. Their mission was a half-
success, as apart from reports informing them of the current political situation 
in the Balkans, they did not obtain any other tangible benefits of their expedi-
tion. At this point, it is worth noting that the early 1840s marked the beginning 
of a period in which the Hôtel Lambert was outlining broader perspectives on 
Balkan affairs. Czartoryski and his supporters began to take activists from the 
area more seriously in the face of the, as yet little emphasised, partial passivity 
of the Western powers, who did not want to get involved in the Balkan ques-
tion. As Jerzy Skowronek noted, “the successes of the aspirations of the Balkan 
peoples were to facilitate the armed struggle for Poland’s independence”, so 
9 The political activity of the Hôtel Lambert was constantly supplemented by journalistic activ-
ity. Publications with a Slavophile tendency, related to the history and culture of the southern 
Slavs, and published memoranda on the essence of the Balkan question contributed to the es-
tablishment of the Chair of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the Collège de France in Paris. 
Recognised as the founder of this chair, Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski recommended to the 
French Minister of Enlightenment his candidate who could lead this institution. This was Adam 
Mickiewicz, who was appointed to the post in September 1840 (Kuziak, 2019; Skowronek, 
1983, 179, Kubik, 2015).
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
the Czartoryski’s followers, faced with the collapsing vision of an international 
conflict, decided to intensify their actions in the Balkans (1983, 180). In my 
opinion, the attempt at partial independence of Balkan actions, in view of the 
hostility to this issue of England and France, was related to the possibility of 
losing the position of the Czartoryski camp in the Balkans. The intensification 
of political action, among nations under the Turkish yoke, was a fundamental 
element in the struggle for Polish independence, as only in this configuration 
could the Slavophile idea be realized10
In the face of Russian propaganda, which also initiated the trend towards 
the unification of the Slavs, the camp of the conservative part of the émigrés 
had to seek support among the Western countries in order to have backing for 
their initiatives. The beginning of the fifth decade of the 19th century benefited 
from the popularization of the Balkan question among European countries 
(Skowronek, 1975, 267). Thanks to the Parisian lectures of Adam Mickiewicz, 
similar chairs, such as the one at the Collège de France, were established at 
the universities of Berlin and Wrocław61. It thus succeeded in getting a wider 
audience interested in the Southern Slavs. This was certainly welcomed by the 
activists of the Hôtel Lambert as well as the national liberation conspirators 
in the Balkans, as it helped to strengthen relations between the West and the 
Balkan nations. It is worth mentioning the words quoted at the time by Michał 
Czajkowski to the effect that “one must help the Slavs [...] in order to have 
influence over them, and with this influence one can only be master of the 
eastern question” (Cetnarowicz, 1984, 164). This testifies to the aspirations of 
both Czajkowski and the Hôtel Lambert leadership to stabilize the party’s posi-
tion in the Balkans as the only Polish agency in the area capable of effectively 
fighting for the emancipation of enslaved nations. The aforementioned Michał 
Czajkowski moved permanently to Turkey at the time, where he initiated and 
directed directly the actions of the Hôtel Lambert in the Balkans. He gained 
the support of the French ambassador in Istanbul and made acquaintances with 
Turkish officials, which enabled him to carry out his activities (Michalak, 2011, 
165). The first effects of his stay in Turkey manifested themselves in early 1842 
when he established a Polish settlement, which was named Adampol – after 
10 The policy of the Hôtel Lambert towards the Balkan national movements was based on and Sla-
vophilic idea, aiming at a lasting and multifaceted cooperation of the Slavs. The lack of a unified 
programme of Slavophilism distinguished different concepts of this correlation. The first, which 
was associated with the current of Panslavism, referred to the cult of the Russian tradition. It 
proclaimed the political liberation of the Slavs by means of Russia and their unification under its 
hegemony. The second concept was represented by the Poles, who, through the idea of Slavophi-
lism, wished to find a way to their own rise to independence. The alliance with other Slavic na-
tions was to be based on the moral leadership of Poland, which would occupy a privileged position 
among them. Slavophilism, represented by the Czartoryski camp, had a decidedly anti-Russian, 
freedom-oriented and patriotic character. The vision of Polish Slavophilism was to be based on 
the Catholic West in order to decisively oppose Russian pan-Slavism (Bartoszewski-Wnukowski, 
2007, 10; Kuk, 1996, 99–101, Handelsman, 1949, 186–187).
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
the leader of the Hôtel Lambert (Kalembka, 1982, 273–274)11. In the summer 
of 1842, Czajkowski appeared in Paris, where he presented a report to Adam 
Jerzy Czartoryski on his activities to date and set out his plans for the future. 
He proposed firmly binding the action of the Hôtel Lambert around Serbia in 
order to gradually rally all southern Slavs around it, and to launch a propaganda 
campaign in Ukraine and southern Russia. The Serbian question, which had 
been in the orbit of the camp’s activists prior to Czajkowski’s report, played a 
significant role at the time, as it was around Serbia that the Hôtel Lambert would 
seek to organise its immediate political following in the Balkans (Skowronek, 
1976, 60; Berry, 1985, 62–64; Handelsman, 1949, 103–106)
From 1817, Serbia was ruled by Prince Miloš Obrenović, who, from the late 
1830s onwards, focused the attention of Hôtel Lambert activists as a potential 
leader of the South Slavs (Handelsman, 1949, 94). Prince Adam Czartoryski 
11 It was located south of Istanbul, east of the port of Beykoz (Skowronek, 1983, 210–211; Dopierała, 1983).
Fig. 1: Portrait of Adam Jerzy Czarto-
ryski (painted by Paul Delaroche in 
1857) (Wikimedia Commons).
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
saw in Prince Miloš a person who would be able to effectively spearhead 
the national liberation struggle of enslaved peoples and unite southern Slavs, 
who would become an ally in Polish independence aspirations (Cetnarowicz, 
1989)12.
The events of 1842, when the Obrenović family was overthrown in a dy-
nastic coup, corrected the attitude of the Hôtel Lambert towards the Serbian 
question. The Serbian upheaval, according to Prince Czartoryski, could have 
been the trigger for a wider military conflict involving the powers. The vision 
of war, which was of particular interest to the activists of the Hôtel Lambert, 
led the Czartoryski’s followers, to seek an agreement with the new Prince of 
Serbia, Aleksandar Karađorđević (Cetnarowicz, 2006, 267–271; Skowronek, 
1994, 410). 
At the beginning of 1843, Adam Jerzy prepared a special document called 
Conseils sur la conduite a suivre par la Serbie, which was delivered to the Ser-
bian ruler. The concept that Czartoryski presented in the memorial was related 
to his previous ideas of binding the southern Slavs around Serbia. The thoughts 
of the leader of the Hôtel Lambert were expanded and modified by František 
Zach in his work, which he called Načertanije13.
The document was delivered to Illija Garašanin – Minister of the Interior 
of Serbia, who approved of the vision presented in Zach’s note (Žáček, 1963, 
40–42; Žáček 1976, 18–21). The programme outlined by Zach was adopted by 
the Serbian politician as a vision of the Greater Serbian agenda (Żurek, 2004, 
252). The activists of the Hôtel Lambert played the role of initiators of an 
integration policy plan based on the Greater Serbian concept. They urged their 
Serbian partners to develop a long-range programme that envisaged the political 
unification of all South Slav nations. The projected vision also envisaged the 
involvement of the Slavs located within the borders of the Habsburg monarchy 
in the new plan (Skowronek, 1991, 31–38).
The cooperation between the Poles and the new Serbian government heralded 
a tightening of these relations, which gave hope that the camp’s stated goals 
could be realised. Parisian group activists launched a diplomatic campaign to 
ensure that France and England recognised the election of Prince Alexander, 
while Michał Czajkowski went to Belgrade to begin efforts to locate permanent 
12 The hopes associated with Prince Miloš, however, failed to materialise, as the dynastic interests of 
the Obrenović family were more important than the prospect of ruling the united Slavic nations. From 
1839 onwards, Serbia was ruled by Prince Mihailo Obrenović. He ascended the throne when he was 
16 years old and, as a minor, could not rule independently. In view of this, there was a regency (Toma 
Vučić-Perišić, Avram Petronijević, Jevrem Obrenović) until March 1840.  Prince Mihailo Obrenović, 
son of Miloš, represented the same pragmatic approach as his father. Nevertheless, Adam Czarto-
ryski’s views and his vision of Serbia as the centre of a future federation did not change (Cetnarowicz, 
1989; Cetnarowicz 2006, 267–271).
13 At the end of July 1843, Prince Czartoryski entrusted František Zach with the task of establishing an 
agency of the Hôtel Lambert in Belgrade. This agency was to cover with its reach activities in “the 
Slavic countries of Turkey” (Cetnarowicz, 2017).
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
agents of the Hôtel Lambert there. Moreover, the deterioration of relations 
between Belgrade and St Petersburg provided a basis for Czartoryski’s party 
to become a valuable ally for the new Serbian ruler. For the Balkan plans of 
the Hôtel Lambert, this situation increasingly presented the possibility of their 
realization. Prince Czartoryski hoped that France, in view of the situation in 
the Balkans, would decide to support the political efforts of the Hôtel Lambert 
aimed at the gradual unification of the southern Slavs under the leadership of 
Serbia. During this period, František Zach set to work to strengthen the na-
tional Slav movement. He encouraged all Serbian politicians to cooperate with 
Garašanin n and tried to support the seeds of a national movement in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina (Cetnarowicz, 1990; Žáček, 1963, 40–42; Żurek, 2015).
The party’s activists stressed the need to strengthen the economic pillars of 
the future federation by, among other things, building a trade road that would 
connect Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina with the sea coast, thus removing 
the partial dependence of these countries on Austrian influence.  Through the 
prism of theoretical treatises on federation, the Czartoryski’s followers planned 
to preserve regional distinctiveness for the constituent countries. The closest 
prospect for translating these plans into Balkan reality was the aspiration of 
the activists of the Hôtel Lambert to gradually build strong and independent 
Slavic states within the Ottoman Empire, which, bound together by political 
and economic treaties, would be able, after the inevitable fall of Turkey, to 
resist Russian expansion in the Balkans. This point of view was to be a suitable 
argument for the Serbs to successfully seek the support of the Western powers 
(Skowronek, 1983, 214; Berry, 1985, 47–52).
In the course of time, the cooperation of the Hôtel Lambert with Prince 
Alexander was also extended to the level of Serbia’s internal affairs. Camp 
activists proposed sending a group of Serbian children to Paris to attend French 
schools. František Zach, one of the party’s agents in Belgrade, participated in 
the discussions on the construction of the educational system in Serbia, mak-
ing many proposals that were partly taken into account in the decisions of the 
principality’s authorities in the following years. One of his personal successes 
was undoubtedly his involvement in the creation of the Artillery School, which 
was opened in 1850 (Cetnarowicz, 2003, 163–167; Cetnarowicz 1990).
Prince Czartoryski’s plans for an effective agitation for Serbia among Turk-
ish politicians had to be gradually changed, thus postponing the prospect of the 
Hôtel Lambert’s overall Balkan mission. The reason for this state of affairs was 
the distrust of the Turks towards the new Serbian ruler, which made them evade 
concessions in favor of Serbia. These actions were motivated by the impossibil-
ity of reconciling Turkish political interests with the prince’s dynastic ambi-
tions. Moreover, in 1845, the position of the aforementioned agent František 
Zach was dynamically losing its importance due to which contacts between 
the Hôtel Lambert and the highest Serbian officials were partially interrupted 
(Cetnarowicz, 2003, 162–164; Skowronek, 1983, 216).
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
It is also worth mentioning the actions of the Hôtel Lambert towards the 
Bulgarian question14. As early as 1842, Michal Czajkowski, together with 
the camp’s activists, planned to develop, both in Bulgaria and in Istanbul, a 
wide-ranging educational campaign aimed at creating a national education for 
Bulgarians (Michalak, 2011, 166–168)15.
After the Serbian events, Czajkowski came to the conclusion that the Bulgarians 
were a completely separate nation that did not fit into the Yugoslav concept. He 
was inclined to develop a broad independent Bulgarian national movement, which 
would be supported by the Hôtel Lambert as well as by Serbia (Skowronek, 1975, 
278) Working with some Turkish politicians, Czajkowski hoped to reach some sort 
of Bulgarian-Turkish agreement, which would accept the development of a Bul-
garian national movement (Popek, 2017, 124–126, Handelsman, 1949, 119–121). 
Czajkowski’s activities, which in time included the aspect of cultural development 
through the publication of manuscripts and Bulgarian calendars, were approved by 
a section of Bulgarian society16. 
His agitation to bring Porte and Bulgaria closer together by creating this 
political compromise was reflected in the support of some Bulgarian national 
politicians. He became associated with activists leading educational and cultural 
initiatives. The contacts he gained allowed him to reach out in 1844 to the leaders 
of the struggle for the national hierarchy of the Bulgarian church, which had lost 
its autocephaly after the Turkish conquest and was subordinated to the Patriarch 
of Constantinople. With the support of the Yeromonach Ilarion Makariopolski, 
he was allowed to hold talks with the leader of the Bulgarian national movement 
– Georgi Sava Rakovski. The initiator of the two unsuccessful insurrectionary 
attempts of 1841 and 1842 did not enter into close cooperation with the agent of 
the Hôtel Lambert, who raised the issue of a compromise programme of Bulgar-
ian aspirations towards Turkey. A partial success of Czajkowski’s efforts was to 
obtain permission from Porte for the return of Bulgarian emigrants from Danube 
Principalities (Berry, 1985, 63)17. 
Despite the many efforts of his actions were not completely accepted by the 
Bulgarian people in general, who looked upon Turkey’s attitude as a partitioning 
occupier (Michalak, 2011; Popek, 2017, 131–132). The clergy of the Bulgarian 
church, expressing their willingness to support some of Czajkowski’s actions, be-
came the only avenue through which the Hôtel Lambert could implement its plans 
in this geographical area. The imprisonment of the clergy in a monastery, by the 
Patriarch of Constantinople in 1845, marked a certain end to Czajkowski’s activi-
ties in Bulgaria. In addition, attempts to forge a compromise, put forward towards 
14 Described the issue in detail: Popek, 2017, 119–135.
15 BCz, 5413 IV, Action in Bulgaria, Constantinople 1844; BCz, 5411 IV, Letter from Michal Czajkowski, 
Constantinople, dated 4.04.1843. 
16 BCz, 5413 IV, Action in Bulgaria, Constantinople 1844.
17 BCz, 5414 IV, Tsarogrod Deposits, Constantinople, dated 3.04.1845.
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
Turkey by an agent of the Hôtel Lambert, were completely thwarted (Skowronek, 
1975, 278). Nonetheless, Michał Czajkowski still tried to maintain contacts with 
the activists of Bulgarian national movements he had met, but these were not rela-
tionships that could link the Polish question with Bulgarian aspirations.
The period following the unsuccessful Bulgarian actions was marked by fur-
ther failures of the Hôtel Lambert within Serbia. Politicians in the principality, 
disillusioned in their hopes for greater Western assistance, suggested a rap-
prochement with Russia. Contacts with the Hôtel Lambert were reduced, per-
ceiving its negligible influence on the policies of France, England and Turkey. 
The main reason for the weakening of mutual contacts was the discrepancies on 
Serbian internal and external policy between Czartoryski’s party and the leaders 
of the principality (Cetnarowicz, 1997, 110).
 In addition, the efforts, in which the Hôtel Lambert was involved, for con-
cessions from the Porte strengthening Serbian independence failed. Against this 
backdrop, the Hôtel Lambert turned its attention to the Danube Principalities, 
as territory that could serve as an immediate logistical base for preparations for 
a potential uprising in Poland. Particularly important was to be Moldavia, from 
which it would be easiest to organise a march into Galicia and create a storage 
area for arms (Handelsman, 1949, 125, 228, 300–303). 
The initiation, beyond the influence of the Hôtel Lambert, of the Krakow 
Uprising of February 1846 further motivated Czartoryski’s party to tighten 
cooperation with the Romanian movements. The events in the Polish lands 
could have developed into a wider insurrectionary movement, which the 
Hôtel Lambert wanted to exploit.  The Parisian leadership directed its agents 
to send emissaries to Poland to prepare a force for an almost immediate 
insurrection 79.
However, attempts to make arrangements with the Romanians failed, which 
was undoubtedly related to the activities of the emissaries of the Polish Demo-
cratic Society (Skowronek, 1983, 272). Attempts by the Hôtel Lambert to es-
tablish cooperation with Bulgarian and Romanian activists in the 1840s showed 
signs of the first crisis in the great Balkan partisan actions. Jerzy Skowronek 
noted that the partners of the Hôtel Lambert, at that time, were sympathetic to 
the claim that this partisanship had no significant forces that would create the 
hope that any of the stated goals of cooperation could be realized (Skowronek, 
1976, 99).
The Cracow uprising and the Galician Slaughter lowered the prestige of the 
Czartoryski camp by putting the party de facto outside the uprising movement. 
The Hotel itself played a diminishing role among Poles under the Partitions. 
Moreover, the Galician Slaughter aroused the distrust of Balkan peasant activ-
ists towards the Polish nobility, who had experienced such violence from the 
native peasant class. It is worth mentioning that moderate Balkan politicians 
suspected that the Galician events testified to the predominance of leftist cur-
rents in the Polish national liberation movement, which also translated into 
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
distrust of activists associated with Prince Czartoryski (Skowronek, 1975, 
280–281; Berry, 1985, 66–67; Kalembka, 1982, 336)18.
For the Hôtel Lambert, then, a period of struggle for the good name of the 
camp and their political significance in Poland began. Michał Czajkowski as-
sured Turkish politicians that the events of 1846 had been triggered by the 
democratic camp and that the peasant uprising had been provoked by Chancel-
lor Metternich. This explanation was probably approved by the Sultan’s court, 
so the Czartoryski camp did not suffer such a significant setback in its relations 
with Turkey. Moreover, they outlined new scenarios for Balkan action, which 
were favourably analysed by Turkish politicians.
In the summer of 1847, a group of partisan activists, led by Adam Jerzy 
Czartoryski and Władysław Zamoyski, drew up a detailed analysis of their camp’s 
foreign policy to date (Skowronek, 1983, 283). The starting point of this outline 
was the statement that the year 1846 showed the danger that threatened Poles 
from the left and the partitioning authorities. The Hotel’s priority was still Turkey, 
which should win the favor of the Slavs as its allies. The successes that the Hôtel 
Lambert had achieved in Serbia between 1842 and 1843 were highlighted, and the 
demand for another attempt to unite the Danube Principalities was articulated. In 
Bulgarian affairs, the need to develop a national consciousness as distinct from 
the Yugoslavs was suggested. This was wanted to be realised through assistance 
of the native clergy thus laying the foundation for a possible future union with the 
Catholic Church (Berry, 1985, 62–65; Skowronek, 1983, 281).
Hôtel Lambert, in the period following the release of the study on international 
affairs, began to pay more attention to projected Catholic actions in the Balkans. 
There were some 200.000 Catholics living in Albania, Herzegovina and Bosnia, 
whom the Hôtel Lambert wanted to support so that they would form the basis for 
initiating new national movements in the Balkans. The camp’s activists sought 
in Turkey to regulate the affairs of Catholics and to strengthen the Church in the 
areas inhabited by them (Żurek, 2017, 273).
At the same time, Father Hipolit Terlecki, who had established cooperation 
with Prince Czartoryski’s camp, postulated the idea of bringing the Eastern and 
Catholic Churches closer together through the creation of a new union. There was 
noticeable scepticism about this idea among a significant number of activists at 
the Hôtel Lambert, who increasingly understood the Balkan realities, as it would 
require a lengthy process. In addition, Michał Czajkowski, Ludwik Zawierkowski 
and František Zach tried to support the view of fighting for national churches 
within the Orthodox Church (Skowronek, 1975, 282). 
The various variants of Catholic action remained only the realm of theoreti-
cal considerations during the 1840s. They did not gain the clear support of most 
of the Balkan partners of the Hôtel Lambert. English politicians were reluctant 
18 On the policy of Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski towards the Republic of Krakow cf.: Żurawski vel 
Grajewski, 2018.
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
to accept the proposal of the Czartoryski camp, but the French approached the 
idea with great openness. A positive exception to this background was associ-
ated with the Bulgarians, where the long-standing work of the Hôtel Lambert’s 
agents, especially the Istanbul agency, led to a clear support in the years 1859-
1860 union of the Bulgarians with the Catholic Church. Czartoryski’s follower 
Władysław Jordan played a key role in contacting Daragan Tsankov, who set 
the Bulgarian national movement on the path of union with Rome (Widerszal, 
1937, 108, 119–120). Władyslaw Jordan coordinated the campaign to finance 
various Bulgarian activities in the late 1850s, including in particular support 
for the journal of the Unitarian movement “Balgaria”. This activity was di-
rectly supported by Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, who sought support for the whole 
venture from the French. The Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church, founded in 
1860, subsequently played an important role in the Bulgarian national move-
ment in the 1860s and 1870s. Polish Uniate priests also played an important 
role in this process, such as Bishop Franciszek Malczewski (Kukiel, 2008, 270; 
Bender, 1974, 292; Widerszal, 1937, 108–121).
The period of the Springtime of the Peoples was a period of hope for the Hôtel 
Lambert for the revival of Balkan contacts. However, the international situation 
was not a determinant factor that could have pushed the party to such commit-
ment as it presented in the years 1843–1845. Jerzy Skowronek emphasised that 
the Czartoryski camp was in fact undertaking ad hoc actions, defensive as it 
were, to eliminate or weaken conflicts that were particularly dangerous at the 
time (1975, 283).
The actions of the Hôtel Lambert during the Springtime of the Peoples par-
ticularly concerned the Slavic nations located within the Habsburg monarchy, 
which is not the subject of this work19. The years following the Springtime of 
the Peoples were characterized by the Hôtel Lambert’s marasmus on Balkan 
issues. One could see the gradual disappearance of the party’s influence in 
the area. This period was associated with the departure from the Czartoryski 
camp of two significant figures who had shaped the Balkan policy of the Hôtel 
Lambert in the past, namely Michał Czajkowski and František Zach (Berry, 
1985, 66–67).
On the eve of the Crimean War, the last Serbian hope of playing any kind of 
political role in the Principality – namely Ilija Garašanin – was dismissed - a 
move that scuppered the already illusory prospects of cooperation with the 
Serbs (Wasilewski & Felczak, 1985, 307). The conflict itself, which lasted 
from 1853 to 1856, was the realisation of the expectations of the Hôtel Lam-
bert and above all of Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, who had been counting on him 
for over twenty years (Kukiel, 2008, 271; Wierzbicki, 2013, 26–34). Faced 
with this situation, the Prince’s camp could not be indifferent, as confirmed 
by Marian Kukiel, who stated that the activists of the Hôtel Lambert became 
19 In detail on this topic: Żurek, 2005; Dziewanowski, 1948.
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
more active than ever, and that Prince Czartoryski himself “displayed youthful 
energy” (2008, 272). The camp’s leader supervised work on a general political 
plan that was to propose specific solutions to Balkan and Polish affairs. The 
aim of this programme was to win over Austria, for support of the Polish 
question, by ceding to it the Danube principalities and creating from them a 
united Romania under the Habsburg scepter. This state was also to include 
Transylvania. Faced with this idea, Austria would potentially be ready to cede 
Galicia, which would become the focal point for building an independent 
Poland. Prince Czartoryski envisaged the creation of separate statehoods for 
the Balkan countries. The success of this vision was to be determined by the 
will of the Western states, which would become guarantors of their future 
independence (Skowronek, 1975, 284).
Another important aspect was the creation of a Polish armed force, which 
could be renamed as the future Polish army. To this end, Prince Adam Jerzy 
sent Władysław Zamoyski to Turkey, who, apart from vague promises, failed 
to obtain any assurances. The Hôtel Lambert, believing in the chances of 
a successful Polish military formation, could not obtain the consent of the 
Western powers, who, in view of the uncertain international situation, did 
not want to support the Polish question too much (Kukiel, 2008, 282; Wier-
zbicki, 2013, 39–49). As time went on, Czartoryski’s political plans were 
marginalized, as no Western power took the prince’s ideas seriously enough 
to attempt to make them a reality. The only hope that the Hôtel Lambert 
placed in the Western states towards the end of the conflict was to organise 
the nucleus of a Polish army. In October 1855, it was decided that there 
would be a Polish regiment formed by Władysław Zamoyski, which would 
be in the pay of the British under the name of the Sultan’s Cossacks (Kukiel, 
2008, 289). This event provided some basis on which Prince Czartoryski 
could still count on the support of the Polish question by the French and 
English governments, but as in previous years this was an illusory hope. The 
regiment of Sultan’s Cossacks was joined by many Poles from prisoner-of-
war camps (Urbanik & Baylen, 1981; Wierzbicki, 2013, 67–102; Kalembka, 
1982, 381).
In addition, the former agent of the Hôtel Lambert, Michał Czajkowski, now 
named Sadık Pasha because he had embraced Islam, coordinated the Cossack 
formations in Turkey. He was convinced that Porte would provide the Balkan 
countries with a degree of autonomy by which he would win the sympathy of the 
Slavs, who would feed into the Cossack ranks and this could create a platform 
for mutual relations between the Balkan nations and the Empire (Michalak, 
2011). This idea failed, as both Turks and Slav activists could not agree to 
such conditions. The southern Slavs saw in the Crimean War an opportunity 
to articulate their national aspirations and therefore every attempt to preserve, 
in various forms, dependence on Turkey was incompatible with their national 
interest (Skowronek, 1975, 284).
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The end of the Crimean War again oscillated around the wait-and-see 
attitude of Czartoryski, who hoped to champion the Polish question at the 
peace congress and to maintain the Zamoyski regiment. Unfortunately, neither 
of these issues was achieved (Skowronek, 1975, 284; Cetnarowicz, 2003, 
166–167).
After the war, with which Czartoryski had pinned so many hopes, he re-
moved himself from public life, seeing the real ineffectiveness of his political 
efforts to regain Poland’s independence (Kukiel, 2008, 295). In time, the leader 
of the Hôtel Lambert recalled that Austria was ready and willing to restore 
Poland’s independence and that the idea was approved by France and only the 
indifference of England prevented the success of the initiative (Kukiel, 2008, 
301). Nonetheless, this was an opinion that was formed in retrospect, prob-
ably explaining to some extent the ineffective actions of the Prince. The last 
major initiative of the Hôtel Lambert in the Balkans was attempted to create 
a Bulgarian Greek-Catholic Church at the beginning of the 1860s, which was 
inspired mainly by Władysław Jordan (Widerszal, 1937, 119–120). On 15 July 
1861, Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski died, which was undoubtedly a blow to 
the party’s activists, since regardless of the assessments of his activities, he 
was the spiritus movens of the Hôtel Lambert and the main initiator of all the 
Balkan actions of the party (Kukiel, 2008, 302). After his death, some of the 
Hôtel Lambert activists became involved in political activities directly under 
the auspices of the Ottoman Empire. There were known cases that certain 
individuals acted against the Balkan national liberation movements, which led 
to criticism of the Poles by Slavic activists (Skowronek, 1975, 283).
CONCLUSION
The Hôtel Lambert, in creating a comprehensive conception of its foreign 
policy, expressed in it a theoretically concretized vision of organising the 
Balkan nations into a various state organisms. The Balkan policy of the Hôtel 
Lambert had a defined task before it. It was to be the tool through which Po-
land would regain its independence. Thus, it heralded the return of Poles from 
exile to a free homeland.  The Balkan concept, which had a real chance of 
materialising in the first years of Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević’s rule, was 
undoubtedly a significant political project (Skowronek, 1994, 410). Its value, 
however, was not duly endorsed or fully understood at the time, which was 
primarily related to the limited support for these actions by France and Eng-
land. As Hans Henning Hahn noted, the difficulty for the Hôtel Lambert was 
to conduct foreign policy in exile (Hahn, 1987, 336). Although the Czartoryski 
camp’s freedom of action was not overly restricted, the clout of its own argu-
ments, without the support of foreign powers, was negligible on the interna-
tional arena. The influence of the Balkan concept, which in its optimal version 
envisaged the creation of a federation of autonomous states uniting around the 
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
Principality of Serbia, the strongest in the region, undoubtedly had an impact 
on the formation of Serbian political thought. The role of the Balkan policy 
of the Hôtel Lambert in the face of the dynamically changing political reality 
in the Balkans was accepted, above all in the 1840s, by the representatives of 
Balkan national movements, and although it eventually tendency to oppose the 
actions of the Czartoryski party, it had a significant impact on the formation 
of national consciousness in the countries under discussion (Cetnarowicz, 
2003, 160–167). Prince Czartoryski’s camp wanted to take advantage of the 
situation of the Ottoman Empire to organise culturally strong nations within 
its borders, which in due course, with some acquiescence from the Porte, 
would gain independence by being on friendly terms with the former invader. 
This concept presented to both parties involved was not properly interpreted, 
as the Turks did not want to get rid of their possessions. On the other hand, 
the Balkan peoples did not want to create any new dependencies with a state, 
for centuries symbolizing the aggressor, which deprived many nations on the 
Balkan Peninsula of having their own statehood.
It is important to underline the fact that the Balkan concept represented 
by Hôtel Lambert activists contributed to the emergence and consolidation of 
the idea of cooperation between the peoples of the future Kingdom of Serbs, 
Croats and Slovenes (Wasilewski, Felczak, 1985, 476). It can thus be concluded 
that Czartoryski’s vision, in some limited form, influenced the socio-political 
life of the Balkan peoples in the following decades. Despite its final defeat 
during the period of the Hôtel Lambert’s activities (Hahn, 1973, 373–374) the 
policy brought many benefits to the individual nations of the region. The policy 
influenced Western opinions on Balkan affairs and the political thought of in-
dividual Serbian, Bulgarian or Romanian activists. Jerzy Skowronek noted that 
the Balkan programme of the Hôtel Lambert was an interesting manifestation 
of abstract political thought – Enlightenment and Romantic – which evolved 
under the influence of reality in the Balkans (Skowronek, 1983, 296). It is worth 
noting that the activities of the Hôtel Lambert also influenced Polish political 
thought, various elements of which were implemented into selected directions 
of political thinking in the 20th century. 
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
BALKAN KOT POT DO POLJSKE NEODVISNOSTI. 
OBRAZ BALKANSKE POLITIKE HOTELA LAMBERT V ODNOSU 
DO NACIONALNIH GIBANJ, KI SO SE OBLIKOVALA 
ZNOTRAJ MEJA OSMANSKEGA CESARSTVA 
Michał DWORSKI
Katoliška univerza Janeza Pavla II. v Lublinu, Center za raziskovanje zgodovine poljske vlade v izgnanstvu KUL, 
Al. Racławickie 14, 20-950 Lublin, Poljska
e-mail: michaldworski@kul.pl
POVZETEK
Hôtel Lambert je razvil celovit pristop k svoji balkanski politiki. Strankarski 
aktivisti, zlasti knez Czartoryski, so predstavili teoretično vizijo, ki bi ob ustrezni 
mednarodni podpori oblikovala novo realnost na Balkanu. Ta koncept je pred-
videval organizacijo balkanskih narodov v avtonomne državne organizacije. 
Programski koncepti tega tabora so pokazali, da imajo široko paleto možnosti 
vplivanja na družbeno-politično stvarnost na Balkanu. Njihova ustvarjalna 
iznajdljivost in samostojno oblikovanje postulatov pričata o izjemno dragoceni 
politični misli, iz katere so v naslednjih desetletjih črpali poljski in balkanski 
politiki. Vizija organizacije balkanskih narodov naj bi bila ena od ključnih faz 
v procesu ponovne osamosvojitve Poljske. Balkanski koncept, ki je imel v prvih 
letih vladavine kneza Aleksandra Karađevića realne možnosti za uresničitev, je 
bil nedvomno pomemben politični projekt. Vendar njegova vrednost v tistem času 
ni bila ustrezno priznana ali v celoti razumljena, predvsem zaradi omejene pod-
pore zahodnih sil, Francije in Anglije. Končna ocena vseh balkanskih dejavnosti 
v regiji torej ni bila posledica politične nezrelosti balkanskih narodov, temveč 
pasivnega odnosa zahodnih sil. Tabor kneza Czartoryskega je želel izkoristiti po-
ložaj Osmanskega cesarstva in na njegovem ozemlju organizirati kulturno močne 
narode, ki bi sčasoma, z nekaj privolitve Porte, postali neodvisni in hkrati ostali v 
prijateljskih odnosih z nekdanjim zavojevalcem. Ta koncept, ki je bil predstavljen 
obema stranema, ni bil pravilno interpretiran, saj se Turki niso želeli znebiti 
svojih posesti, medtem ko balkanska ljudstva niso želela ustvariti novih odvisnih 
držav z državo, ki je že stoletja simbolizirala agresorja.
Ključne besede: Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, XIX stoletje, velika poljska emigracija, Balkan, 
balkanska politika, Osmansko cesarstvo
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Michał DWORSKI: THE BALKANS AS A GATEWAY TO POLISH INDEPENDENCE., 17–38
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