Aleksander Potocki (1776-1845) – as a young man forced to emigrate and after the second partition of Poland resided in Dresden, Leipzig and Carlsbad. During his stay in England in 1802-1803 became interested in architecture and, first and foremost, palaces and gardens. When Napoleon created the Duchy of Warsaw (1807) Aleksander decided to link his fate with that of the Emperor of the French and in the same year received the title of Napoleon’s chamberlain. In May 1812 played host in Wilanów to Napoleon’s youngest brother, Jerome Bonaparte, the king of Westphalia. After the Napoleonic Great Army captured Wilno, Aleksander headed the Committee of Internal Affairs of the Provisional Government of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. When good fortune abandoned the Emperor and the Russians started to win victories, Aleksander rapidly deserted the Emperor and in 1813 set off for Munich via Lwów. At the time of the Kingdom of Poland (1815-1831) he did not fulfil any significant functions, but became known as the founder of a stud farm in Janów Podlaski. Did not take part in the November Uprising although his sons, August and Maurycy, fought in the detachments of General Maciej Rybiński.
Thanks to his loyal attitude after the fall of the uprising Aleksander obtained for his sons a tsarist amnesty. From 1838 held the post of the Great Master of the Horse at the tsarist court. In his Wilanów estate, which he inherited after the death of his mother in 1831, he tried to introduce a new breed of draft horses, banished (in a thoroughly English style) the serfdom of his peasants and introduced rents. Continued the redesigning of the palace, initiated by his father, Stanisław Kostka, and adapted the interiors for the purposes of a museum. Here, Aleksander installed the library collections transferred from Warsaw in 1833.
