Establishment of Hôtel Lambert and the Austrian Occupation of Krakow 1836

During the initial months of the emigration, Czartoryski, Zamoyski, but also NiemcewiczNiemcewicz, Julian Ursyn, KniaziewiczKniaziewicz, Karol, and others regularly engaged in meetings and negotiations with foreign politicians, journalists, and military officers. Other emigrants closely associated with Czartoryski worked on preparing various memoranda, documents, newspaper articles and even military analyses. The ultimate goal was clear—to restore an independent Polish state. This was supposed to be done by a national uprising, which ought to outbreak during appropriate circumstances, most probably as a part of a major military conflict in Europe, or rather, between European Powers. However, what may seem relatively straightforward in theory was a totally difference case in the geopolitical reality. The predominant theme in the foreign policy activities of the Hôtel Lambert in the mid-1830s, regarding the Austrian Empire, was the fate of the Free City of Krakow. According to the Congress’s conclusions, it was meant to be neutral and independent, with its status safeguarded by the three neighbouring countries, all of which were naturally involved in partitioning the former Commonwealth. Article 9 of the Final Act explicitly stated that the Russian, Austrian, and Prussian courts committed to respecting the neutrality of the Free City of Krakow and its territories at all times, ensuring that no armed forces could be introduced there under any pretext whatsoever. Nonetheless, on February 17, 1836, the Austrian army entered the city, followed a few days later by Russian and Prussian detachments.