Xaver Zeltner
Xaver Zeltner | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 19, 1764 |
| Died | September 18, 1835 (aged 70) |
| Occupations | Officer, politician, senator, judge |
Xaver Zeltner, also known as Franz Xaver Zeltner (19 November 1764 – 18 September 1835), was a Swiss officer, politician, senator of the Helvetic Republic, and judge.[1][2] His home in Solothurn served as the residence and final resting place of Polish national leader Tadeusz Kościuszko.[3][4]
Biography
Early life and education
Xaver Zeltner, born Urs Xaver Joseph Anton Zeltner, was born in Solothurn, Switzerland,[2][5] to Franz Anton Zeltner, a member of the Great Council (Grossrat), and Maria Anna de La Martinière.[1][2] His uncle, Franz Peter Alois Zeltner, was the director of the mint and city secretary of Solothurn.[6] Zeltner attended the Jesuit college in Solothurn[2] and served as an officer in the Cent-Suisses in Paris from 1781 to 1788.[1][2]
Administrative career
In 1788, Zeltner became a clerk (Amtsschreiber) in the Flumenthal district before returning to Solothurn as a notary.[1] From 1793 to 1798, he served in the Great Council of the Canton of Solothurn and acted as Landvogt (bailiff) in Lugano from 1793 to 1794.[1][2]
Role in the Helvetic Republic
In February 1798, Zeltner was arrested in Solothurn as a patriot, a supporter of revolutionary reforms inspired by the French Revolution and the Helvetic Revolution.[2] The traditional patrician authorities viewed reformers as a threat. Released the following month after French troops intervened, he joined the provisional government of the Canton of Solothurn and, on 26 March 1798, became a senator of the Helvetic Republic. Until 1800, he served as a government representative (Regierungsstatthalter).[1] From 1802 to 1803, Zeltner represented the Helvetic Republic at the Consulta in Paris, where he befriended Tadeusz Kościuszko.[1][7][8] From 1810 to 1814, he was part of the liberal opposition in Solothurn's Great Council and served as an appellate judge from 1811 to 1814.[1] In 1814, he joined a provisional government[1] but was later arrested for his involvement in a coup attempt.[2]
Connection to Tadeusz Kościuszko
From 1815 to 1817, Tadeusz Kościuszko resided in Zeltner's home at 12 Gurzelngasse, Solothurn, where he died on 15 October 1817.[2][3][9][10] Kościuszko had previously stayed at the estate of Zeltner's brother, Peter Josef Zeltner, in Berville near Fontainebleau, France, from 1801 to 1815.[8][11] In 1936, Zeltner's home was converted into the Kościuszko Museum, dedicated to Kościuszko's legacy.[2][3][4][12]
Family
In 1794, Zeltner married Orsola Peri from Lugano.[1] Their daughter, Emilia, married Giovanni Battista Morosini (1782–1874), a Lugano lawyer, politician, and former State Councilor who adopted Austrian citizenship in 1842.[2][13] The Morosinis had five daughters and a son, who died in 1849 fighting for Italian independence.[2] The Zeltner family was Catholic.[1] Zeltner's brother, Peter Josef Zeltner (1765–1830), served as the Helvetic Republic's first envoy to France and was also a member of the Cent-Suisses in Paris.[8][11]
Xaver Zeltner died on 18 September 1835 in Saronno, Lombardy.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Kopp, Peter F. (25 January 2015). "Zeltner, Xaver". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l F. Kopp, Peter (1994). "Xaver Zeltner". Jahrbuch für Solothurnische Geschichte (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ a b c "Kościuszko Museum". Solothurn City. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ a b "Muzeum Tadeusza Kościuszki w Solurze" [Tadeusz Kościuszko Museum in Solothurn]. Międzynarodowa Akademia Badań Polonijnych w Zurychu (in Polish). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ "Familienübersicht: Zeltner, Franz Xaver Josef Anton" [Family Overview: Zeltner, Franz Xaver Josef Anton]. Historische Familien Luzern und Solothurn (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ Kopp, Peter F. (12 March 2013). "Zeltner, Franz Peter Alois". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ "Franz X. Zeltner to Thomas Jefferson, 29 October 1817". Founders Online, National Archives (in French and English). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ a b c Narkowicz, Liliana. "Polonia szwajcarska honoruje pamięć Tadeusza Kościuszki" [Swiss Polonia honors the memory of Tadeusz Kościuszko]. Archiwum2000 (in Polish). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ "Tadeusz Kosciuszko in Switzerland". Swiss Spectator. 19 November 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ Stragierowicz, Beata (8 October 2025). "Kościuszko w Solurze" [Kościuszko in Solothurn]. Prawdajestciekawa (in Polish). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ a b Kopp, Peter F. (25 January 2015). "Zeltner, Peter Josef". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ "Muzeum im. Tadeusza Kościuszki w Solurze" [Tadeusz Kościuszko Museum in Solothurn]. Culture.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
- ^ Arcobello, Francesca Mariani; Sonderegger, Christian (7 October 2009). "Morosini, Giovanni Battista". Historisches Lexikon der Schweiz (in German). Retrieved 13 November 2025.