It’s widely-known that the city was granted independence in 1920, but today in 1807, the Treaties of Tilsit between Emperor Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon I of France saw the then city of Danzig also become independent, if only for seven years.
This week we take a look at the story behind a necklace that French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte gave to his Polish lover Maria Walewska.
The original receipt that came with the necklace shows that it was purchased in Breslau, now Wrocław, on May 4, 1810, just six days before Walewska gave birth to their lovechild.
Take the road to Tleń and you follow in history’s footsteps. Napoleon and his Grand Armee took the same road on their way to destruction in Russia in 1812, crossing the River Wda before skirting a small wooded hill, where, according to legend, the emperor stood to review his troops, and then on and eastwards.
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