Since the seventeenth century, began building its magnificent mansions. Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski started the main political salon. In 1843, the Hôtel Lambert - hôtel particulier was bought by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski of the powerful family of Polish magnates. Two of its members, Konstanty Adam and Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, were leaders of the liberal aristocratic faction of the Polish Grea
t Emigration, which came into being after the collapse of the November Uprising of 1830–1831 in Poland. The political group was formed around the latter, and his palatial dwelling lent its name to the faction. The political beliefs of the Hôtel Lambert faction were derived from the May 3rd Constitution that the members supported. The Hôtel Lambert played an important part in keeping the "Polish question" alive in European politics by promoting the Polish cause. It also served as a safe harbor for Polish emigrants and royalists, exiled from their country after the unsuccessful uprising against Russia. Among the notable politicians taking part in Hôtel Lambert's activities were Władysław Czartoryski, Józef Bem, Henryk Dembiński, Karol Kniaziewicz, Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Władysław Stanisław Zamoyski, and Władysław Ostrowski. Activist Leon Kaplinski was also a member. "Chopin's Polonaise - A Ball in Hôtel Lambert in Paris," watercolor and gouache, 1849-1860, painted by Teofil Kwiatkowski, National Museum in Poznań; the vaulted décor was temporary Initially a political think tank and a discussion club, the political faction also started to work on the preservation and promotion of the Polish culture. A Polish language library, an historical society, two schools teaching Polish (one for girls, one for boys), and several other notable social and cultural organizations were founded next to the hôtel. Within time, it became one of the most important centers of Polish culture in the world, especially after the January Uprising, when the Polish language and culture became heavily persecuted in Poland itself. Among the notable guests and patrons of the Hôtel Lambert were some renowned artists and politicians of the epoch, including Frédéric Chopin, Zygmunt Krasiński, Alphonse de Lamartine, George Sand, Honoré de Balzac, Hector Berlioz, Franz Liszt, Eugène Delacroix, and Adam Mickiewicz. In fact, Chopin's "La Polonaise" was composed exclusively for the Polish ball held there every year. The Polish library, founded in the Hôtel Lambert, still exists, although it was moved to a different place after World War II.