The House of Golitsyn (, ) is the second largest and noblest Princely house in Russia.Jean-Marie Thiébaud, A great princely family of Russia, the Galitzines. Genealogy and historical notes, Paris, 1997. Among its members were voivodes, landlords, knyazes (princes), knights, diplomats, Prime Ministers, admirals, stewards, State Counsellors, and other statesmen.
The Golitsyns claim their seniority in the Lithuanian dynasty of Gediminas (the Gediminids) which has existed since the 13th century. Descendants of this family in Europe and the west write their name in the form Galitzine. The family is among the first Russian aristocratic dynasties and its members bear the honorific predicate of Serene Highness.Alexandre Galitzine, The Princes Galitzine, Washington DC, Victor Graphics, 2002
The family produced many well-known statesmen and figures of the Russian Empire, among them notably Vasily, Boris, Dmitry and Nikolai Golitsyn, the last chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire.
Numerous pieces of art or geographic locations were named after the family, such as the Galitzin Triptych created by Pietro Perugino in 1485 or the Galitzine Quartet No. 12 commissioned by Nikolai Galitzin and delivered by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1825, the Golitsyn craters A and B on the far side of the Moon, the Gallitzinberg, in Vienna, the Gallitzin borough in Pennsylvania, the Gallitzin Tunnel and Gallitzin State Forest, the Golitsyn Hospital in Moscow and various places, localities and municipalities in Russia.
Origins
According to legend, the family descends from Lithuanian prince Jurgis (George), son of Patrikas and grandson of Narimantas and thus a great-grandson of Gediminas (), Grand Duke of Lithuania. After the extinction of the Korecki family in the 17th century, the Golitsyns claimed dynastic seniority in the House of Gediminas.
Prince George immigrated to the court of Vasily I of Moscow and married Vasily's sister. His children and grandchildren, among them , were considered premier Russian boyars. One of them, Prince (1466–1554), grandson of Yuriy, earned the nickname Golitsa after the gauntlet () he wore on his left hand.Демидова А., Голицыны. Главные помещики, p. 17, 2014, His son Yuri Mikhailovich Bulgakov continued with the family line Golytsin and his great-grandson Prince Vasily Golitsyn was a claimant to the Russian throne during the Time of Troubles and went as an ambassador to Poland to offer the Russian crown to Prince Władysław; he died in prison.
Peter I of Russia permitted the Golitsyns to incorporate the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into their coat of arms; “Vir est Vis”, or "man himself is power”, is the Golitsyn family motto.
Notable Golitsyns
Prince (knyaz) Andrey Andreyevich Golitsyn (), governor of Siberia (1633–1635), was the ancestor of all existing princes Golitsyns. He had four sons, from whom four branches of the Golitsyn family descended: Vasily (1618–1652) – branch Vasilyevich Ivan () – branch Ivanovich, which ended in 1751 in a monastery Alexey (1632–1694) – branch Alexeevich Michael (1639–1687) – branch Mikhailovich By the 18th century, the family was divided into four major branches. One branch died out while the other three and their subdivisions contained about 1,100 members.
Branch Vasilyevich Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn (1643–1714) was a leading boyar, a Russian statesman, combining military duties with civilian pursuits, de facto head of the government during the regency of Sophia Alekseyevna (1682–1689) over her brother Ivan and half-brother Peter the Great who banished him and his family to Arkhangelsk Oblast. He owned a richly decorated mansion in Moscow which became the location of the State Duma. Aleksey Vasilyevich Golitsyn (1665–1740) In 1683, he received from his grandfather a village south of Moscow, now Tsaritsyno Palace and surrounding park. In 1694 he was stripped of his boyardom (with the retention of the princely title) and the Tsar sent him and his family into exile. He returned in 1726, after the death of Peter I. Mikhail Alekseyevich Golitsyn (1687–1775) nicknamed "the fool" was punished by Empress Anna of Russia for converting to Catholicism in order to marry an Italian or German woman. This marriage was declared illegal and she appointed him court jester in 1738, serving kvass to the guests. Two years later she forced him to marry either a Kalmuck or a female jester from Kamchatka. The "mock wedding" which took place inside a two-room ice palace on the Neva in February 1740 during an extremely cold winter remained famous. He moved to his estate and was buried near Pushkino. Sergei Alekseyevich Golitsyn (1695–1758), served as the Moscow governor, director of the Moscow Mint. Nikolai Sergeyevich Golitsyn (1712–1773) Alexander Nikolayevich Golitsyn (1773–1844), was a lifelong bachelor, homosexual and reactionary minister of education in the government of Alexander I. He headed an investigation into masonic involvement in the Decembrist uprising of 1825 and served as the Chairman of the State Council from 1838 to 1841; retired to his Crimean estate in Neo-Gothic style. Aleksey Sergeyevich Golitsyn (1723–1765) was the ancestor of Nikolai Dmitriyevich Golitsyn, the last prime minister of Imperial Russia.
Branch Alexeevich Aleksey Andreyevich Golitsyn (1632–1694), governor of Siberia, of Kiev. Boris Alekseyevich Golitsyn (1654–1714), a cousin and the chief political opponent of Vasily Vasilyevich, was tutor and participated in the coup that placed Peter the Great on the throne; head of the government during the "Great Embassy" of 1697–98; owner of the estates Bolshiye Vyazyomy and Dubrovitsy. Vasili Borisovich Golitsyn (1681–1710) inherited the estate, but died when the ceiling came down. Mikhail Vasilievich Golitsyn (1702–1749) Nikolay Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1729–1799) became the new owner of Bolshiye Vyazyomy in 1766. Boris Vasilievich Golitsyn (1705–1769), admiral Vladimir Borisovich Golitsyn (1731–1798) was a Russian statesman; his wife Natalya Golitsyna was known as a learned woman, a gambler and a good dancer. She served Catherine the Great and was characterized in The Queen of Spades (story). In 1783 she moved with her daughters Ekaterina and Sophie to Paris and visited her sons; all the Golitsyns returned to Russia in 1791. Boris Vladimirovich Golitsyn (1769–1813) was a Russian aristocrat who received his education in Strasbourg (1782), and attended the École militaire in Paris (1786). The correspondence of the elder of the Golitsyn brothers attests to his deep interest in analyzing and comprehending the events of the French Revolution. He became very hostile to the turn of events and joined the Swedish army to fight against Revolutionary France.Rzewski V.S. & V.A. Chudinov Russian "members" of the French revolution // French Yearbook 2010: Sources of the history of the French revolution of the XVIII century and the era of Napoleon. M.C. 6–45. In 1803, Boris Vladimirovich received the estate of Vyazemy from Nikolai Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1729–1799), interested in agriculture, horse breeding, but without issue. Boris fought in the battle of Smolensk, was wounded in the battle of Borodino and died in Vilnius. Dmitri Vladimirovich Golitsyn (1771–1844) attended the École Militair also, which Napoleon had left in 1785. On 14 July 1789 Dmitry was somehow involved in the Storming of the Bastille. He wrote his mother about the activities of the National Constituent Assembly (France). After a brief participation in the Finnish War Dmitry resigned his commission in 1809 and settled at Bolshiye Vyazyomy. At the end of August 1812 he was reappointed by Kutuzov. After the Battle of Borodino both Kutuzov and Napoleon spend a night on his estate along the road from Mozhaysk to Moscow.P. Britten Austin (1995) 1812, Napoleon in Moscow, pp. 69–70 He fought in the Battle of Tarutino, Vyazma, and Krasny. In 1814 he was promoted to the rank of full General of the Cavalry. He governed Moscow for 25 years, but died in Paris. Member of the State Council (Russian Empire). Vladimir Dmitrievich Golitsyn (1815–1888) married Maria Golitzyna. Ivan Alekseyevich Golitsyn (1656/8–1729) Alexei Ivanovich Golitsyn (1707–1739) died of plague in Constantinople. Ivan Alekseyevich Golitsyn (1729–1767) Pyotr Alekseyevich Golitsyn (1731–1810) Dmitri Alekseyevich Gallitzin (1734/8–The Hague, 1803) was a Russian diplomat, art agent for Catherine the Great. The idea of acquiring not individual pictures but large collections "en bloc" came from Golitsyn.The Hermitage Known and Unknown by Irina Sokolova He was the main driving force behind the subsequent painting acquisitions in France. He was the Russian ambassador in Paris (1762–68); a friend of Falconet, Denis Diderot, a supporter of the physiocrats, and translated Helvétius. He was envoy in The Hague (1768–98), a supporter of the League of Armed Neutrality, the recognition of the United States and the abolition of serfdom. After 1789 he continued to defend his principles and never returned to Russia.Lien Verpoest (2019) Layered Liberalism: the Golitsyn Legation in the Dutch Republic (1770–1782). In: Bijdragen en mededelingen betreffende de geschiedenis der Nederlanden 134(1):96 In 1768 he married Adelheid Amalie Gallitzin. In 1774 the couple split and the Princess moved to a country house between The Hague and the beach, to better to oversee raising her children in a way J.J. Rousseau had promoted in his "Emile". She turned to Catholicism in 1786. He is known as volcanologist and mineralogist. Prince Demetrius Augustine Gallitzin (The Hague, 1770–1840) also known as the "Apostle of the Alleghenies", grew up with prince William I of the Netherlands. In 1792 he embarked to Baltimore. He was the first Catholic priest ordained in the United States; a settlement in Pennsylvania is named after him. He is currently under investigation for possible sainthood, his current title being Servant of God. Pyotr Alekseyevich Golitsyn (1660–1722)
Branch Mikhailovich
Mikhail Andreyevich Golitsyn (1639–1687) was governor of Smolensk, Kiev and Kursk. Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn the Elder (1665–1737) opposed Peter's reforms. In 1727 he became a member of the Supreme Privy Council, which governed for Peter II of Russia. He was condemned to death (1736) for his anti-autocratic beliefs, but Anna of Russia commuted his sentence to life imprisonment. Noted for his attempt to turn Russia into a constitutional monarchy; Russia lived without autocracy for only 37 days. Owner of Arkhangelskoye Palace. Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn (Field Marshal) (Sr) (1675–1730) is best known for his governorship of Old Finland (1714–1721), where his harsh rule is remembered by the people he had conquered as the Greater Wrath (Swedish: Stora ofreden); member of the Supreme Privy Council. He was married twice and had 18 children. Alexander Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1718–1783) was field-marshal wounded at the Battle of Kunersdorf, an envoy in Hamburg, Constantinople, ambassador in Dresden, and governor of Saint Petersburg, involved in the development of New Holland Island. Dmitry Mikhailovich Golitsyn the Younger (1721–1793) was the Russian ambassador in Vienna. He married Ekaterina, a daughter of the Moldovan historian and composer Dimitrie Cantemir, and was the brother-in-law of Antiochus Cantemir. Primarily remembered for the he funded, he was also an art collector, advised Catherine the Great. He was a patron of Mozart, whom he invited to play once a week.H. C. Robbins Landon (1989) Mozart: the golden years Nikolai Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1727–1787) Andrey Mikhailovich Golitsyn (1729–1770) Boris Andreevich Golitsyn (1766–1822) was a Russian general but was dismissed in 1800. He was friendly with Pyotr Bagration who died of gangrene on his estate at Sima, Vladimir Oblast. Boris joined the Napoleonic wars including three sons.