The House of Lubomirski is a Polish princely family. The Lubomirski family's coat of arms is the Drużyna coat of arms, which is similar to the Szreniawa coat of arms but without a cross.
Origin and the coat of arms The Lubomirski family have been actors in the history of Poland since the 10th century. There are two theories regarding the family's origin. One, by Adam Boniecki, a Polish heraldist, assumes that there were two branches of the family. One settled at the Szreniawa River in Proszowice County while the other established itself in Szczyrzyc County. The time of this division of the family is not known, but most likely it was before the adoption of Christianity by Poland. The Szreniawici family used a similar coat of arms, which means that the two families had the same ancestry. At the time of Mieszko I, the members of the Lubomirski family demonstrated bravery in battle against pagans. For this they were awarded the rank of knight and a coat of arms, which depicts bends of the Szreniawa River in the form of a letter S of white colour on a red background, instead of the Szreniawici cross, with the motto Patriam Versus (Turned to the Homeland). This coat of arms has been used by the representatives of the family to the present time.A. Boniecki, A. Reiski, herbarz polski, part 1, Wiadomości historyczno-genealogiczne o rodach szlacheckich, v. 15, Gebethner i Wolf, Warsaw 1912, p. 56 – 57.
The author of the second theory of the family's origins is the medievalist Władysław Semkowicz. In his article "The fellowship and Śreniawa. Heraldic study" („Drużyna i Śreniawa. Studyum heraldyczne”) he writes that the family used to live on the banks of the Szreniawa River in Szczyrzycki poviat (county), in the area surrounded by the Raba and Stradomka rivers, the Trzciański brook, and the Łososina and Krzyworzeka streams. Semkowicz says that the original territory of the Drużynnici family (ancestors of the Lubomirski, Wieruski, Rupniewski, and Lasocki families) was located there. Semkowicz says that the coat of arms does not show bends of a river, but a curved rod – a sign of episcopal or secular power, signifying that for many centuries before the adoption of the name, the family had exercised significant power. This theory assumes, in its later part, that, in the 15th century, the Polish chronicler Jan Długosz incorrectly ascribed the origin of the coat of arms of the fellowship (Szreniawa without a cross), and other heraldists accepted this view.W. Semkowicz, Drużyna i Śreniawa. Studyum heraldyczne, „Kwartalnik Historyczny”, R. 14 (1900), pp. 200 – 222
The history of the Szreniawici, or Drużynnici, family is closely linked with the rulers of the Piast dynasty. One of the Szreniawici was a canon at the Wawel court, and people using this coat of arms belonged to the inner circle of Bolesław II the Generous, according to Jan Długosz, in Annals or Chronicles of the Famous Kingdom of Poland (Roczniki czyli Kronikisławnego Królestwa Polskiego). The oldest document mentioning the Lubomirski family comes from the 11th century. It is in the property section of the Crown Register of 1682 in Kraków. The original no longer exists. There is only a mention in the register under a given year.A. Boniecki, A. Reiski, Herbarz polski, part 1, Wiadomości historyczno-genealogiczne o rodach szlacheckich, v. 15, Gebethner i Wolf, Warsaw 1912, 56 – 58. However, the authors of Herbarz argue that this document was a forgery. Successive members of the family took up positions of bishops, for example, Piotr, Archbishop of Gniezno mediated between the princes of the Piast dynasty during the congress in Łęczyca in 1180.K. Niecsiecki S. J. Herbarz polski powiększony dodatkami z późniejszych autorów, rękopisów, dowodów urzędowych, v. 8, Breitkopf w Haertel, Lipsk 1841, p. 469 – 472. The family performed important functions at the court of the Piast dynasty and extended their estates through investing in land, mainly within the territory of the Małopolska province. Jakub Lubomirski served as a borough writer in the 14th century.
Foundations of economic power Piotr (d. 1480), the heir of Lubomierz, the territorial designation that is the basis of the family name, is regarded as the progenitor of the Lubomirski family. The economic foundation of the family rested on the exploitation of salt mines in Kraków province, the mineshafts being leased from rulers of Poland. The Lubomirski family also established private mines in Małopolska province. Sebastian (c. 1546 – 1613), who in 1581 became a mine administrator of Kraków, was the creator of this economic power. This was the first administrative position in the capital city occupied by a member of the family. While taking up his duties, Sebastian had the support of Stefan Batory. In 1595, Sebastian received the title of Count of Wiśnicz from the Emperor Rudolf II; in 1591, he entered the Senate as governor of Małogoszcz. He opened a private salt mine shaft "Kunegunda" in Siercza, which was exploited for about 100 years.T. Zielińska, Poczet polskich rodów arystokratycznych, WSiP, Warsaw 1997, p. 134.
Money gained from the salt trade allowed the Lubomirski family to lend money to even the wealthiest people in the country. This enabled them to purchase properties or take them over from insolvent debtors. The family built up its economic position over many generations, accumulating assets that they held for centuries.Rody magnackie Rzeczypospolitej, PWN, Warsaw 2009, p. 98.
Residences The first mentions of the home in Lubomierz were recorded in 1398.A. Boniecki, A. Reiski, Herbarz polski, part 1, Wiadomości historyczno-genealogiczne o rodach szlacheckich, v. 15, Gebethner i Wolf, Warsaw 1912, 56 – 58. The number of family estates, starting with Gdów and Szczyrzyca which the family also possessed in the 13th century, increased significantly. In the 17th and 18th centuries they were located in Lubomierz, Nowy Wiśnicz, Bochnia, Wieliczka, Łańcut, Baranów Sandomierski, Puławy, Rzeszów, Równe, Tarnów, Jarosław, Przeworsk, and Janowiec upon the Vistula, among others. To this day, the castle in Nowy Wiśnicz has been the property of the Family Association of the Princes Lubomirski.District Court in Bochnia, Division of the Land Registry Office, LWH 390. Many estates were located in the territories of the largest Polish cities: Warsaw (e.g. Mokotów, Ujazdów, Czerniaków), Kraków (Wola Justowska, Kamienica Pod Baranami), Rzeszów (castle), Sandomierz, and Lviv (then Lwów). Maintaining foreign residences in Dresden, Vienna, and Paris enhanced family prestige. The members of the family were referred to as "the owners of the bank of the Dnieper River" because many of their estates were located in what is now Ukraine and Slovakia. The Lubomirski family enjoyed political, military, and economic influence, which was concentrated in the provinces of Kraków, Sandomierz, Stanisławów, and Ruthenia, to eventually cover the whole area of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. They kept this state of ownership until the collapse of the Polish state, when they were deprived of many estates as a result of penalties for pro-independence activities.
The Lubomirski family looked to invest by buying large estate complexes. They consciously strived to gather them into one contiguous whole. Territorial expansion began in the ancestral territory located south of Kraków and was directed toward the east. The combined estates reached their largest size at the time of Stanisław (d. 1649). It was the third largest holding in the Republic of Poland, only smaller than the entail of Ostróg and the estates of the Radziwiłł family. In addition to purchasing properties, the Lubomirski family leased rich royal estates, such as the Starosties of Spisz, Sandomierz, and Sącz. Income from the land leased from the king was comparable to that from private estates.
The family introduced several innovative facilities and processes to their estates. Their arable farms adopted methods of industrial production; sugar factories, distilleries, and factories were built. They also introduced enlightened social practices, such as granting equal rights for subjects, allowing Jews to buy properties in private towns and to build houses, and vesting them with judicial powers. Jerzy Sebastian was particularly involved in the activities of democratization. He believed that the increase in economic rights of all his subjects would make him get richer, too. Schools and hospitals for the peasant population were founded, which were maintained with private family income. The family estates often hired people from the lowest class, caring about their education, offering a place of residence, clothing, and a salary paid twice a year. For faithful service, workers were given ownership of land in perpetual or inheritable possession.K. Niesiecki, Herbarz polski powiększony dodatkami z późniejszych autorów, rękopisów, dowodów urzędowych i wydany przez J. N. Borowicza, v. 6, Lipsk 1841, p. 147.
Division The family, originally small in number, grew considerably, which led to divisions of material wealth but enhanced political influence, due to having the support of more people in the Sejms, in the Senate, or at the royal court. Members of the family were able to count on the support of their relatives in political or court activities.
The family split into five major lineages: of Wiśnicz (from Aleksander Michał, 1614 – 1677), Łańcut (from Stanisław Herakliusz, 1642 – 1702), Przeworsk (from Aleksander Michał, – d. 1675), Rzeszów (from Hieronim Augustyn, c. 1647 – 1706), and Janowiec (from Jerzy Dominik, 1665 – 1727). The most numerous was that of Przeworsk, which was further divided into three branches: dubrowieńsko-kruszyńska, równieńsko-przeworska, and dubieńska. Many members of this line are alive now.
First citizens of Poland The members of the family served the state as marshals, starosts, governors, and hetmans. Four of the princes Lubomirski held the office of Grand Marshal of the Crown: Jerzy Sebastian, Józef Karol, Stanisław Herakliusz and Stanisław. They were active in the politics, chairing the Sejms, forming a private army, representing the king at the courts Europe. Many times they had a decisive influence on the choice of monarchs. They were defenders of the nobility, who often entrusted the family with their proxy vote at the Sejms and in the election of kings. Although Jerzy Sebastian was Grand Marshal and Field Hetman of the Crown, he supported the nobility in rebellion.J. Długosz, latyfundia Lubomirskich w XVII wieku (powstanie – rozwój – podziały), Opole University, Opole 1997, p. 13
Marriages were also important. Members of the Lubomirski family became linked with equally powerful and wealthy families. It enabled them to extend their private estates, and even take over a part of the estate of Ostróg under the Kolbuszowa transaction of 1753. Stanisław Lubomirski (1583 – 1649) married Zofia Ostrogska; Aleksander Michał Lubomirski married Helena Tekla Ossolińska; Krystyna Lubomirska married Albrycht Stanisław Radziwiłł. Józef Karol (1638 – 1702) was Teofilia Ludwika Zasławska’s husband; Teresa Lubomirska (d. 1712) married Karol Filip, the Prince of Neuburg, and Marianna Lubomirska (1693 – 1729) married Paweł Karol Sanguszko, the Grand Marshal of Lithuania.Rody magnackie Rzeczypospolitej, PWN, Warsaw 2009, p. 103, T. Zielińska, Poczet polskich rodów arystokratycznych, WSiP, Warsaw 1997, p. 137.
Royal blood