Gruszecki (; , sometimes anglicized as Grushetsky) is the name of a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Lithuania, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe ** Lithuanian language ** Lithuanians, a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania and the immediate geographical region ** L ...

, Ukrainian and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

noble family.

History

The name originates from the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

Maciej,

Chorąży A standard-bearer ( Polish: ''Chorąży'' ; Russian and ; , chorunžis; ) is a military rank in Poland, Ukraine and some neighboring countries. A ''chorąży'' was once a knight who bore an ensign, the emblem of an armed troops, a voivodship, a l ...

of the

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

and Lithuanian Grand Duke, Jogaila. The king had granted him the village of

Gruszka Duża Gruszka Duża is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Nielisz, within Zamość County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It lies approximately west of Nielisz, north-west of Zamość, and due south-east of the regional capital ...

in eastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

in 1411. The Gruszecki family name was derived from the village. Pawel (Povilas) Gruszecki had owned estates in the

Łomża Łomża () is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the capital of Łomża County and has been the se ...

area in the mid-16th century. Five of his eight sons - John, Nicholas, Jacob, Andrius and Domijonas - moved to the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

around 1560. Except for Jacob, who settled in

Navahrudak Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son ...

, brothers settled and acquired estates in Dirvėnai parish,

Samogitia Samogitia, often known by its Lithuanian language, Lithuanian name ''Žemaitija'' (Samogitian language, Samogitian: ''Žemaitėjė''; see Samogitia#Etymology and alternative names, below for alternative and historical names) is one of the five ...

. They became

Reformed Protestants Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

, and until the beginning of the 20th century they materially supported and defended the Protestants against persecution. Maintained relations with the Radvilas. The most famous were the descendants of John, and their most important possession was

Kelmė Kelmė (; ; Yiddish: קעלם) is a city in northwestern Lithuania, a historical region of Samogitia. It has a population of 8,206 and is the administrative center of the Kelmė District Municipality. Name Kelmė's name is likely derived from t ...

Notable members of the family

* Maciej Gruszecki -

of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania Jogaila. * Samuel Gruszecki – secretary of the King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

, ambassador to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. * Bronisław Samuel Gruszecki, sobriquet Szumilist –

Wojski A ''wojski'' (; Medieval Latin: ''tribunus'', hence sometimes rendered into English as tribune) was an officer in medieval Poland and later in Lithuania, responsible for the security of voivodeships or districts at times when voivods and castella ...

and Łowczy of

Chernihiv Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukraine ...

, built a castle in

Holoskovychi Holoskovychi () is a village (''selo'') in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, in western Ukraine. It belongs to Brody urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. From 1918 to 1939 the village was in Tarnopol Voivodeship in Poland. Until 18 July 20 ...

. *

Karol Gruszecki Karol Gruszecki (born 4 November 1989) is a Polish professional basketball player for Anwil Włocławek of the Polish Basketball League (PLK) and the Polish national basketball team. Professional career Gruszecki signed with Spirou Charleroi in B ...

, professional basketball player

In Russia

Agafya Grushetskaya Agafya Semyonovna Grushetskaya or Gruszecki (originally in Polish: Agata Siemionowna Gruszecka; ; 1663 – 14 July 1681) was Tsaritsa of Russia as the first spouse of Tsar Feodor III of Russia. She hailed from the Polish noble family Gruszecki. ...

(1663 – 1681) –

Tsaritsa Tsarina or tsaritsa (also spelled ''csarina'' or ''csaricsa'', ''tzarina'' or ''tzaritza'', or ''czarina'' or ''czaricza''; ; ; ) is the title of a female autocratic ruler (monarch) of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia, or the title of a tsar's wife ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, the first spouse of Tsar

Feodor III of Russia Feodor or Fyodor III Alekseyevich (; 9 June 1661 – 7 May 1682) was Tsar of all Russia from 1676 until his death in 1682. Despite poor health from childhood, he managed to pass reforms on improving meritocracy within the civil and military stat ...

. * (born October 17, 1854 – 1911) – major-general,

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Tambov Tambov ( , ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna ...

References

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